Drewry's Bluff
Fort Darling, Fort Drewry
Civil War Virginia


American Civil War
Naval Action May 15, 1862


"View of the Attack on Fort Darling, in the James River, by Commander Rogers's Gun-Boat Flotilla, 'Galena', 'Monitor'"

Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", January-June 1862, page 337
Depicting USS Galena at the head of the attacking force with USS Monitor off her starboard quarter.
Among the other ships, the gunboat Naugatuck is identifiable in the lower right. The city of Richmond, Virginia, is shown in the left center distance.

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Union Ironclad
Union River Ironclad 1861-65
At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads




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Ironclad vs Monitor

Confederate Ironclad vs Union Ironclad: Hampton Roads 1862
The Ironclad was a revolutionary weapon of war. Although iron was used for protection in the Far East during the 16th century, it was the 19th century and the American Civil War that heralded the first modern armored self-propelled warships.


Uss Galena Ironclad
Uss Galena Ironclad Giclee Print
24 in. x 18 in.
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Framed   Mounted

Bombardment of Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, 15 May 1862

Artwork published in "Deeds of Valor", Volume II, page 27, by the Perrien-Keydel Company, Detroit, 1907
Dedepicting USS Galena in action against the Confederate batteries at Drewry's Bluff.

Coastal Forts
American Civil War Fortifications
Coastal Brick and Stone Forts

The design, construction and operational history of fortifications, such as Fort Sumter, Fort Morgan and Fort Pulaski. Stone and brick forts stretched from New England to the Florida Keys, and as far as the Mississippi River. A handful of key sites remained in Union hands throughout the war, the remainder had to be won back through bombardment or assault.

Monitor on the James River


Contemporary pencil sketch by F.H. Wilcke
Depicting the Union warships USS Galena , USS Monitor , USS Aroostook , Port Royal and Naugatuck (listed as shown, left to right)
under the command of Commander John Rodgers, bombarding the Confederate fort at Drewry's Bluff.

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Naval Strategies

Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
Compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Mallory, against his rival in the North, Welles. Mallory used technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers

 

Contemporary pencil sketch, with colors of flags and smoke lightly worked in, depicting the Union ships Galena, Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck (listed as shown, left to right) bombarding the Confederate fort at Drewry's Bluff.

Monitor
Year on a Monitor and the Destruction of Fort Sumter
Personal view of the Civil War Navy. The monitor saw action in several significant naval assaults by the Union's Squadron. It took part in the failed Federal attack on Sumter in April 1863. The "Nahant" also participated in the capture of the Confederate Ram "Atlanta," and in the assault on Fort Wagner

 

Sketch, possibly by Edward H. Schmidt (a crewman on USS Mahaska).

Items identified by numbers include:
1. USS Mahaska ; 2. Schooner N.C. Claver ; 3. tug Dragon ; 4. USS Monitor ; 5. USS Wachusett ; 6. chartered steamer; 7. a schooner; 8. a gunboat; 9. USS Galena , disabled; 10.

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CSS Arkansas
The CSS Arkansas: A Confederate Ironclad on Western Waters

While the Monitor and Merrimack are the most famous of the Civil War ironclads, the Confederacy had another ship in its flotilla that carried high hopes and a metal hull. The makeshift CSS Arkansas, completed by Lt. Isaac Newton Brown and manned by a mixed crew of volunteers, gave the South a surge of confidence when it launched in 1862.


Drewry's Bluff - Fort Darling Virginia
Civil War Naval Ships and Battles
Civil War Naval Books
Civil War Battle Maps by State
Civil War Submarines
Union Hardtack Recipes
Civil War Picture Album
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Summary


Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
U.S. Naval Archives