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View Full Version : "Here's a Chance for the Marines!"



thedrifter
10-15-02, 03:03 PM
Corporal John F. Mackie
and the Corps'
First Medal of Honor

http://www.mca-marines.org/Leatherneck/archmackie.jpg

From aboard USS Galena, Mackie returned fire on Confederate infantry dug in along the river bank. Later, while still under fire, he cleared casualties and debris from around a 100-pounder Parrot rifle, exclaiming, "Come on boys. Here's a chance for the Marines!"

Illustration by Col Charles Waterhouse, USMCR (Ret)

By J. B. Walker

Just south of Richmond, Va., there's an obscure location where the earth seems to fall away until nothing in the world matters except the ever-steady flow of the James River 90 feet below. Drewry's Bluff has a tranquil atmosphere that makes one think humans have left few footprints there.

But that's hardly the case. The bluff and its surroundings have been preserved by the meticulous efforts of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) and its volunteers. In another time, Drewry's Bluff and its vantage point on the James helped determine the fate of the nation and set the stage for a hero.

They were the days before "devil dogs" or "gyrenes"—a time when the changeover from winter to summer uniforms entailed opening a few buttons on a heavy wool coat.They were the days when a Marine's proper place was aboard a ship.

But the most notable difference between the lives of today's Marines and those of Marines who fought during the Civil War was that there were two American Marine Corps. In 1861 the U.S. Marine Corps claimed a total of less than 2,000 officers and enlisted men. Those numbers were reduced before the first shots of the war were fired, as Marines left to join the newly formed Confederate States Marine Corps.

For most, it was not an easy decision. All Marines knew the time would come when they had to face their former comrades in battle. Corporal John Freeman Mackie was not among those who went south. He had joined under the Stars and Stripes in his native New York City and reported for duty aboard the newly commissioned USS Galena—one of three new steam-powered, ironclad gunboats developed by the U.S. Navy.

Galena had been outfitted with a light iron shell around her superstructure, but unlike the famous, new, heavily armored USS Monitor, she had no armor around the hull, leaving her waterline a liability.

In early May 1862, acting in concert with Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, U.S. Navy Commander John Rodgers intended to take five gunboats up the James River to Richmond, where he could shell the city as MajGen McClellan advanced up "The Peninsula." Among the ships of Rogers' flotilla was Galena with a small detachment of only 12 Marines.

After briefly skirmishing with the Confederacy's formidable, new, ironclad CSS Virginia (rebuilt from the captured USS Merrimack) off the coast of Norfolk, Va., a task force of five ships set out to steam up the James River. CSS Virginia had made an attempt to reach Richmond and assist in defending the Confederate capital, but her draft was too deep to allow her to make the journey. She was tied up and set ablaze to prevent her from falling back into Federal hands.

Her crew and guns, however, were sent up the James River to Drewry's Bluff, a strategic point overlooking a sharp bend in the river. There, under command of Confederate Navy CDR Ebenezer Farrand, a strongpoint was hastily constructed and armed with guns taken from rebel ships. To block the passage of any enemy ships, Farrand commandeered civilian vessels, loaded them with stones and sank them in front of the fort.

The impromptu strongpoint was named Fort Darling, and the fate of Richmond—and ultimately the Confederacy—depended on the firepower of the fort's guns high above the river. Additionally, a battalion of Confederate Marines was deployed as sharpshooters along both riverbanks to pick off anyone above decks on Union ships.

But aboard the flagship USS Galena, CDR Rodgers had every intention of fighting his way past Drewry's Bluff. He had already swung his ship into battle against a smaller battery, which allowed his other four ships to slip past unscathed.

Rodgers had received reports that the enemy was preparing defenses at Drewry's Bluff. He also knew about the obstructions in the river, but with his confidence having been bolstered by Galena's previous success, he hoped his ironclads could suppress the fire from the bluff and at the same time break through the obstructions.

He was wrong.

Just after dawn on 15 May 1862, the flotilla rounded the bend below Drewry's Bluff with Galena in the lead. Fort Darling's guns immediately unleashed a rain of eight- and 10-inch shot, primarily directed at the three smaller, lightly armored boats which, after about an hour, began to fall back with minimal damage.

Because of her restrictive iron turret, USS Monitor was unable to elevate her guns high enough to have any effect on the enemy positions atop the bluff, so she fell behind Galena until the reduced angle was sufficient for her to engage.

But Galena held her fire. She steamed into the center of the river about 500 yards below the rebel fort and brought to bear all her guns along the port side before returning fire. She was at a crippling disadvantage because the enemy guns were plunging fire directly onto her decks at a steep angle.

The rebels had also brought up their own gunboats and positioned them upstream from the obstructions. They, too, commenced battering away at the federal ships.

"Several of our shots at long range passed through and through [the other ships], and they soon dropped out of range," wrote CDR Farrand from his vantage point at Fort Darling. "We turned our attention to the Galena, nearly every one of our shots telling upon her iron surface."

Farrand was accurate in his assessment. Cast iron from the Confederate battery was literally pouring onto Galena's decks, battering steel and splintering wood. The thin armor was ripped apart, sending deadly shrapnel through the air above and below decks.

Along the riverbanks, the battalion of Marines in gray were just as deadly.

"Our sharpshooters did good service, picking off every man who showed himself," wrote Farrand of his southern leathernecks, in a report to the Secretary of the Confederate Navy.

Cpl Mackie and the other Marines returned fire from Galena but were outnumbered exponentially. With muzzle-loading weapons that could be loaded and fired at a maximum rate of only three rounds per minute, firepower required manpower. The Marines in blue, their lips black from tearing the paper off their powder cartridges with their teeth, sought out the puffs of smoke which marked the rebel rifle pits. Still, their shots had little effect.

The humid Virginia air grew thick with powder smoke as the huge cannons pounded away at each other. It quickly became apparent to CDR Rodgers and his men that Galena was the sole recipient of the Confederate fury.

"We demonstrated that [Galena] is not shot-proof," he later wrote. "Balls came through, and many men were killed with fragments of her own iron."

A 10-inch round crashed through the armor across the deck from where Mackie was firing, wiping out an entire gun crew. The decks were littered with dead and wounded, the planks slippery with blood when Mackie realized that the cannon was out of action.

"Come on, boys. Here's a chance for the Marines!" he shouted, rallying his stunned men. As the Marines cleared the decks of dead and wounded, Mackie swept away the debris and carnage around the gun.

Amid a deluge of Confederate rifle and cannon fire, the Marines then proceeded to load and fire the 100-pounder Parrot rifle.

"The ship began to fly all to pieces, and in a short time we were a complete wreck," Mackie later recalled.

At about 1100, a fire broke out aboard Galena after an artillery round penetrated the gun deck and ignited some black powder. The thick, gray smoke eliminated visibility, and being low on ammunition, Rodgers decided to break contact with Fort Darling. Mackie and the other Marines manned the guns until the boat slipped its lines and headed downstream.

As the flotilla disappeared around a bend in the river, a raucous cheer arose from the rebels of Fort Darling. They had lost only seven men killed and eight wounded.

At about 1100, a fire broke out aboard Galena after an artillery round penetrated the gun deck and ignited some black powder. The thick, gray smoke eliminated visibility, and being low on ammunition, Rodgers decided to break contact with Fort Darling. Mackie and the other Marines manned the guns until the boat slipped its lines and headed downstream.

As the flotilla disappeared around a bend in the river, a raucous cheer arose from the rebels of Fort Darling. They had lost only seven men killed and eight wounded.

At about 1100, a fire broke out aboard Galena after an artillery round penetrated the gun deck and ignited some black powder. The thick, gray smoke eliminated visibility, and being low on ammunition, Rodgers decided to break contact with Fort Darling. Mackie and the other Marines manned the guns until the boat slipped its lines and headed downstream.

As the flotilla disappeared around a bend in the river, a raucous cheer arose from the rebels of Fort Darling. They had lost only seven men killed and eight wounded.

http://www.mca-marines.org/Leatherneck/mackiearch.htm


Sempers,

Roger