A Perfect Gibraltar

After the repulse of the Union Navy on May 15, 1862, Drewry’s Bluff became famous as a tangible symbol of Confederate resistance. Work crews made up of impressed slave labor continued construction of the fort, eventually completing a four-sided, enclosed earthwork bristling with guns. Following the war the bombproofs collapsed, leaving deep impressions in the earth, and the open ground had once allowed the fort’s defenders to see for miles. When orders came to evacuate Richmond, the Confederate garrison abandoned the fort and joined Lee’s army during its retreat to Appomattox. For many of them, active service ended with capture at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek on April 6, 1865. Union troops immediately took possession of the fort that for three years had barred their way to Richmond.

Virginia · United States