Union casualties were 3 killed and 4 wounded, compared to Confederate 3 killed and 8 wounded.
After the battle, Col. Powhatan R. Page blamed poor artillery for the inconclusive battle. Delaware Kemper defended his men by the fact that the range did not allow their fire to accurately disable the USS Marblehead.
In his report, General P.G.T. Beauregard took both accounts in and reported that the failure to destroy or drive away the Marblehead was "due to the inefficiency of the artillery through bad ammunition, fuzes, and primers, and bad service of the guns. The eight-inch howitzers, objected to by Lieutenant-Colonel Kemper, were intended to kill the enemy."
Unknown to the Confederates, however, their artillerists did fire with some degree of accuracy. The Marblehead sustained some thirty hits. Lt. Cmdr. Richard Meade wrote, "We have one 30-pounder shell that was lodged in steerage and did not explode...." Steerage here meaning apparatus that allows for the steering of a ship, a rather important component of a ship's operation. In addition, he noted two other unexploded shells lodged elsewhere in his ship.
Overall, he reported extensive, but largely superficial damage to his ship.
Eventually, Farley, Miller, Blake and Moore (who was not in Meade's recommendations) received Medals of Honor.
More Than You Ever Thought You'd Know About This Little Battle. --Old B-Runner
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