A ten-page typewritten manuscript entitled "The Confederate Ram Arkansas, by Charles Read." The title and byline are presumably in Read's handwriting. Read, a native of Yazoo County, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1860. He resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy in 1861 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the C.S.A. Navy. He was in command of the stern gun division of the Arkansas.