City Point was a town in
Prince George CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
that was annexed by the
independent cityAn independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
of
HopewellHopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in 1923. It served as headquarters of the
Union ArmyThe 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...
during the
Siege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
History
City Point owed its existence to its site overlooking the
JamesThe James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
and
Appomattox RiverThe Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long, in central and eastern Virginia in the United States, named for the Appomattocs Indian tribe who lived along its lower banks in the 17th century...
s. City Point was established in 1613 by Sir
Thomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
. It was first known as "Charles City Point" and was located in
Charles City ShireCharles City Shire was formed in 1634 in the Virginia colony. It was named for Charles I, the then King of England, and was renamed Charles City County in 1637.-History:...
when it was formed in 1634. Charles City
ShireA shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
soon became known as
Charles City CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
in 1637. City Point was included in the portion subdivided in 1703 to form
Prince George CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
. In 1619
Samuel SharpeSamuel 'Sam' Sharpe, or Sharp, National Hero of Jamaica was the slave leader behind the Jamaican Baptist War slave rebellion. Samuel Sharpe was born in the parish of St. James...
and
Samuel JordanSamuel Jordan was an early settler and Ancient Planter of colonial Jamestown, and one of the first colonial legislatorsJordan traveled to Virginia in 1610, according to his 1620 patent:...
from City Point (then named Charles City) were burgesses at the first meeting of the House of Burgesses.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, City Point was the headquarters of General
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
during the
Siege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
in 1864 and 1865. To serve the Union army, two huge military installations were built—a supply depot and the
Depot Field HospitalDepot Field Hospital was one of seven hospitals operated at City Point, Virginia during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War....
. During that siege, City Point was one of the busiest ports in the world.
On March 27 or 28, 1865, President
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 a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
met at City Point with Generals Grant and
William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
along with
Admiral David PorterDavid Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...
aboard the
River QueenThe River Queen was a sidewheel steamer operating as a ferry serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket during the late 19th century. It is closely associated with President Abraham Lincoln and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.-Construction:...
, as depicted by
G.P.A Healy'sGeorge Peter Alexander Healy was an American painter born in Boston, Massachusetts.Going to Europe in 1835 Healy studied under Baron Gros in Paris and in Rome...
1868 painting
The PeacemakersThe Peacemakers is an 1868 painting by George P.A. Healy. It depicts the historic March 28, 1865, strategy session by the Union high command on the steamer River Queen during the final days of the American Civil War.- Historical setting :...
.
The
City Point RailroadThe City Point Railroad was a nine-mile railroad in eastern Virginia established in 1836 which ran from City Point on the navigable portion of the James River to Petersburg, Virginia...
, built in 1838 between City Point and
PetersburgPetersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
, became part of the South Side Railroad in 1854, and played an important role in the Civil War. It later became the oldest portion of the
Norfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
, itself now a part of Norfolk Southern.
Grant's Headquarters at
Appomattox ManorAppomattox Manor is a former plantation in Hopewell, Virginia, USA. It is best-known as the Union headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864-65....
form part of the
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
's Petersburg National Battlefield Park. The adjacent City Point Historical District is a registered National Historical Landmark.
See main article Hopewell, VirginiaHopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
for more information.
Confederate sabotage
On August 9, 1864, a tremendous explosion shook the city. General Grant reported
"Every part of the yard used as my headquarters is filled with splinters and fragments of shell" and a staff officer wrote
"Such a rain of shot, shell, bullets, pieces of wood, iron bars and bolts, chains and missiles of every kind was never before witnessed."
Examination of the wreckage revealed that a barge loaded with ammunition had exploded, detonating 30,000 artillery shells and 75,000 rounds of small arms ammunition. 43 people were killed instantly and 126 were wounded (some accounts put the death toll at 300). The wharf was almost entirely destroyed and the damage was put at $2 million.
After the war it was discovered that the explosion had been an act of sabotage.
Confederate Secret ServiceConfederate Secret Service is an umbrella term for a number of official and semi-official secret service operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.-Overview:...
agent John Maxwell had smuggled a bomb aboard the ammunition barge. Maxwell used a clockwork mechanism to ignite 12 pounds of gunpowder packed into a box marked "candles." He called it his "horological
torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
." (Horological referring to time keeping;
torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
was a term used in the Civil War for a wide variety of bombs and
booby trapA booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s.) Here is a portion of Maxwell's report, taken from the
Official RecordsThe Official Records of the War of the Rebellion or often more simply the Official Records or ORs, constitute the most extensive collection of primary sources of the history of the American Civil War. Cornell University lists the official title as, "The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the...
.
Sir:
I have the honor to report that in obedience to your order, and with the means and equipment furnished me by you, I left this city on the 26th of July last, for the line of the James River, to operate with the Horological Torpedo against the enemy’s vessels navigating that river. I had with me Mr. R. K. Dillard, who was well acquainted with the localities, and whose service I engaged for the expedition. On arriving in Isle of Wright County, on the 2nd of August, we learned of immense supplies of stores being landed at City Point, and for the purpose, by stratagem, of introducing our machine upon the vessels there discharging stores, started for that point. We reached there before daybreak on the 9th of August last, with a small amount of provisions, having traveled mostly by night and crawled upon our knees to pass the East picket line. Requesting my companion to remain behind about half a mile, I approached cautiously the wharf with my machine and powder covered by a small box.
Finding the captain had come ashore from a barge then at the wharf, I seized the occasion to hurry forward with my box. Being halted by one of the wharf sentinels I succeeded in passing him by representing that captain had ordered me to convey the box on board. Hailing a man from the barge I put the machine in motion and gave it in his charge. He carried it aboard. The magazine contained about twelve pounds of powder. Rejoining my companion, we retired to a safe distance to witness the effect of our effort. In about an hour the explosion occurred. Its effect was communicated to another barge beyond the one operated upon and also to a large wharf building containing their stores (enemy’s), which was totally destroyed. The scene was terrific, and the effect deafened my companion to an extent from which he has not recovered. My own person was severely shocked, but I am thankful to Providence that we have both escaped without lasting injury. We obtained and refer you to the enclosed slips from the enemy’s newspapers, which afford their testimony of the terrible effects of this blow. The enemy estimates the loss of life at 58 killed and 126 wounded, but we have reason to believe it greatly exceeded that. The pecuniary damage we heard estimated at $4,000,000 but, of course, we can give you no account of the extent of it exactly.
The explosion didn't much hinder the Union war effort. The City Point supply depot was back in full operation in nine days. Although sabotage was not yet affirmed, the ammunition supply wharf was rebuilt to a much higher degree of security.
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