Battle of Trent's Reach

Battle of Trent's Reach
Part of the American Civil War
A sketch by Alfred Waud dated February 11, 1865 from Harper's Illustrated showing the Confederate fleet breaking through the boom at Trent's Reach.
Date January 23–25, 1865 Location James River, Henrico County, Virginia Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
William A. Parker Henry H. Pierce	John K. Mitchell Charles W. Read
Strength
Land: ~30 artillery pieces 1 fort 4 shore batteries River: 1 monitor 2 gunboats 1 torpedo boat	Land: ~16 artillery pieces 2 shore batteries River: 3 ironclads 5 gunboats 3 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
3 killed ~40 wounded 1 monitor damaged 1 fort damaged	4-10 killed 15 wounded 1 gunboat sunk 1 torpedo boat sunk 2 ironclads damaged 3 gunboats damaged 1 torpedo boat damaged

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.

Confederate forces were under the direction of Commodore John K. Mitchell who commanded the James River Squadron in his flagship, the ironclad CSS Fredericksburg. Weighing an estimated 2,500 tons, the Fredericksburg was a formidable opponent armed with one 11-inch smoothbore cannon and three smaller rifled guns. The ironclad rams CSS Richmond and CSS Virginia II also participated in the attack. Richmond weighed an estimated 800 tons and carried six guns. The 650 ton Virginia II was armed with four guns and had a crew of about 150 officers and men, the same complement as the other two ironclads. Confederate forces deployed eight other vessels, three of which were lashed to the sides of the ironclads and the torpedo boat CSS Scorpion was towed down river by the gunboat Drewry. The other vessels were the gunboats Nansemond, Hampton, Beaufort and Torpedo, each armed with one or two guns and displacing 100 to 200 tons. The torpedo boats CSS Wasp and CSS Hornet were the last two ships in the fleet. All three of the torpedo boats carried only one spar torpedo and they were not used in the engagement at Trent's Reach. Commodore Mitchell's orders were to take his squadron down the James River to attack a supply base at City Point which belonged to General Grant's Union Army that had recently taken over the area as part of the Petersburg Campaign. However, to get to the base, the rebels had to fight their way past multiple obstacles in and along the river, including warships, a naval mine field and net, Fort Brady, and four shore batteries.

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