MAY 21ST, 1864: Gunfire from the ironclad steamer USS Atlanta, Acting Lieutenant Thomas J. Woodward, and the USS Dawn, Acting Lieutenant John W. Simmons, dispersed Confederate cavalry attacking Fort Powhatan on the James River, Virginia.
Dawn, a wooden steamer, remained above the fort during the night to prevent another attack.
The USS Atlanta was the former CSS Atlanta captured by the Union Navy 17 June 1863 near Savannah. Seeing such a clearly Confederate ironclad firing at them must have been quite disconcerting to the Confederate cavalry.
--Old B-Runner
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