Fort Darling: Difference between revisions

▲[[File:CScolumbiadFtDarling.jpg|thumb|left|One the 8 inch Columbiad guns]]

▲Then on May 15, 5 Union Navy vessels steamed towards Richmond. Led by [[John Rodgers (American Civil War naval officer)|Commander John Rodger]], the [[Monitor (warship)|Monitor]], [[USS Galena (1862)|Galena]], Port Royal, [[USS Aroostook (1861)|Aroostook]] and [[USRC Naugatuck|Naugatuck]]<ref name=naval>{{cite web|title=American Civil War Naval Action May 15, 1862|url=http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/Drewry_Bluff_Union_Navy.html|publisher=americancivilwar.com|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref> engaged the defenses at Fort Darling at 7.45am.<ref name=government>{{cite web}}</ref> The concussion from the 10-pounder was so strong that eight miles away the windows in Richmond rattled with the firing of the Confederate's cannons; however, it broke its casing with the first shot and was inactive for the rest of the battle.

▲[[File:Bombardment of Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, 15 May 1862.jpg|thumb|left|The 5 Union ships lined up against FOrt Darling, Richmond's only defense]]

▲For 3 hours and 20 minutes the battle ensued. The fire from Fort Darling high on the bluff and the battery on the riverside made it too dangerous for the 3 wooden ships to advance, the ironclad Monitor and Galena advanced on the defenders. However the Monitors guns could not elevate enough to hit the fort.<ref name="government">{{cite web}}</ref> In the end Galena stood alone, but after 18 hits pierced her armor and caused fires to start the battle was called off and Rodgers turned around. It became known as the [[Battle of Drewry's Bluff]]

▲==Preparations==

▲For two years Fort Darling saw no more action, in that time the naval Captain [[Sydney Smith Lee]] (General E. Lee's brother) took command. Defenses were strengthened along with better accommodations, barracks, chapel, etc.<ref name=jstor>{{cite web|last=Kay|first=William Kennon|title=Drewry's Bluff or Fort Darling?|url=http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4247473?uid=3738752&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21101313700723|publisher=www.jstor.org|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref> In that time Fort Darling served as a training site for training ground for the Confederate Naval Academy, as well as the [[Confederate States Marine Corps|Confederate Marine Corps]] Camp of Instruction.<ref name=government>{{cite web}}</ref>

▲Then on May 5, 1864 the Union returned, this time landing 30,000 troops at [[Bermuda Hundred, Virginia|Bermuda Hundred]] only 15 miles south of Richmond, under the command of Major General [[Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)|Benjamin F. Butler]]. Within a few days they had reached Fort Darling managing to take over some of the outer defenses, but indecisive generals failed to consolidate their hold. Soon 18,000 Confederate infantry under General P.G.T Beauregard arrived and routed the attackers on May 16. Fort Darling and Richmond had again seen the Union driven off.<ref name=second>{{cite web|title=Proctor’s Creek|url=http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va053.htm|publisher=www.nps.gov|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref>

▲Following the [[Battle of Namozine Church]] began the evacuation of [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]] and Richmond on April 2, 1865. The troops, marines and sailors of Fort Darling joined the movement westwards and eventually surrendered after the [[Battle of Appomattox Court House]] on April 9. On April 4 the obstacles in the James River were cleared and [[Abraham Lincoln]] passed the fort on his way to Richmond.<ref name=government>{{cite web}}</ref>