MAY 15TH, 1862: The Union James River Flotilla, including the USS Monitor, Galena, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck, under Commander J. Rodgers, encountered obstructions sunk across the river and at close range hotly engaged sharpshooters and strong Confederate batteries, manned in part by sailors and Marines, at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia.
For his part in this action, Corporal John B. Mackie, a member of the Galena's Marine Guard, was cited for gallantry in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy Welles; in Department of the Navy General Order 17, issued on 10 July 1863, Mackie was awarded the first Medal of Honor authorized to a member of the Marine Corps.
--Old B-Runner
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