Detail from Library of Congress
photo: LC-DIG-cwpb-01911
The USS Onondaga
Before daylight, Gen. Grant located the
Onondaga about
four miles from the battle. Furious, he assumed command of all
U.S. warships in the area and
ordered them to the front, upriver from City Point
—then sent an apology to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy.
Meanwhile, after four hours of pounding
—at
roughly 10:45 a.m.
—the Confederate
ironclads were working free on a rising tide when the
Onondaga appeared.
Although the Confederates were escaping, the
Onondagas
seized the chance to redeem their honor.
They fired 21 times before the
ironclads disappeared, shattering the rear
of the
Virginia II and punching a 5-square-foot hole
through her armor, killing one man,
J.A. Keenan.
Keenan and the four men with the
Scorpion were the only
Confederate fatalities
despite countless bullets, shot and shells fired ("810 balls and slugs" were
collected from the deck of the CSS
Hampton). The Confederates had 14 wounded:
two
Scorpions; the
Hampton's pilot; and eleven on the
Virginia II. The U.S.
had three killed and about 45 wounded, primarily gunners at Fort
Brady, in the Devil's Elbow.