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APCWS Peninsular Campaign Highlights Tour - April 24, 1999: APCWS members got to choose to take two tours out of three offered at this year's conference. Having already seen a lot of the City of Richmond, Cindy elected to take the two battlefield tours: The Seven-Days' Battles and The Peninsular Campaign Highlights.
McClellan's Plan was to out-flank Johnston's army by coming up the Peninsula, with the goal being Richmond. He sent two armies up the Peninsula - one via Great Warwick Road (present-day route 60) and the other via the Hampton-Yorktown Highway.
While the Battle at Lee's Mill only resulted in 10 Confederate casualties, its impact was great. It forced McClellan to decide to lay siege at Yorktown. Magruder's successfully deceptive defensive tactics gave McClellan the impression that the rebel army was many times its actual size, and kept McClellan overly cautious. Delays in McClellan's advance up the Peninsula set the stage for the successful Confederate defense of Richmond, culminating in the Seven Days' Battles. Joe Johnston, wounded at Seven Pines, was replaced by Robert E. Lee as the Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. "Granny Spades", as Lee was nicknamed, had his army dig in around Richmond. McClellan came within 4-5 miles of Richmond, but Lee's strategy to uproot him and send him flying in the other direction ultimately worked.
Fort Monroe: Fort Monroe, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, has a rich history. Located at Old Point Comfort, at the time of the Civil War, the fort, active since 1823, contained a federal arsenal, and was the largest such facility on the east coast. Surrounded by a tidal moat, the fort had a water battery and 7 bastions, and a 2,600-man capacity. In 1861, when General Benjamin Butler took control of the Department of Virginia at this location, the 62 acre fort only housed 300 men. It was at Fort Monroe that General Butler coined the phrase "contraband of war" in 1861 when escaped Negro slaves first sought Union protection. The Union Army maintained Fort Monroe throughout the War Between the States. It is still an active facility. What is now the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe is where former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was jailed after the war ended. Cindy Seacord
Title: Robert E. Lee was the engineer-in-residence at Fort Monroe. He lived in the large house shown in this photo from 1831-34. Cindy Seacord
Rodman Gun: This is a 15-inch smooth-bore Rodman gun dating from 1860 called the "Lincoln" gun. 12-15 inch guns of this nature could fire at targets 3-4 or more miles away. Fort Monroe's Rodman guns gave it the ability to defend itself from ironclads like the CSS Virginia. Cindy Seacord
Castle Calhoun: This photo was taken from atop the wall of Fort Monroe, looking across Hampton Roads to Castle Calhoun, also known as Fort Rip-Rap, or Fort Wool. Cindy Seacord
Look-out Park: Look-out Park at Hampton Roads, was the location of the 1861 battles of the ironclads. Cindy Seacord
Preserved Earthworks: This photo was taken at a site where 15 acres of Confederate earthworks are preserved, thanks to APCWS money, above the Warwick River in Lee's Mill, Virginia. Many hundreds of other acres were bulldozed to allow for the construction of homes and condominiums in this area. It was awesome to find this small parcel of Civil War redoubts, in the midst of "progress", preserved as part of a small public park in this modern community. Cindy Seacord
Lee Hall Mansion: The Lee Hall Mansion, built in 1858, was headquarters for Joseph Johnston and "Prince" John B. Magruder during the Peninsula Campaign. The mansion, nearly lost to development in the 1990's, was saved, in part due to APCWS funding. Restored between 1996-1998, it was opened up as a museum shortly thereafter. John Quarstein and J. Michael Moore, tour guides for this second day of the APCWS Conference, are actively involved with Lee Hall Mansion. This is where Mike works, and John directs the Virginia War Museum, which manages the facility. Cindy Seacord
Newport News Park - Site of Dam: This photo and the next three were taken at the Newport News Park. The Warwick River runs through the park, which preserves an amazing number of Confederate defensive earthworks. Magruder built three dams on the Warwick River. This photo depicts the location of one of these dams. Cindy Seacord
Newport News Park - Rifle Pits: Preserved rifle pits (foreground) and a redoubt (background) can be seen in this photo. Cindy Seacord
Newport News Park - Tour Participants: John Quarstein is seen with the tour group in front of a redoubt. The park is located within the area where the Battle of Burnt Chimney or Dam No. 1 was fought. This battle, in which 167 casualties were inflicted upon a Vermont regiment in retreat, was the only attempt made by Union troops to break through heavy Confederate defenses in this region. Cindy Seacord
Garrow's Ford Road: Garrow's Ford Road is a Civil War trace now permanently preserved within the Newport News Park. Cindy Seacord