Naval History and Heritage Command

Switzerland, a steam ram acquired by the War Department for service in the Mississippi Marine Brigade, often participated in operations of the Western Flotilla which, although commanded by naval officers, was an Army organization. The Western Flotilla was transferred to the Navy Department in the autumn of 1862, but the Mississippi Marine Brigade remained a part of the Army until it was disbanded late in the Civil War, long after Switzerland was sunk by the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg on 25 March 1863. Thus, Switzerland never was a Navy vessel.