An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
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
Since April 27, 1861, the U.S. Navy had been enforcing an economic and military blockade on Virginia ports, and several small fleets of U.S. Navy ships and converted civilian vessels had exchanged fire with Confederate shore batteries in the Potomac and James rivers. U.S. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, commanding Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort…
Continue reading ➞ 160 Years Ago Today: Engagement at Pig Point
160 years ago, May 19, 1861, a popular referendum to decide whether the Commonwealth of Virginia would secede from the United States was still four days away. Never-the-less, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln had extended the naval blockade of the seven original Confederate States to include the ports of Virginia and North Carolina. On May 6th,…
Continue reading ➞ 160 Years Ago Today: Engagement at Sewell’s Point
On April 17, 1861, a majority of delegates at the Virginia Secession Convention in Richmond passed an ordinance of secession, pending the results of a popular referendum to be held on May 23. Virginia Governor John Letcher appointed Col. Robert E. Lee, recently resigned from the U.S. Army, as overall commander of the Virginia Provisional…
Continue reading ➞ 160 Years Ago: Engagement at Gloucester Point
In early spring 1861, events were at a boiling point in the United States. By February, six Southern states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, had seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. It was an act newly inaugurated President Abraham Lincoln's administration, and many others, saw as illegal and a…
Continue reading ➞ 160 Years Ago Today: Gosport Navy Yard Captured
Spirit of '61 
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