Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

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• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: Battle of Drewry's Bluff, Bellwood, Chesterfield County, VA
• Other Title: Fort Darling
• Creator(s): Historic American Landscapes Survey, creator
• Related Names:
     Rodgers, John
     Farrand, Ebenezer
     Stevens, Chris , transmitter
     Lieberman , volunteer
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 2000
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 1
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HALS VA-27
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: 1) Union Navy Commodore John Rodgers thought it feasible to reach Richmond by following the James River. On May 15, 1862, about 8 A.M., Rodgers led five warships—U.S.S. Galena, Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal, and Naugatuck—upstream to open fire on Fort Darling, the fort that contested passage of the river. 2) The Confederate garrison of the Fort Darling atop Drewry’s Bluff, directed by naval Commander Ebenezer Farrand and local landowner Augustus Drewry, delivered a heavy and accurate artillery fire against the Union warships at a range of from 600 to 1,300 yards. Many of the Union gunners found themselves at a disadvantage because they could not elevate their guns enough to strike the fort. A big hundred-pounder Parrott rifle on the Naugatuck exploded, putting the ship out of action. Confederate sharpshooters lining the bank harassed sailors on the Union ships, picked off gunners, and wounded the captain of Port Royal. 3) After three hours, Commodore Rodgers recognized that he could not pass the fort or the sunken ships and other obstacles placed in the river and ordered his ships to drop back downstream out of range. Rodgers’ flagship, U.S.S. Galena, was struck by shot and shell forty-five times with losses of fourteen sailors killed and ten wounded. The Monitor was struck numerous times but its heavier armor deflected serious damage. The defenders of Fort Darling were celebrated in the Confederate capital for repulsing the powerful U.S. Navy with losses of seven killed and eight wounded. The U. S. Navy did not again attempt the river passage to Richmond.
  • Survey number: HALS VA-27
• Subjects:
  • civil wars
  • battlefields
• Place:
  • Virginia -- Chesterfield County -- Bellwood
• Latitude/Longitude: 37.42167, -77.43778
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Landscapes Survey (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va2105/

Rights assessment is your responsibility.

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HALS VA-27
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 1

Rights assessment is your responsibility.

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• Call Number: HALS VA-27
• Medium: Measured Drawing(s): 1

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1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

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     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

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