A Busy Port

Between June 1864 and April 1865, City Point was one of the busiest ports in the world. Sometimes as many as 200 ships were anchored in the rivers here, feeding tons of materiel into a supply distribution system renowned for its efficiency. Beyond the masts and rigging and the smoke stacks and steam of the water craft were groups of tents, long ranges of whitewashed barracks, log huts, and shanties of every shape, with moving uniformed soldiers and officers, negroes driving mule teams, sentries on duty, and flags flying gaily. Edward H. Henry, a captain's clerk at City Point, painted “City Point, Virginia; Headquarters of General Grant,” the most accurate known depiction of the huge Federal depot.

Hopewell, Virginia · United States