page_title: Battle of Trent's Reach
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Trent's Reach / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: The Wreck of the Gunboat CSS Drewry (Almost Certainly): Library of Congress LC-B815- 1124. ORN Series I Vol. 11:669, 688-689.
context_page_description: The Battle of Trent's Reach was one of the final major naval battles 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.
context_section_description: 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 were 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, Radford 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 
caption: An image from 1865 believed to show the wreck of CSS Drewry in the James River.
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