On to Richmond!

Early in the Civil War, the York River Confederate defenses were tested when the large Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, steamed down the Chesapeake Bay from Washington D.C. in March, 1862 with the intention of using the York and James Rivers to capture Richmond. Although McClellan had created a world class army, he was a cautious field commander, and after a spirited Confederate defense of the James River, he turned toward the York, where his army faced strong forts at Gloucester Point and Yorktown. When the Union navy refused to attack the Gloucester guns on April 5, the Army of the Potomac settled into a siege on the Yorktown side of the river. Befuddled by a daring Confederate army one-third the size of his own force, McClellan spent a month bringing in huge mortars and siege guns. A few days before he was ready to begin a massive bombardment, the Confederates withdrew to defenses closer to Richmond, and only the Gloucester Point artillery kept firing until Thomas J. Page, boldly commanding the Confederate cannons, ordered a retreat on May 4th as Union forces closed in.

Gloucester Point, Virginia · United States