The Battle of Sewell's Point was an inconclusive exchange of cannon fire between the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

USS ''Monticello'', supported by the USS ''Thomas Freeborn'', and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

batteries on

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to th ...

that took place on May 18, 19 and 21, 1861, in

Norfolk County, Virginia Norfolk County was a county of the South Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia in the United States that was created in 1691. After the American Civil War, for a period of about 100 years, portions of Norfolk County were lost and the territory of th ...

in the early days of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Little damage was done to either side. By the end of April 1861, USS ''Cumberland'' and a small number of supporting ships were enforcing the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

of the southeastern Virginia ports at the southern end of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

and had captured several ships which attempted to pass the blockade. USS ''Monticello's'' bombardment of the Sewell's Point battery was one of the earliest

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

actions against Confederate forces during the Civil War. While it has been suggested by some sources that the ''Monticello's'' action may have been the first gunfire by the

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

during the Civil War, a brief exchange of cannon fire between the U.S. gunboat USS ''Yankee'' and shore batteries manned by Virginia volunteer forces which had not yet been incorporated into the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Gloucester Point, Virginia Gloucester Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,402 at the 2010 census. It is home to the College of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a graduate school f ...

on the York River occurred on May 7, 1861.Although sources differ on the date of the Gloucester Point engagement, the reports of the commanders clearly state the date as May 7, 1861.

Background

Although providing for a vote on May 23, 1861, the Virginia state convention voted for and effectively accomplished the secession of that state from the Union on April 17, 1861, which was three days after the surrender of

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...

to Confederate forces and two days after

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to reclaim federal property and to suppress the rebellion. During the night of April 20, 1861, the Commander of the U. S. Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk County, Virginia (now the

Norfolk Naval Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

in the City of Portsmouth, Virginia)

Charles S. McCauley Charles Stewart McCauley (February 3, 1793 – May 21, 1869) was an American naval officer in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Biography McCauley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the decade after the American Revolution and educated ...

, fearing he could not hold the yard against the rebels and although without instructions from authorities in Washington, D.C., ordered the evacuation and burning of the yard and any ships that could not be sailed away, including the . This ended the presence of Union land forces in the Norfolk area of south Hampton Roads for over one year. On April 27, 1861, President Lincoln ordered the Union blockade of the Confederacy extended to the coasts of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, which were already in the process of joining the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

although they did not officially do so until May 1861. Virginia Militia Major General and, effective May 1, 1861, Virginia Provisional ArmyAlthough this army was organized as a state establishment that was something more than a militia and which would become part of the Confederate Army, it was not the Provisional Army of the Confederacy and did not become part of it until after the May 23, 1861 Virginia secession vote. Gwynn never held a rank above colonel in the PACS. Brigadier General

Walter Gwynn Walter Gwynn (February 22, 1802 – February 6, 1882 ) was an American civil engineer and soldier who became a Virginia Provisional Army general and North Carolina militia brigadier general in the early days of the American Civil War in 186 ...

, a former U.S. Army engineering officer and former railroad engineer and surveyor, sited and supervised the construction of batteries to defend Norfolk, Virginia in late April and early May 1861, including the battery at Sewell's Point. Gwynn commanded the defense of Norfolk until he was relieved by regular Confederate forces on May 23, 1861.

Battle

As part of the Union blockade of Chesapeake Bay during the American Civil War, the Union

USS ''Monticello'', commanded by Captain Henry Eagle with Lieutenant (later Rear Admiral) Daniel L. Braine second in command, exchanged cannon fire with

batteries on Sewell's Point, Virginia,Some early sources spell the name of this location as Seawell's Point. in Norfolk County, Virginia (present day City of Norfolk, Virginia), in an attempt to enforce the blockade of the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area in southeastern Virginia. The two sides did each other little harm. On May 18, 1861, the ''Monticello'' fired on the unfinished Confederate battery at Sewell's Point, which commanded the entrance to the Elizabeth River and the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia but which had no guns yet in place, with little effect. By 5:00 p.m. on May 19, 1861, the Confederates had installed three 32-pound guns at the Sewell's Point battery. When the ''Monticello'' began to fire on the works at about 5:30 p.m., the battery returned fire, which drove off the ''Monticello''. Captain Peyton H. Colquitt of the Columbus Light Guard from GeorgiaCaptain Colquitt should not be confused with Brigadier General Alfred Holt Colquitt, who also was from Georgia. commanded the battery. Captain Colquitt raised a Georgia state flag at the battery since he did not have a Confederate flag. On May 21, 1861, the ''Monticello'' fired two shots at the battery but again drew off when the battery returned fire.

Aftermath

After the battle, the USS ''Thomas Freeborn'' joined the Federal

Potomac Flotilla The Potomac Flotilla, also called the Potomac Squadron, was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to secure Union communications in the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and their tributaries, and to ...

. Under the command of Commander James H. Ward, the ''Thomas Freeborn'' attacked the Confederate batteries at the confluence of the Potomac River and Aquia Creek in the

Battle of Aquia Creek The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate States of America, Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac River at its confluence with Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. The battle ...

on May 29 and 30 and June 1, 1861, to little effect. The Sewell's Point battery and other batteries in the area engaged Union vessels on other occasions over the next 12 months, including engagements of Union vessels or supporting fire against them during the clash of the ironclads (the Union's USS ''Monitor'' and the Confederacy's CSS ''Virginia'', formerly USS ''Merrimack'') during the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862. Union Navy gunboats, including the ''Monitor'', shelled the Sewell's Point batteries and other targets in the area again on May 8, 1862. Because of the threat of invasion by the large Union Army force at Fort Monroe across Hampton Roads from the threatened cities of Norfolk, Virginia and Portsmouth, Virginia and the County of Norfolk, Virginia, although many of the Union soldiers were then engaged in the Peninsula Campaign, the Confederates evacuated the Norfolk area on May 9, 1862 and the early morning of May 10, 1862. Federal troops occupied Norfolk and Portsmouth on May 10, 1862. When they arrived at Norfolk and Portsmouth, the Federal troops found that the Confederates had abandoned the batteries at Sewell's Point and other fortified positions in the vicinity. No sign of the Sewell's Point battery exists today. The location is within the U.S. Navy's

Norfolk Naval Base Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * Rush, Lt. Commander Richard and Robert H. Woods. Naval War Records Office, United States. Navy Dept
‘’Official records of the Union and Confederate navies in the war of the rebellion’’
Washington, DC.: Government Printing Office, 1896. Report of Lt. Thomas O. Selfridge to Flag Officer G. J. Pendergrast, May 7, 1861. Series 1, Volume 4. . Page 381. Retrieved April 24, 2011. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sewells Point, Battle Of Sewells Battles of the Chesapeake Bay Blockade of the American Civil War Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Battles and conflicts without fatalities Inconclusive battles of the American Civil War Naval battles of the American Civil War

1861 in the American Civil War 1861 in Virginia May 1861 events History of Norfolk, Virginia