Upcoming Drewry's Bluff NPS Walk

[Jerry43]

On Saturday May 17 at 10am, there will be a guided walk and talk about the significance of the battle of Drewry's Bluff in 1862. I hear that Park Ranger Anna Willis has some new info from her research.

It's also important that we make an effort to attend NPS sponsored events to show support in this time of budget and staff cuts. Richmond Battlefield Park lost one historian and one maintenance person in the recent DOGE purge. All NPS employees are required to submitt their current resumes by May 1 to their supervisors. So no jobs are safe as well as possible cut backs in visitor services and maintenance.

Beyond the River’s Edge: The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff 1862

Beyond the River’s Edge: The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff 1862 Join Park Ranger Anna Willis for a one-hour, one-mile guided walking tour of Drewry’s...

www.battlefields.org

 

[Jamieva]

I will try to make this!

 

[Belfoured]

I will try to make this!

If you can, post anything interesting that comes up.

 

[Jerry43]

Bump. It's tomorrow.

 

[Jamieva]

Bump. It's tomorrow.

On my calendar I will try to make it.

 

[Jerry43]

Also, of interest there will be the current state of dredging the channel below the fort and its hastening of the erosion of the riverfront face. Some of the wrecks sunk there as obstructions have been damaged over the years by dredging. Although today the main channel is supposedly clear of obstructions. In the late 1980's, there were plans to widen the channel there from 200 to 300 feet. At that time there was no survey done in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act. That project was halted because of that then. I haven't had to chance to research what has happened since.

 

[Jerry43]

 

[Jerry43]

Image Courtesy of: Liljenquist Family Collection, Library of Congress

View of Drewry's Bluff after the Battle.

 

[Jerry43]

Here's an update I just saw on the NPS FB page.
"Visitors will also be able to enjoy meeting with members of the Naval History and Heritage Command who will be onsite prior to the program with a display on US Naval History as part of Richmond Navy Week!"

 

[east_beast]

There was another major battle in this vicinity during the Peninsula Campaign. Sometimes referred to as Proctor's Creek, other times as the second battle of Drewry's Bluff. Evidently it was fought in fog so thick that you couldn't hardly see your hand in front of your face

 

[Jamieva]

So this walk focused on the 1862 battle. We had a decent group that showed up. A couple of interesting things we learned.

First, the NPS has identified one of the 7 dead from the battle. Those 7 dead were shooters along the shoreline. His name was Michael (forgot the last name). He was a landsman on the Virginia so when the boat got blown up they went up river. Hes buried in Oakwood Cemetery and they showed us a picture of his stone (numbered no name). They had a hard time finding him, he's nowhere to be found in the 1860 census. The ranger things its a issue with the name. He is the only 1 of the 7 they have identified, that is how poor CSA records are.

Then they talked about the Galena and the 14 dead. Those 14 were buried at Jamestown Island. There are no records they were moved after that, so NPS is in talks with the archaeology team at Jamestown to see if they can figure out where they are buried. they were not marked but they believe they are in the church cemetery. One of the 14 dead was a powder monkey. His name was James Weber and he was from New York. Then the ranger dropped the hammer on us. he was 14 years old. And then we saw his picture in his naval uniform. Boy that hit hard. He had written a letter home a day or 2 before the battle telling his parents he would write to let them know if he got hurt, but the notification of his death got to them before that last letter did.

Also someone asked a question about erosion. Mike Gorman was there doing the visual aids and he said the erosion of the bluffs is noticable since he's been working at Richmond, and it's inevitable that decades from now that site will be in the river. Just a matter of time.

And nice meeting @Jerry43 he came out as well!

 

[Jamieva]

Also, of interest there will be the current state of dredging the channel below the fort and its hastening of the erosion of the riverfront face. Some of the wrecks sunk there as obstructions have been damaged over the years by dredging. Although today the main channel is supposedly clear of obstructions. In the late 1980's, there were plans to widen the channel there from 200 to 300 feet. At that time there was no survey done in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act. That project was halted because of that then. I haven't had to chance to research what has happened since.

I think she means they dredged the main channel because the port of Richmond is further up river towards the city, so big boats go up and down the river past there. I agree they didnt dredge the whole thing there is still stuff down there. Not sure about that widening project.

 

[Jerry43]

At some point before 1988, the river dredging removed the underwater shelf of the shoreline immediately below the bluff. As you can imagine, that has been very detrimental in slowing the natural erosion of the river. In fact the opposite side has gained shoreline since the civil war as the river shifts.

Nice meeting Jamieva there and thanks for his update about what we learned. Ranger Anna and Ranger Mike were very enthusiastic and I am sure the 16 people who showed up enjoyed the tour.

If you note the industrial looking structure on the river, that was where the USS Galena turned broadside to fire on the fort. The Monitor moved up around the Galena and found it couldn't elevate its cannon high enough to shell the fort.