May 16, 1864---The Battle of Drewry's Bluff; The Battle of Proctor's Creek

MAY 16, 1864: 

The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff (The Battle of Fort Darling):

The ironclads U.S.S. MONITOR and U.S.S. GALENA sail up the James River toward Richmond, testing the outer defenses of the city. The river is chock-full of obstructions, and Fort Darling overlooks the river bank about five miles from the city. After exchanging fire with the fort, the two ships turn about. 

 

The Battle of Proctor’s Creek:

As the MONITOR and the GALENA steam upriver on the James, General Benjamin Butler U.S.A. leads some 30,000 men from his base in The Bermuda Hundred against 18,000 Confederates in the region, testing Richmond’s defenses by land. In fact, Drewry's Bluff and Proctor's Creek are sometimes counted as a single action. 

Butler is overcautious, and this allows General P.G.T. Beauregard C.S.A. to concentrate his forces on Butler’s right flank, which begins to cave in. Lost in a heavy fog, Butler decides he cannot risk his men, and withdraws back to The Bermuda Hundred. There were 6,600 casualties overall, mostly Union men. 

Like Sigel in the west, Butler has proven himself timid in the east. Grant, who is battling toe-to-toe with Lee in the center, cannot count on any distraction of Confederate forces from the flanks.