"Victory Against the Galina and Monitor at Drewry’s Bluff" Topic

"Drewry's Bluff rose ninety feet above the James River. The small fort, eight miles away from Richmond, built by Virginia farmers in 1861 had been expanded to a veritable fortress with seven pieces of heavy artillery. When the Union Army of the Potomac began their campaign up the Virginia Peninsula, after the fall of Yorktown, the Confederates began to pay serious attention to the redoubt. Following the destruction of the CSS Virginia (Merrimac), the guns and men from the scuttled ship were transfered to Drewry's Bluff, also known as Fort Darling.

This bluff and its seven guns were the last obstacle between the Union Naval fleet and the Confederate capital. Union Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough had dispatched several ships up the James River, with orders to "get up to Richmond, all with the least possible delay, and shell the city to a surrender."
And so the USS Monitor, Galina, Naugatuck, Port Royal and Aroostook steamed up the James, pulling near to, but out of sight of, the Confederate battery at Drewry's Bluff. They did not, however, go unnoticed. For bulk of their trek up the river, they had been peppered with musket fire from both shores. At times, the balls pierced the hull of the Port Royal, which returned the complement with their howitzer.

In further preparation for the coming Federal fleet, the Confederates sunk ships in the river, making passage nearly impossible. Also, the CSS Patrick Henry, a converted civilian steamer outfitted with heavy artillery, was held above the fort. In addition to the large armaments, rifle pits had been dug closer to the waterline to be occupied by sharpshooters.4 The whole affair was a conglomeration between the Confederate Navy, Army and Marines. Since most of the men were Marines, the overall command fell upon Commander Ebenezer Ferrand of the Navy, though General William Mahone had been called by General Robert E. Lee to take command with his brigade…
Full article with the combat details here.
link

Anybody had wargame this interesting naval encounter?

Amicalement
Armand

While I should never say never, I doubt anyone has done it. It is an extremely difficult scenario to game.

1) The Yankees cannot achieve their objective, Richmond because of the obstructions they were unaware of.

2) CSS Patrick Henry would not stand long against 3 ironclads and 2 gunboats.

3) The Yankees cannot fight the fort. Monitor cannot raise her guns high enough to hit it. Galena doesn't have the armor. Little E.A Steven's (Naugatuck) lost her gun early to an explosion.