The
Battle of Yorktown or
Siege of Yorktown was fought from April 5 to May 4, 1862, as part of the
Peninsula CampaignThe Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
of the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Marching from
Fort MonroeFort Monroe is a Hampton, Virginia, military installation located at Old Point Comfort, which is on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
,
UnionThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
Maj. Gen.In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the...
George B. McClellanGeorge Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
's
Army of the PotomacThe Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
encountered Maj. Gen.
John B. MagruderJohn Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army...
's small
ConfederateThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
army at
YorktownYorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 203 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the 8 original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
behind the
Warwick LineThe Warwick Line was a defensive works across the Virginia Peninsula maintained along the Warwick River by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B...
. McClellan suspended the march up the Peninsula toward
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and settled in for siege operations.
On April 5, the
IV CorpsThere were two corps of the Union Army called IV Corps during the American Civil War. They were separate units, one serving with the Army of the Potomac and the Department of Virginia in the Eastern Theater, 1862–63, the other with the Army of the Cumberland in the Western Theater,...
of
Brig. Gen.A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed services.-...
Erasmus D. KeyesErasmus Darwin Keyes was a businessman, banker, and military general, noted for leading the IV Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac during the first half of the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
made initial contact with Confederate defensive works at Lee's Mill, an area McClellan expected to move through without resistance. Magruder's ostentatious movement of troops back and forth convinced the Federals that his works were strongly held. As the two armies fought an artillery duel, reconnaissance indicated to Keyes the strength and breadth of the Confederate fortifications, and he advised McClellan against assaulting them. McClellan ordered the construction of siege fortifications and brought his heavy siege guns to the front. In the meantime, Gen.
Joseph E. JohnstonJoseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.Johnston's effectiveness in the Civil War was undercut...
brought reinforcements for Magruder.
On April 16, Union forces probed a point in the Confederate line at Dam No. 1. The Federals failed to exploit the initial success of this attack, however. This lost opportunity held up McClellan for two additional weeks while he tried to convince the U.S. Navy to bypass the Confederates' big guns at Yorktown and Gloucester Point and ascend the
York RiverThe York River is a navigable estuary, approximately 40 mi long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from 1 mi. at its head to 2.5 mi near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the...
to
West PointWest Point is an incorporated town in King William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,867 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Point is located at...
and outflank the Warwick Line. McClellan planned a massive bombardment for dawn on May 5, but the Confederate army slipped away during the night of May 3 toward
WilliamsburgWilliamsburg is an independent city of Virginia located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,998. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
.
The battle took place near the site of the 1781
siege of YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis...
, the final battle of the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...
in the east.
Background
McClellan had chosen to approach the Confederate capital of
Richmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, with an amphibious operation that landed troops on the tip of the
Virginia PeninsulaThe Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
at Fort Monroe. His Army of the Potomac numbered 121,500 men, transported starting on March 17 by 389 vessels. McClellan planned to use U.S. Navy forces to envelop Yorktown, but the emergence of the Confederate ironclad
CSS VirginiaCSS Virginia was a steam-powered battery design ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War, built using the remains of the scuttled USS Merrimack in 1862....
and the
Battle of Hampton RoadsThe Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as the Battle of Monitor and Merrimack , was the most noted and arguably the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies...
(March 8–9, 1862) disrupted this plan. The threat of the
Virginia on the James River and the heavy Confederate batteries at the mouth of the York River prevented the Navy from assuring McClellan that they could control either the York or the James, so he settled on a purely land approach toward Yorktown.
The Confederate defenders of Yorktown, led by Maj. Gen.
John B. MagruderJohn Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army...
, initially numbered only 11–13,000 men; the rest of the Confederate forces, under the overall command of General
Joseph E. JohnstonJoseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.Johnston's effectiveness in the Civil War was undercut...
, remained spread out across eastern Virginia at
CulpeperCulpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County. Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County...
,
FredericksburgFredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., and 58 miles north of Richmond. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 19,279. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Fredericksburg with neighboring...
, and
NorfolkNorfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the 2000 census, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city behind its eastern neighbor, Virginia Beach....
. Magruder constructed a defensive line from Yorktown on the York River, behind the Warwick River, to Mulberry Point on the James River (even taking advantage of some trenches originally dug by
CornwallisCharles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, KG was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. In the United States and Britain, he is best remembered as one of the leading generals in the American War of Independence...
in 1781) to effectively block the full width of the Peninsula, although he could adequately man none of the defensive works at that time. This became known as the
Warwick LineThe Warwick Line was a defensive works across the Virginia Peninsula maintained along the Warwick River by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B...
.
McClellan's plan called for Maj. Gen.
Samuel P. HeintzelmanSamuel Peter Heintzelman was a United States Army General. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, the Cortina Troubles, and the American Civil War, rising to the command of a corps.-Biography:...
's
III CorpsThere were four formations in the Union Army designated as III Corps during the American Civil War.Three were short-lived:*In the Army of Virginia:**Irvin McDowell ;**James B...
to fix the Confederate troops in their trenches near the York River, while the
IV CorpsThere were two corps of the Union Army called IV Corps during the American Civil War. They were separate units, one serving with the Army of the Potomac and the Department of Virginia in the Eastern Theater, 1862–63, the other with the Army of the Cumberland in the Western Theater,...
under Brig. Gen.
Erasmus D. KeyesErasmus Darwin Keyes was a businessman, banker, and military general, noted for leading the IV Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac during the first half of the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
enveloped the Confederate right and cut off their lines of communication. McClellan and his staff, ignorant of the extent of Magruder's line, assumed the Confederates had concentrated only in the immediate vicinity of Yorktown.
Battle
Union advance and Lee's Mill
On April 4, 1862, the Union Army pushed through Magruder's initial line of defense but the following day encountered his more effective
Warwick LineThe Warwick Line was a defensive works across the Virginia Peninsula maintained along the Warwick River by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B...
. The nature of the terrain made it difficult to determine the exact disposition of the Confederate forces. A victim of faulty intelligence, McClellan estimated that the Confederates had 40,000 troops in the defensive line and that Johnston was expected to arrive quickly with an additional 60,000. Magruder, an amateur actor before the war, exacerbated McClellan's confusion by moving infantry and artillery in a noisy, ostentatious manner to make the defenders seem a much larger forces than their actual numbers.
The Union IV Corps first encountered the right flank of Magruder's line on April 5 at Lee's Mill, its earthwork defenses manned by the division of Maj. Gen.
Lafayette McLawsLafayette McLaws was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
. The 7th Maine Infantry Regiment deployed as skirmishers and stopped about 1,000 yards before the fortifications, where they were soon joined by the brigade of Brig. Gen.
John DavidsonJohn Wynn Davidson was a major general in the United States Army and an American Indian fighter.-Biography:...
and artillery. An artillery duel raged for several hours while Keyes ordered reconnaissance and additional units arrived, but there was no infantry fighting. On April 6, men from the 6th Maine and 5th Wisconsin, under the command of Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, performed reconnaissance around Dam Number One, where Magruder had widened the Warwick to create a water obstacle nearby. They drove off the Confederate pickets and took some prisoners. Hancock considered this area a weak spot in the line, but orders from McClellan prevented any exploitation. Keyes, deceived by Magruder's theatrical troop movements, believed that the Warwick Line fortifications could not be carried by assault and so informed McClellan.
To the amazement of the Confederates, and the dismay of
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
, McClellan chose not to attack without more reconnaissance and ordered his army to entrench in works parallel to Magruder's and besiege Yorktown. McClellan reacted to Keyes's report, as well as to reports of enemy strength near the town of Yorktown, but he also received word that the
I CorpsI Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
, under Maj. Gen.
Irvin McDowellIrvin McDowell was a career American army officer, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, would be withheld for the defense of
WashingtonWashington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
, instead of joining him on the Peninsula as McClellan had planned. For the next 10 days, McClellan's men dug while Magruder steadily received reinforcements. By mid April, Magruder commanded 35,000 men, barely enough to defend his line.
Although McClellan doubted his numeric superiority over the enemy, he had no doubts about the superiority of his artillery. The siege preparations at Yorktown consisted of 15 batteries with more than 70 heavy guns, including two 200-pounder
ParrottsThe Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.-Parrott Rifle:The gun was invented by Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He resigned from the service in 1836 and became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in Cold...
and 12 100-pound Parrots, with the rest of the rifled pieces divided between 20-pounder and 30-pounder Parrotts and 4.5-inch Rodman siege rifles. These were augmented by 41
mortarsA mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
, ranging in size from 8 inches to 13-inch seacoast mortars, which weighed over 10 tons and fired shells weighing 220 pounds. When fired in unison, these batteries would deliver over 7,000 pounds of ordnance onto the enemy positions with each volley.
As the armies dug in,
Union Army Balloon CorpsThe Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Federal Army during the American Civil War, established by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe...
aeronaut Professor
Thaddeus S. C. LoweThaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe , also known as Professor T. S. C. Lowe, was an American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor. Lowe lived a life that was full of claims to fame. Despite being born of poor pioneer farming stock, Lowe showed an interest in meteorology with his intent study...
used two balloons, the
Constitution and the
Intrepid, to perform aerial observation. On April 11,
Intrepid carried Brig. Gen.
Fitz John PorterFitz John Porter was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War...
, a division commander of the III Corps, aloft, but unexpected winds sent the balloon over enemy lines, causing great consternation in the Union command before other winds returned him to safety. Confederate Captain John Bryan suffered a similar wind mishap in a hot air balloon over the Yorktown lines.
Dam Number One
On April 16, the Union probed the defensive line at Dam No. 1, the point on the Warwick River near Lee's Mill where Hancock had reported a potential weakness on April 6. After the brief skirmish with Hancock's men, Magruder realized the weakness of his position and ordered it strengthened. Three regiments under Brig. Gen.
Howell Cobb Howell Cobb was an American political figure. A Southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851...
, with six other regiments nearby, were improving their position on the west bank of the river overlooking the dam. McClellan became concerned that this strengthening might impede his installation of siege batteries. His order to Brig. Gen.
William F. "Baldy" SmithWilliam Farrar Smith , was a civil engineer, a member of the New York City police commission, and Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, a division commander in the IV Corps, was to avoid a general engagement, but to "hamper the enemy" in completing their defensive works.
Following an artillery bombardment at 8 a.m., Brig. Gen.
William T. H. BrooksWilliam Thomas Harbaugh Brooks was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
and his Vermont Brigade sent skirmishers forward to fire on the Confederates. In a visit to the front, McClellan told Smith to cross the river if it appeared the Confederates were withdrawing, a movement that was already underway by early afternoon. At 3 p.m., four companies of the
3rd Vermont InfantryThe 3rd Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three-years infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from July 1861 to July 1865...
crossed the dam and routed the remaining defenders. Behind the lines, Cobb organized a defense with his brother, Colonel
Thomas CobbThomas Reade Rootes Cobb was an American lawyer, author, politician, and Confederate officer, killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
of the
Georgia LegionCobb's Legion was an American Civil War unit that was raised on the Confederate side from the State of Georgia by Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb during the summer of 1861. A "legion" consisted of a single integrated command, with individual components from the infantry, cavalry, and artillery...
, and attacked the Vermonters, who had occupied the Confederate rifle pits. In battle, drummer
Julian ScottJulian A. Scott was born in Johnson, Vermont and was a Union Army drummer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Lee's Mills, he was also an American painter and a Civil War artist.-Biography:Scott...
made several trips across the fire-swept creek in order to assist in bringing off wounded soldiers. Later he was awarded the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
, along with First Sergeant Edward Holton and Captain
Samuel E. PingreeSamuel Everett Pingree was a lawyer, a U.S. politician of the Republican Party, and an American Civil War veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor.-Early life:...
.
Unable to obtain reinforcements, the Vermont companies withdrew across the dam, suffering casualties as they retreated. At about 5 p.m., Baldy Smith ordered the 6th Vermont to attack Confederate positions downstream from the dam while the 4th Vermont demonstrated at the dam itself. This maneuver failed as the 6th Vermont came under heavy Confederate fire and were forced to withdraw. Some of the wounded men were drowned as they fell into the shallow pond behind the dam.
Aftermath
From a Union perspective, the action at Dam No. 1 was pointless, but it cost them casualties of 35 dead and 121 wounded; the Confederate casualties were between 60 and 75. Baldy Smith, who was thrown from his unruly horse twice during action, was accused of drunkenness on duty, but a
congressionalThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
investigation found the allegation to be groundless.
For the remainder of April, the Confederates, now at 57,000 and under the direct command of Johnston, improved their defenses while McClellan undertook the laborious process of transporting and placing massive siege artillery batteries, which he planned to deploy on May 5. Johnston knew that the impending bombardment would be difficult to withstand, so began sending his supply wagons in the direction of Richmond on May 3. Escaped slaves reported that fact to McClellan, who refused to believe them. He was convinced that an army whose strength he estimated as high as 120,000 would stay and fight. On the evening of May 3, the Confederates launched a brief bombardment of their own and then fell silent. Early the next morning, Heintzelman ascended in an observation balloon and found that the Confederate earthworks were empty.
McClellan was stunned by the news. He sent cavalry under Brig. Gen.
George StonemanGeorge Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
in pursuit and ordered Brig. Gen.
William B. FranklinWilliam Buel Franklin was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of a corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, fighting in several notable early battles in the Eastern Theater.-Early life:William B. Franklin was born in York,...
's division to reboard Navy transports, sail up the York River, and cut off Johnson's retreat. The stage was set for the subsequent
Battle of WilliamsburgThe Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...
.