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The Battle at Drewery's Bluff: May 15, 1862
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The
City of Norfolk, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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On May 3, 1862, Confederate General
Joseph Johnston ordered the evacuation of Norfolk, Virginia.
As military supplies were moved westward out of Norfolk, the
CSS Virginia remained stationed in the Elizabeth River providing
security to the Confederates against any advance by the Union
flotilla. On May 10, as the evacuation of the city was completed,
efforts were made to prepare the Virginia to be withdrawn up
the James River. However, the ship could not be lightened enough
to make a successful passage up the river, and on May 11, her
crew set her on fire. For the second time in her career, the
Virginia/Merrimack was destroyed to save her from her enemies.
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James
River, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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With nothing to stop the advance of
the Union navy up the James River, a naval expedition was organized
to assault Confederate river defenses and, if possible, shell
the city of Richmond into surrender. This expedition was led
by the newest of the Federal navy's ironclads, the Galena. The
Galena's construction had been approved by the same Ironclad
Board that had approved the Monitor, but she had only been completed
in April 1862. Though an ironclad, the Galena differed drastically
in appearance from the Monitor. She was an iron ship of conventional
design. A round-hulled, bark-rigged vessel, she fit in neatly
with other ships of the United States Navy from a distance.
Only on close inspection would her iron hull become apparent.
Her armor was planking made up of a series of interlocking bars
measuring 3-4 inches in thickness.
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USS
Galena
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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On her foray up the James, the Galena
acted as the flagship of a small flotilla that included the
Aroostock and the Port Royal. By May 13, she was joined by the
Monitor and the Naugatuck. The flotilla's orders were to proceed
up the river to Richmond and destroy all Confederate river defense
forts along the way.
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Confederate
Batteries at Drewery's Bluff, Virginia
From the Collections of The Mariners' Museum
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About twelve miles southeast of Richmond
was a high point of land rising over the James called Drewry's
Bluff. The bluff rose some 100 feet above the river and commanded
a sweeping bend . There Confederate forces constructed a redoubt
named Fort Darling. Originally armed with three guns manned
by the Southside Heavy Artillery and the Bedford Artillery,
Fort Darling's defenses were augmented by the arrival of sailors
under the command of Lieutenant Catesby Jones who had, ironically,
been transferred from the CSS Virginia. Jones and his men placed
five additional cannon within the fort. Rifle pits manned by
soldiers and marines added to the fire power of the Confederate
stronghold. To better channel the flow of ships past the fort's
guns, hulks were sunk in the river about 300 yards in front
of the bluff.
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The Monitor from the James River to Cape Hatteras:
May-December, 1862
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Loss of the Monitor - Francis Butts
Chronology of Sinking
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