Battle of Trent's Reach
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Trent's Reach, or the Second Battle of Fort Brady, was one of the final major naval battle
s of the American Civil War
. Beginning on January 23, 1865, a powerful flotilla of Confederate warships bombarded Fort Brady
along the James River
and engaged four Union Navy
ships with the intention of breaking through the blockade
to attack City Point
, the base of General
Ulysses S. Grant
who was besieging Petersburg
, Virginia
. After two days of fighting the rebels withdrew back up the river without completing their objectives.
John K. Mitchell who commanded the James River Squadron
in his flagship
, the ironclad
CSS Fredericksburg
. Weighing an estimated 2,500 tons, the Fredericksburg was a formidable opponent armed with one 11-inch smoothbore cannon
and three smaller rifled
guns. The ironclad rams CSS Richmond
and CSS Virginia II
also participated in the attack. Richmond weighed an estimated 800 tons and carried six guns. The 650 ton Virginia II was armed with four guns and had a crew of about 150 officers and men, the same complement as the other two ironclads. Confederate forces deployed eight other vessels, three of which were lashed to the sides of the ironclads and the torpedo boat
CSS Scorpion
was towed down river by the gunboat
Drewry
. The other vessels were the gunboats Nansemond, Hampton
, Beaufort
and Torpedo, each armed with one or two guns and displacing 100 to 200 tons. The torpedo boats CSS Wasp and CSS Hornet were the last two ships in the fleet. All three of the torpedo boats carried only one spar torpedo
and they were not used in the engagement at Trent's Reach. Commodore Mitchell's orders were to take his squadron down the James River to attack a supply base at City Point which belonged to General Grant's Union Army
that had recently taken over the area as part of the Petersburg Campaign
. However, to get to the base, the rebels had to fight their way past multiple obstacles in and along the river, including warships, a naval mine
field and net, Fort Brady
, and four shore batteries.
Naval mines, then known as torpedo
s, were widely used in the war due to their effectiveness, so to keep the rebels from sailing down the James River, the federals established a line of them from bank to bank, behind it was a net in case any of the explosives came free. The Union fortifications were under the command of Colonel
Henry H. Pierce of the 1st Connecticut Artillery, mounting over thirty guns altogether. The naval forces were under Captain
William A. Parker of the James River Flotilla, who led his force from the 2,592 ton ironclad monitor
USS Onondaga
which carried two 15-inch smoothbore Dahlgren gun
s and two 150-pounder Parrott rifle
s. At the time Onondaga was the only Union monitor on the river though she was accompanied by the side-wheel gunboats USS Massasoit
and USS Hunchback. USS Massasoit was a large ship, weighing 974 tons, so she was fitted out for ten guns of different sizes, including two 100-pounders. Hunchback weighed 512 tons and had an armament of four guns, one a 100-pounder. The small torpedo boat Spuyten Duyvil
was involved in the battle as well, though because she was an experimental craft, equipped with a spar, the vessel did not participate in any actual fighting.
The Confederate Navy
's attack began on the night of January 23 of 1865. Commodore Mitchell lifted anchor at Chaffin's Bluff
just after sunset, his first task would be to sneak by the Union battery on Signal Hill
and Fort Brady in the darkness. Colonel Pierce reported that at 8:00 pm one of his lookouts on the fort's parapet
spotted the three rebel ironclads and a few of the other vessels moving down the river so immediately Pierce ordered his gunners to begin firing. The first shot of the battle was from a "heavy gun" mounted in the fort, it was followed by additional rounds from the battery. Due to the "mal-construction" of Fort Brady, as Pierce said, the artillery could not be fired down river so not long after the rebels were spotted they were out of range of the Union guns and thus slipped by apparently without damage or casualties. Some twenty-five rounds were discharged by the federal gunners in this first action. After getting past the fort, Commodore Mitchell continued on for the naval mine field at Trent's Reach. Meanwhile, two Confederate batteries, consisting of at least sixteen cannon, opened up on Pierce's position and continued to bombard it throughout the night. The Union garrison
returned fire and in the exchange one 100-pounder in the fort was destroyed though Colonel Pierce reported having dislodged two rebel pieces before receiving orders to cease the engagement.
The Confederates arrived at Trent's Reach at 10:30 pm, CSS Richmond and Virginia II were anchored a half a mile from the obstruction to provide covering fire while the Fredericksburg and a few of the smaller vessels cleared the way. Among the mine field was the hulks of several sunken vessels, in between them there was placed a spar torpedo, preventing any ship from passing through. The crew of the Fredericksburg went to work on removing the spar while the three torpedo boats under Lieutenant
Charles "Savvy" Read, made a reconnaissance of the channel. All of this was done under "a perfect rain of missiles" from three Union shore batteries and sharpshooters who were in control of the area. Clearing the obstruction lasted into the next morning. By this time the few federal warships in the area had been dispatched to defend Trent's Reach, USS Ononadaga was the first to make it to the battle area but Captain Parker decided to withdraw back down river to a pontoon bridge at Aiken's Landing where he would have more maneuverability in a fight. Parker was later criticized for not engaging the rebels as soon as possible and he defended himself by stating that he thought his "chances of capturing the whole fleet would be increased by allowing them [the rebels] to come down river to the bridge."
The action at Trent's Reach then ceased until the next day when General Grant was informed of the situation. The general, who was not happy about Captain Parker's decision to withdraw, ordered the Onondaga to form up with the gunboats Massasoit and Hunchback for an attack on the rebel fleet. The Spuyten Duyvil had arrived in the area on the night before, under orders from Rear Admiral
David Dixon Porter
to sink any of the ironclads that attempt to sail on to City Point in the darkness. Parker refused to attack though and after Grant complained to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
, the captain was relieved of duty. President
Abraham Lincoln
suggested that Admiral
David G. Farragut take command of the operations. Admiral Farragut, who led federal forces in the New Orleans Campaign, was elsewhere at the time so while he made it to the James, Commodore William Radford
was placed in charge temporarily. However, Nichols was on board the USS New Ironsides at Norfolk
so the defense of the James fell onto the second officer of Onondaga, Commander
Edward T. Nichols, who Grant had expressed confidence in. But when it came time for battle, Captain Parker re-assumed authority and led the federal attack on January 24.
Fortunately for the Union, four of the rebel ships grounded when the tide lowered that morning. At 1:45 am, Commodore Mitchell and his men finished clearing the obstructions so he steamed the Fredericksburg back over to where the remaining ships were anchored. It was then that Mitchell discovered the Virginia II, the Richmond, the Drewry, and the Scorpion were all resting on the river bottom and could not be freed until high tide which would come at about 11:00 am. The situation was complicated further at day break when the Union batteries started to become more accurate. The Richmond was hit repeatedly by artillery rounds but her armor protected her from serious damage. It was different for the unarmored gunboats, because these ships were mainly wooden vessels, they were "torn to pieces" by enemy fire. Drewry was so heavily damaged that her crew abandoned ship just in time because fifteen minutes later, at 6:55 am, a round from one of the batteries ignited the vessel's powder magazine. Instantly the gunboat exploded violently and sank. The large shock wave also heavily damaged the nearby Scorpion which had to be abandoned as well. Two men were killed on the torpedo boat and it sank along with the Drewry. To make matters worse for Commodore Mitchell, at 10:30 am lookouts spotted the Onondaga, the two gunboats, and the Spuyten Duyvil heading for them.
At 10:45 am, the Onondaga opened up on the grounded ironclads at a distance of around a half of a mile but the rebels could not return the fire because of the positions in which their ships were stuck, Mitchell wrote; "During the whole time while aground, neither the Richmond nor the Virginia [II] could get a gun to bear upon the enemy." By 11:00 am the tide had been lifting for hours and just when it seemed that the Confederates were helpless to resist, their ironclads began to float again and their guns were brought to bear. Onondaga fired around seven rounds at Virginia II and when she was refloated a single shot was returned that, according to Mitchell, was "observed to take effect" upon the monitor. The naval duel did not last long compared to the other actions and it ended as the Confederates withdrew up river a short distance. The Union ships did the same and they pulled off heading down stream but the batteries kept firing all day and night. At 9:00 pm Commodore Mitchell ordered his men to make the final cruise to City Point but it was found that the Virginia II was unmanagible. She had been struck by cannon fire seventy times already and it caused steam to leak from the ironclad's deck which impaired the pilots visibility. The Drewry and the Scorpion were lost and one other torpedo boat was disabled by the federals.
Union troops had also erected "Drummonds lights" that illuminated the area around the mine field, allowing the batteries to fire nearly as accurate at night as they had in the daytime. It finally became apparent to Mitchell that the mission was lost so on the next morning, at 2:45 am, the rebel fleet was turned around and went back up the James. The battle at Trent's Reach was over but in order for the rebels to get back to friendly waters they had to pass by Fort Brady and the Signal Hill battery. When the time came another exchange of artillery ensued but this time the rebels stayed a while to try to silence the Union gunners. Colonel Pierce expected the ironclad to return so while they were engaging at Trent's Reach the garrison of Fort Brady, and the surrounding batteries, focused on improving the defenses of their positions. Pierce placed pickets down the river and at 3:00 am one of them returned and told the colonel that the rebels were coming back. When the fighting began again it was described as being very intense but at no time were the Confederates able to silence the Union guns and they eventually broke off the action. Between 1,000 and 1,500 rounds were fired by Mitchell's ships in this final battle.
, who commanded CSS Alabama
in her battle with USS Kearsarge
off Cherbourg, France
. Exactly two months after the battle, the Petersburg Campaign ended with General Robert E. Lee
's final decision to evacuate the city. When the Southern capital of Richmond fell on April 5, the James River Squadron was scuttle
d to prevent their falling into enemy hands. The battle of Trent's Reach was the last important naval engagement of the Main Eastern Theater
.
Confederate States Navy:
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
s of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Beginning on January 23, 1865, a powerful flotilla of Confederate warships bombarded Fort Brady
Fort Brady
Colonel Hugh Brady established Fort Brady at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan Territory in 1822 to guard against British incursions from Canada.The garrison at the fort protected exclusive American sovereignty over the northern frontier...
along the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
and engaged four Union Navy
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...
ships with the intention of breaking through the blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
to attack City Point
City Point, Virginia
City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...
, the base of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
who was besieging Petersburg
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. After two days of fighting the rebels withdrew back up the river without completing their objectives.
Background
Confederate forces were under the direction of CommodoreCommodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
John K. Mitchell who commanded the James River Squadron
James River Squadron
The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of the State of Virginia as part of the Virginia State Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River, which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond...
in his flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, the ironclad
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
CSS Fredericksburg
CSS Fredericksburg
CSS Fredericksburg was an ironclad of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.Fredericksburg was built at Richmond, Virginia in 1862-63. The CSS Fredericksburg was the second ironclad to be completed in Richmond. On November 30, 1863 she was reported completed and awaiting armament...
. Weighing an estimated 2,500 tons, the Fredericksburg was a formidable opponent armed with one 11-inch smoothbore cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and three smaller rifled
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
guns. The ironclad rams CSS Richmond
CSS Richmond
CSS Richmond, an ironclad ram, was built at Gosport Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of Virginia, whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad CSS Virginia. Consequently she was sometimes referred to as Virginia II, Virginia No. 2...
and CSS Virginia II
CSS Virginia II
CSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her building. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's...
also participated in the attack. Richmond weighed an estimated 800 tons and carried six guns. The 650 ton Virginia II was armed with four guns and had a crew of about 150 officers and men, the same complement as the other two ironclads. Confederate forces deployed eight other vessels, three of which were lashed to the sides of the ironclads and the torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
CSS Scorpion
CSS Scorpion
CSS Scorpion was a Squib-class torpedo boat procured late in 1864 by the Confederate States Navy and armed with a spar torpedo fitted to her stem. She performed picket duty in the James River under command of Lieutenant E. Lakin, CSN....
was towed down river by the gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
Drewry
CSS Drewry
CSS Drewry was a wooden gunboat with foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest's James River Squadron sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN, in command....
. The other vessels were the gunboats Nansemond, Hampton
CSS Hampton
CSS Hampton was a wooden gunboat of the Confederate States Navy, one of the few Hampton class gunboats to be built.Hampton was built at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1862 and based there until May 1862, when the yard was abandoned and the fleet moved up the James River...
, Beaufort
CSS Beaufort
The CSS Beaufort was an iron hull gunboat that served in North Carolina and Virginia during the Civil War.The Beaufort was originally called the Caledonia. She was built at the Pusey & Jones Company of Wilmington, Delaware in 1854. The Caledonia operated out of Edenton, North Carolina. In 1856...
and Torpedo, each armed with one or two guns and displacing 100 to 200 tons. The torpedo boats CSS Wasp and CSS Hornet were the last two ships in the fleet. All three of the torpedo boats carried only one spar torpedo
Spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...
and they were not used in the engagement at Trent's Reach. Commodore Mitchell's orders were to take his squadron down the James River to attack a supply base at City Point which belonged to General Grant's Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
that had recently taken over the area as part of the Petersburg Campaign
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
. However, to get to the base, the rebels had to fight their way past multiple obstacles in and along the river, including warships, a naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
field and net, Fort Brady
Fort Brady
Colonel Hugh Brady established Fort Brady at Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan Territory in 1822 to guard against British incursions from Canada.The garrison at the fort protected exclusive American sovereignty over the northern frontier...
, and four shore batteries.
Naval mines, then known as torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
s, were widely used in the war due to their effectiveness, so to keep the rebels from sailing down the James River, the federals established a line of them from bank to bank, behind it was a net in case any of the explosives came free. The Union fortifications were under the command of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Henry H. Pierce of the 1st Connecticut Artillery, mounting over thirty guns altogether. The naval forces were under Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
William A. Parker of the James River Flotilla, who led his force from the 2,592 ton ironclad monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
USS Onondaga
USS Onondaga (1864)
USS Onondaga was a monitor acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Onondaga spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla, covering the water approaches to Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War's last year...
which carried two 15-inch smoothbore Dahlgren gun
Dahlgren gun
Dahlgren guns were muzzle loading naval artillery designed by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren USN, mostly used in the period of the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32-pounder being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner...
s and two 150-pounder Parrott rifle
Parrott rifle
The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.-Parrott Rifle:The gun was invented by Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He resigned from the service in 1836 and became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in Cold...
s. At the time Onondaga was the only Union monitor on the river though she was accompanied by the side-wheel gunboats USS Massasoit
USS Massasoit (1863)
USS Massasoit was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy for anti-raider duty, bombardment duty, dispatch duty, and as a gunboat stationed off Confederate ports to prevent their trading with foreign countries.- Launched in Boston in 1863...
and USS Hunchback. USS Massasoit was a large ship, weighing 974 tons, so she was fitted out for ten guns of different sizes, including two 100-pounders. Hunchback weighed 512 tons and had an armament of four guns, one a 100-pounder. The small torpedo boat Spuyten Duyvil
USS Spuyten Duyvil (1864)
During the American Civil War, the Union Navy suffered heavy losses from the explosion of Confederate torpedoes. This experience prompted the Union Navy to design and build vessels capable of using this new weapon...
was involved in the battle as well, though because she was an experimental craft, equipped with a spar, the vessel did not participate in any actual fighting.
Battle
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
's attack began on the night of January 23 of 1865. Commodore Mitchell lifted anchor at Chaffin's Bluff
Chaffin's Bluff
Chaffin's Bluff is located in Henrico County, Virginia, United States, along the James River. Chaffin's Bluff on the north side of the river opposite Drewry's Bluff, long-considered a major defense point of the river below Richmond...
just after sunset, his first task would be to sneak by the Union battery on Signal Hill
Signal Hill
-Places:in Canada * Signal Hill, Calgary, neighborhood and hill in Calgary, Alberta* Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, provincial electoral district for the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Canada...
and Fort Brady in the darkness. Colonel Pierce reported that at 8:00 pm one of his lookouts on the fort's parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
spotted the three rebel ironclads and a few of the other vessels moving down the river so immediately Pierce ordered his gunners to begin firing. The first shot of the battle was from a "heavy gun" mounted in the fort, it was followed by additional rounds from the battery. Due to the "mal-construction" of Fort Brady, as Pierce said, the artillery could not be fired down river so not long after the rebels were spotted they were out of range of the Union guns and thus slipped by apparently without damage or casualties. Some twenty-five rounds were discharged by the federal gunners in this first action. After getting past the fort, Commodore Mitchell continued on for the naval mine field at Trent's Reach. Meanwhile, two Confederate batteries, consisting of at least sixteen cannon, opened up on Pierce's position and continued to bombard it throughout the night. The Union garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
returned fire and in the exchange one 100-pounder in the fort was destroyed though Colonel Pierce reported having dislodged two rebel pieces before receiving orders to cease the engagement.
The Confederates arrived at Trent's Reach at 10:30 pm, CSS Richmond and Virginia II were anchored a half a mile from the obstruction to provide covering fire while the Fredericksburg and a few of the smaller vessels cleared the way. Among the mine field was the hulks of several sunken vessels, in between them there was placed a spar torpedo, preventing any ship from passing through. The crew of the Fredericksburg went to work on removing the spar while the three torpedo boats under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Charles "Savvy" Read, made a reconnaissance of the channel. All of this was done under "a perfect rain of missiles" from three Union shore batteries and sharpshooters who were in control of the area. Clearing the obstruction lasted into the next morning. By this time the few federal warships in the area had been dispatched to defend Trent's Reach, USS Ononadaga was the first to make it to the battle area but Captain Parker decided to withdraw back down river to a pontoon bridge at Aiken's Landing where he would have more maneuverability in a fight. Parker was later criticized for not engaging the rebels as soon as possible and he defended himself by stating that he thought his "chances of capturing the whole fleet would be increased by allowing them [the rebels] to come down river to the bridge."
The action at Trent's Reach then ceased until the next day when General Grant was informed of the situation. The general, who was not happy about Captain Parker's decision to withdraw, ordered the Onondaga to form up with the gunboats Massasoit and Hunchback for an attack on the rebel fleet. The Spuyten Duyvil had arrived in the area on the night before, under orders from Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter
David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
to sink any of the ironclads that attempt to sail on to City Point in the darkness. Parker refused to attack though and after Grant complained to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
, the captain was relieved of duty. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
suggested that Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
David G. Farragut take command of the operations. Admiral Farragut, who led federal forces in the New Orleans Campaign, was elsewhere at the time so while he made it to the James, Commodore William Radford
William Radford
William Radford was an rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...
was placed in charge temporarily. However, Nichols was on board the USS New Ironsides at Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
so the defense of the James fell onto the second officer of Onondaga, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Edward T. Nichols, who Grant had expressed confidence in. But when it came time for battle, Captain Parker re-assumed authority and led the federal attack on January 24.
Fortunately for the Union, four of the rebel ships grounded when the tide lowered that morning. At 1:45 am, Commodore Mitchell and his men finished clearing the obstructions so he steamed the Fredericksburg back over to where the remaining ships were anchored. It was then that Mitchell discovered the Virginia II, the Richmond, the Drewry, and the Scorpion were all resting on the river bottom and could not be freed until high tide which would come at about 11:00 am. The situation was complicated further at day break when the Union batteries started to become more accurate. The Richmond was hit repeatedly by artillery rounds but her armor protected her from serious damage. It was different for the unarmored gunboats, because these ships were mainly wooden vessels, they were "torn to pieces" by enemy fire. Drewry was so heavily damaged that her crew abandoned ship just in time because fifteen minutes later, at 6:55 am, a round from one of the batteries ignited the vessel's powder magazine. Instantly the gunboat exploded violently and sank. The large shock wave also heavily damaged the nearby Scorpion which had to be abandoned as well. Two men were killed on the torpedo boat and it sank along with the Drewry. To make matters worse for Commodore Mitchell, at 10:30 am lookouts spotted the Onondaga, the two gunboats, and the Spuyten Duyvil heading for them.
Union troops had also erected "Drummonds lights" that illuminated the area around the mine field, allowing the batteries to fire nearly as accurate at night as they had in the daytime. It finally became apparent to Mitchell that the mission was lost so on the next morning, at 2:45 am, the rebel fleet was turned around and went back up the James. The battle at Trent's Reach was over but in order for the rebels to get back to friendly waters they had to pass by Fort Brady and the Signal Hill battery. When the time came another exchange of artillery ensued but this time the rebels stayed a while to try to silence the Union gunners. Colonel Pierce expected the ironclad to return so while they were engaging at Trent's Reach the garrison of Fort Brady, and the surrounding batteries, focused on improving the defenses of their positions. Pierce placed pickets down the river and at 3:00 am one of them returned and told the colonel that the rebels were coming back. When the fighting began again it was described as being very intense but at no time were the Confederates able to silence the Union guns and they eventually broke off the action. Between 1,000 and 1,500 rounds were fired by Mitchell's ships in this final battle.
Aftermath
Three Union troops were known to have been killed in the battle and more that forty were slightly wounded by splinters. The Onondaga was only slightly damaged in the action and none of her crew are known to have been harmed. According to official records the rebels lost four killed on the Drewry and the Scorpion plus fifteen wounded. However, some sources cite the rebels as having lost at least six men on the Virginia II alone. Ultimately the Confederate force failed in its main objective of attacking City Point and they had to return to Chaffin's Bluff with nothing to show for the advance other than a mess for ships, most of which sustained some type of battle damage. Commodore Mitchell was relieved of command and replaced by Admiral Raphael SemmesRaphael Semmes
For other uses, see Semmes .Raphael Semmes was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 - 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 - 1865. During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama, taking a record sixty-nine prizes...
, who commanded CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
in her battle with USS Kearsarge
USS Kearsarge (1861)
USS Kearsarge, a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, is best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War. The Kearsarge was the only ship of the United States Navy named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire...
off Cherbourg, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Exactly two months after the battle, the Petersburg Campaign ended with General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's final decision to evacuate the city. When the Southern capital of Richmond fell on April 5, the James River Squadron was scuttle
Scuttle
Scuttle may refer to:*Scuttling, the deliberate sinking of one's own ship*Coal scuttle, a bucket-like container for coal*Shaving scuttle, a teapot-like container for hot water*Scuttle, a fictional character in Disney's The Little Mermaid...
d to prevent their falling into enemy hands. The battle of Trent's Reach was the last important naval engagement of the Main Eastern Theater
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
.
Order of Battle
United States Navy:- USS OnondagaUSS Onondaga (1864)USS Onondaga was a monitor acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Onondaga spent her entire active career with the James River Flotilla, covering the water approaches to Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War's last year...
, monitorMonitor (warship)A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
, 2,592 tonsLong tonLong ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
, 4 gunsNaval artilleryNaval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
, flagshipFlagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag... - USS MassasoitUSS Massasoit (1863)USS Massasoit was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy for anti-raider duty, bombardment duty, dispatch duty, and as a gunboat stationed off Confederate ports to prevent their trading with foreign countries.- Launched in Boston in 1863...
, gunboatGunboatA gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
, 974 tons, 10 guns - USS Hunchback, gunboat, 512 tons, 4 guns
- USS Spuyten DuyvilUSS Spuyten Duyvil (1864)During the American Civil War, the Union Navy suffered heavy losses from the explosion of Confederate torpedoes. This experience prompted the Union Navy to design and build vessels capable of using this new weapon...
, torpedo boatTorpedo boatA torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
, 207 tons, 1 spar torpedoSpar torpedoA spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls...
Confederate States Navy:
- CSS FredericksburgCSS FredericksburgCSS Fredericksburg was an ironclad of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War.Fredericksburg was built at Richmond, Virginia in 1862-63. The CSS Fredericksburg was the second ironclad to be completed in Richmond. On November 30, 1863 she was reported completed and awaiting armament...
, ironclad, 2,500 tons, 4 guns, flagship - CSS RichmondCSS RichmondCSS Richmond, an ironclad ram, was built at Gosport Navy Yard to the design of John L. Porter with money and scrap iron collected by the citizens of Virginia, whose imagination had been captured by the ironclad CSS Virginia. Consequently she was sometimes referred to as Virginia II, Virginia No. 2...
, ironclad, 850 tons, 6 guns - CSS Viginia IICSS Virginia IICSS Virginia II was a Confederate Navy steam-powered ironclad ram laid down in 1862 at the William Graves' shipyard in Richmond, Virginia. Acting Constructor William A. Graves, CSN, was the superintendent in charge of her building. In order to conserve scarce iron plating, he ordered the ship's...
, ironclad, 600 tons, 4 guns - CSS HamptonCSS HamptonCSS Hampton was a wooden gunboat of the Confederate States Navy, one of the few Hampton class gunboats to be built.Hampton was built at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1862 and based there until May 1862, when the yard was abandoned and the fleet moved up the James River...
, gunboat, 166 tons, 2 guns - CSS DrewryCSS DrewryCSS Drewry was a wooden gunboat with foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest's James River Squadron sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN, in command....
, gunboat, 166 tons, 2 guns - CSS Nansemond, gunboat, 166 tons, 2 guns
- CSS BeaufortCSS BeaufortThe CSS Beaufort was an iron hull gunboat that served in North Carolina and Virginia during the Civil War.The Beaufort was originally called the Caledonia. She was built at the Pusey & Jones Company of Wilmington, Delaware in 1854. The Caledonia operated out of Edenton, North Carolina. In 1856...
, gunboat, 85 tons, 1 gun - CSS Torpedo, gunboat
- CSS ScorpionCSS ScorpionCSS Scorpion was a Squib-class torpedo boat procured late in 1864 by the Confederate States Navy and armed with a spar torpedo fitted to her stem. She performed picket duty in the James River under command of Lieutenant E. Lakin, CSN....
, torpedo boat, 2,147 tons, 1 spar torpedo - CSS Wasp, torpedo boat, 1 spar torpedo
- CSS Hornet, torpedo boat, 1 spar torpedo