In early June 1861, the Union blockade of Virginia escalated when the USS Harriet Lane exchanged fire with a newly built Confederate battery at Pig Point, across Hampton Roads from Newport News. This little-known naval skirmish revealed the strength of Southern defenses, thwarted Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler’s plans, and underscored how quickly the Civil War was hardening into open conflict.
As May gave way to June, there was no longer any doubt about what shape the American Civil War would take. George McClellan had invaded Virginia from the northwest, Irvin McDowell pressed in from the northeast, and on the Virginia Peninsula Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was plotting his next move from the safety of Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
Since April 27, 1861, the U.S. Navy had enforced an economic and military blockade of Virginia’s ports, and small flotillas of Navy ships, along with converted civilian vessels, had already traded fire with Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac and James rivers. The 619-ton, dual side-wheel steamer USS Harriet Lane, commanded by 54-year-old Capt. John Faunce (1807–1891), joined the Atlantic Blockading Squadron on May 24.
Three days later, Harriet Lane was placed at Butler’s disposal and helped cover the occupation of Newport News Point. Roughly 2,000 Union infantrymen, including the 1st Vermont, 4th Massachusetts, and 7th New York regiments, landed without opposition and immediately began constructing Camp Butler and building embrasures for heavy artillery. The expedition was led by Col. John W. Phelps, a U.S. Army veteran, abolitionist, and commander of the 1st Vermont.
Meanwhile, Flag-Officer French Forrest of the Virginia Navy was erecting fortifications at Pig Point, across Hampton Roads from Newport News. Together, Pig Point and Barrel Point commanded the entrance to the Nansemond River. On May 30, Forrest placed Capt. Robert B. Pegram in command of the seven-gun battery, which was manned by the Portsmouth Rifles, an infantry company.
Benjamin Butler had an ambitious plan to neutralize this threat. “My next point of operation I propose shall be Pig Point, which is exactly opposite the News, commanding the Nansemond River,” he wrote. “Once in command of that battery, which I believe may be easily turned, I can then advance along the Nansemond River and easily take Suffolk, and there either hold or destroy the railroad…”
To accomplish this, he tasked Capt. Faunce and Harriet Lane with conducting a reconnaissance by fire against the point. On June 4, Faunce scoured several miles of shoreline, reporting on Confederate defenses and concluding that the battery at Pig Point was unfinished. That assessment changed the following morning, when he again steamed toward the point and observed “a number of men apparently engaged in transporting guns by means of ox teams and wheel carriages, while others were seen near the embrasures of the battery with the secession flag flying over them.”
At 8:30 a.m., Harriet Lane closed to within about 1,800 yards and opened fire.
A member of the Portsmouth Rifles, commanded by Capt. John C. Owens, later recalled, “They opened up on us first… we planted our flag on the ramparts and every man mounted them and gave three cheers before we fired a gun. We then replied, and gave it to them hot…”
The Confederate battery, armed with four 32-pounders and three 8-inch naval guns, struck Harriet Lane twice, wounding five sailors. The exchange lasted about thirty minutes, but shallow water prevented the vessel from closing to effective range. One Confederate cannon was damaged, though none of the gunners were injured.
With her mission to gauge the battery’s strength complete, Harriet Lane broke off the action and returned to port for repairs. The Pig Point battery proved too formidable, and Butler’s ambitious plan was never carried out.
Sources
Charleston Daily Courier (Charleston, SC) 10 June 1861.
Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH) 7 June 1861.
Cobb, J. Michael, Edward B. Hicks, and Wythe Holt. Battle of Big Bethel: Crucial Clash in Early Civil War Virginia. El Dorado Hills: Savas Beatie LLC, 1997.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 5. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. II. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. LI, Part II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897.
Trask, Benjamin H. 9th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1984.
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