Hi, my name is Elijah Palmer. I’m Deputy Director of Education at the Hampton
Roads Naval Museum.
Today, I'm Fort Darling, atop Drewry’s Bluff, overlooking the James River.
This was a site of a key battle near Richmond during the Civil War.
The Union James River Squadron under Commander John Rodgers was confident as it went up the
James River in mid-May 1862.
On May 10th, Union forces had just captured Norfolk, forcing the Confederates to blow up
their most powerful naval weapon, the ironclad CSS Virginia, as its deep draft prevented
it from going up the James River.
With the Confederates in retreat, President Lincoln, who had overseen the invasion of
Norfolk, ordered the flotilla to advance upriver.
Yet after largely unopposed progress up the river, the Union ships would encounter stiff
resistance near Richmond.
About eight miles south of Richmond, at a bend in the James River, the Confederates
had fortified their defenses at Drewry’s Bluff.
They called this fortification Fort Darling, and armed it with three large caliber coastal cannon.
The fort sat roughly 90 feet above the water, giving the defenders the perfect vantage point
for firing on ships coming up the river.
Besides the guns at Ft. Darling, they placed cannon at other points on the river nearby, including some at
Chaffin Bluff manned by the former crew of CSS Virginia, and also had infantry on the banks to act
as sharpshooters.
To make navigation difficult, the Confederates sunk ships and other obstructions in the river.
On the morning of May 15th, 1862, the Union ships prepared to attack.
The flotilla was led by the flagship, USS Galena, one of the first experimental ironclads
for the Union.
The proven ironclad USS Monitor was next in line.
Another armored experimental vessel present was USS Naugatuck, which was partially submerged
so that its lower profile presented a smaller target.
Two wooden gunboats, USS Port Royal & USS Aroostook were in support as well.
By 7:15am, the crew of the USS Galena had nimbly maneuvered into a broadside position and began
to engage with the Confederates atop the bluff.
The other ships followed Galena into the battle, but Confederate obstructions disrupted the
Union battle line and soon Galena found itself effectively alone, taking the brunt of the
enemy fire.
The Monitor tried to position itself in front of the Galena to lend support, but found that
its guns were not able to elevate high enough to effectively engage the batteries unless
it was farther back behind Galena.
Naugatuck’s cannon exploded during the fight, taking it from the battle, and the wooden
gunboats were driven downstream by the Confederate barrage.
Galena fought on for several hours, taking heavy damage.
The biggest problem was the Galena’s armor was not nearly as effective as the armor on
USS Monitor, and frequently fragmented when hit, wounding the crew.
Early in the fight, the recoil of the Confederates’ largest gun broke its carriage, knocking it
out of the battle.
Even so, the Confederates were able to score an estimated 40 or more hits on the Galena,
with over a dozen of those piercing through the armor. Throughout the morning, Confederate
sharpshooters on both riverbanks harassed Union crews, with a crewmember on the Monitor
recalling that the bullets “pattered upon the decks like rain.”
Marines onboard USS Galena traded fire with the sharpshooters and also manned a cannon
after its crew was taken out by a direct hit.
One Marine, Corporal John Mackie, would become the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor
for his actions in the battle.
At around 11:30, with ammunition running low and casualties mounting, Commander Rodgers
ordered Galena to withdraw.
The carnage aboard the ship was shocking, with one account noting that it “looked
like a slaughterhouse” and another describing the mix of human destruction and battle debris
as “one horrible mass.”
The Union flagship’s crew suffered 14 dead and 13 wounded for a 25% casualty rate.
With Commander Rodgers describing the side of the Galena looking like it “had an attack
of smallpox” and another officer remarking that the armor “was like paper,” it is
a wonder that the casualty number wasn’t higher.
Indeed, after President Lincoln visited the ship, he told the crew, “I cannot understand
how any of you escaped alive.”
On the Confederate side, the casualties were 7 killed and 8 wounded.
While the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff was a fairly small engagement in terms of numbers
involved and casualties, the Confederate defense checked the Union naval advance up the James River.
While Rodgers suggested that another attack with infantry support might have better results,
Union commanders decided to focus instead on the overland strategy to advance on Richmond.
Drewry’s Bluff would not see fighting again for two years.
The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff is another example of how a relatively small engagement can play
an outsized role in war.
I’m Elijah Palmer with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Thank you for watching.