almost and was not effective. Union forces under the command of Major General Benjamin Butler began building the Dutch Gap Canal in August to try to bypass Confederate land defenses in the area. On August 13, Confederate naval forces fired on the Union troops building the canal. Fredericksburg participated in the action, along with Virginia II, Richmond, and the gunboats , , and . The Confederate vessels fired approximately 147 shots during the engagement, but did little damage. The shooting lasted from 06:00 to 18:00, and about 30 Union soldiers were killed or wounded. Union return fire damaged Fredericksburgs smokestack. Four days later, the three ironclads helped repulse a small Union attack against a Confederate position at Signal Hill, which was the location of a Confederate battery downstream from Drewry's Bluff. On September 29, Butler's Union Army of the James attacked the Confederate land positions in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. The three Confederate ironclads were in the area, and were called upon to fire at the Union lines. Union troops took Fort Harrison, but were unable to capture Chaffin's Bluff. The ironclads participated in the fighting from September 29 to October 1. Their fire was effective and they suffered little damage, although a rifled cannon on Fredericksburg burst on September 30. The Union gains on land allowed them to construct a battery known as Fort Brady on the now-captured Signal Hill upriver from Battery Dantzler. While Battery Danztler still controlled part of the river for the Confederates and prevented Union ships from travelling upriver to Fort Brady, the Confederate vessels were unable to move downriver to Battery Danztler. On October 22, while patrolling the river, the James River Squadron was surprised by the presence of a Union shore battery which had been recently constructed upstream from Fort Brady. The three ironclads moved against the battery to allow the wooden gunboats of the fleet to escape, before falling back to Chaffin's Bluff. Fredericksburg suffered minor damage during the engagement, with her smokestack and the roof to her casemate damaged. Trent's Reach On October 24, Fredericksburg was sent upriver to the Rocketts area, where she was given a replacement cannon for the gun that had burst and had the roof of her casemate protected with iron bars. Fredericksburg, Virginia II, and Richmond went down to Fort Brady on December 7 and exchanged fire with the Union position. Rootes did not command