Fort Pocahontas

Fort Pocahontas, an earthwork on the James River at Wilson’s Wharf, was built as a Union supply depot by African-American soldiers of the United States Colored Troops under Brig. Gen. Edward Augustus Wild. On May 24, 1864, during the Battle of Wilson’s Wharf, about 1,100 Union troops under Wild repulsed an attack by an estimated 2,500 Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, aided by naval gunfire from the USS Dawn. The fort later sheltered escaped slaves and held suspected Confederate sympathizers during the Siege of Petersburg. Long neglected, it was preserved after 1996 and is now recognized for its military, emancipation, and archaeological significance.

Virginia · United States