One-Gun Battery

The twelve miles of Confederate defenses followed the course of the Warwick River one mile from Yorktown to Mulberry Island. Dam No. 1, the midpoint, was protected by a one-gun battery mounting a 12-pound howitzer, while a 6-pound smoothbore and a 24-pound howitzer were situated in redoubts behind this point. On April 16, 1862, Brigadier General William Smith, a division commander in the IV Corps, directed an attack against Dam No. 1 to break through the Confederate lines. At 8:30 a.m., Captain Thaddeus Mott’s 3rd New York Battery opened fire on the earthworks at the dam, and the 3rd Vermont Infantry and the 4th Vermont Infantry deployed along the Warwick and poured volleys into the Confederate positions. The Confederates had only three cannons to counter the Union barrage, and Captain James Jordan soon withdrew the 12-pound howitzer guarding the dam. However, the Troup Artillery’s 6-pounder disabled one of Mott’s cannons before the artillery duel ended around 11:00 a.m. Major General George McClellan arrived around noon, and Lieutenant Edwin Noyes, who had crossed the river, reported that the Confederates had abandoned the rifle pits along the Warwick. Consequently, General Smith received permission to cross the river and capture the earthworks.

Newport News, Virginia · United States