Yorktown

At Yorktown in 1862, Confederate earthworks blocked the historic road westward and the Union army’s advance. On April 5, 1862, the Army of the Potomac’s 3rd Corps advanced against Yorktown along the York-Hampton Road, hoping for a victory to end the Civil War as George Washington’s victory here 81 years earlier had ended the American Revolution. The road was the same one British forces in 1781 had walked out of Yorktown on to surrender to Washington’s army. Believing more than 100,000 troops held the Confederate earthworks, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan decided to besiege Yorktown. Although minor skirmishing and engagements between field batteries occurred almost daily, most Union effort went into building siege works. By May 3, more heavy artillery was aimed on Yorktown than had ever been massed in a single spot to that time in world history. That night, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who had assumed command of Confederate forces in mid-April, decided his troops could not withstand the Union bombardment and withdrew them. On the morning of May 4, the Army of the Potomac took possession of Yorktown and retained control of the area for the remainder of the war.

Virginia · United States