An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
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…
Continue reading ➞ Fire Across Hampton Roads: The USS Harriet Lane at Pig Point
From firing one of the first naval shots of the Civil War off Charleston Harbor to helping secure a vital Union foothold on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the USS Harriet Lane played an outsized role in the conflict’s opening months. Follow her journey from revenue cutter to warship, highlighting her actions at Fort Sumter, Pig…
The Chesapeake Bay, a defining feature of Virginia's maritime border, stretches approximately 200 miles south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River in Maryland to Cape Henry and Cape Charles, Virginia. It is the largest estuary in the United States, providing an important avenue for domestic and international trade and commercial fishing. The 170-mile long…
Dr. Lucas Wilder is an adjunct professor at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, and he runs one of the best Civil War channels on YouTube: History Gone Wilder. One highlight is his animated maps. What they lack in graphic design, they make up for in attention to detail. He posted the following video on the…
Continue reading ➞ History Gone Wilder: The Battle of Big Bethel
Before the Battle of Big Bethel, a pair of small skirmishes played a key role in shaping Union strategy and setting the stage for their defeat. Learn how these early encounters influenced the course of the larger conflict on the Virginia Peninsula. After the Virginia Secession Convention passed its ordinance of secession in May 1861,…
Continue reading ➞ Minor Skirmishes, Major Impact: the Prelude to Big Bethel at New Market Bridge
Occurring on Friday, July 5, 1861, the Skirmish at Smith's Farm was significant because Louisianan Lt. Col. Charles Dreux became the first field grade Confederate officer killed during the Civil War. Yet few people, even Civil War historians, have ever heard of it. Sometimes inaccurately called Young's Mill, I refer to it as Smith's Farm…
Continue reading ➞ Illuminating the Skirmish at Smith’s Farm
Benjamin Franklin Butler (1818–1893) played a crucial but controversial role in the early Civil War. He was a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. Despite having no military experience, he secured a rank as brigadier general of Massachusetts volunteers and was sent south the secure the railroads to Washington, DC. In Baltimore, Maryland, Butler suppressed a…
Fought on June 10, 1861, Big Bethel was among the American Civil War's first pitched battles. Since the Virginia Secession Convention passed an ordinance of secession in May, Union forces had steadily reinforced Fort Monroe, a federal fort at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula between the James and York rivers. It was the only…
Continue reading ➞ 160 Years Ago Today: The Battle of Big Bethel
Spirit of '61 