CSS Drewry was a wooden 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:...

 with foredeck protected by an iron V-shaped shield. Classed as a tender, she was attached to Flag Officer French Forrest

French Forrest

French Forrest was an American naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later the Confederate States Navy. His combat experience prior to the American Civil War included service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:Born in Maryland, he became a...

's 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...

 sometime in 1863 with Master Lewis Parrish, CSN

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...

, in command.

In addition to transporting troops and other routine service, she took part in several engagements along the river prior to January 24, 1865, when, in Trent's Reach, she was destroyed by two shots from a 100-pounder rifle in a battery of the 1st Connecticut Artillery. The second hit exploded her magazine as she assisted 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...

 to get afloat; all but two of her crew had reached safety before the explosion.

Commanders

The commanders of the CSS Drewry were:

• William Harwar Parker
  William Harwar Parker
  William Harwar Parker was an officer in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. His auto-biography, entitled Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841-1865, provides a unique insight into the United States Navy of the mid-19th century during an era when the Age of Sail was...
  
   (May-fall 1862)
• Master Lewis Parrish (around October 1863-May 1864)
• Lieutenant William B. Hall (May 19-May 21, 1864)
• Lieutenant William H. Wall (June 1864-January 23, 1865)