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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Additional American Civil War Battle-Sites and Other Notable Pictures of the War (This page is an addition to and containing more sites than my original page of these Civil War battle-sites and other notable pictures of the war, accessible at http://www.robertcdaniels.com/Civil_War_Pictures.htm, the original site becoming too large and unwieldy.)
The following pictures were taken by Robert Daniels over various years
(Additional American Civil War Battle-Sites and Other Notable Pictures of the War by Robert Daniels is licensed under CC BY 4.0.)
The American Civil War, fought between 12 April 1861 and 9 May 1865 was one of the bloodiest wars fought by the United States. Fought mostly in the southern states, it cost the lives of between 620,000 and 750,000 soldiers (both Union and Confederate. Many of the battlefields that remain today and are open to the public are under the protection of and administered by the U.S. National Park Service, while others are protected and managed by state or local governments. What follows are pictures of some of these sites that I visited. These pictures were taken over numerous years. I hope you enjoy viewing them.
Included to-date are the Battles of or sites of: The Siege of Suffolk The Dismal Canal and The Battle of South Mills The Seven Days Battles of Glendale and Malvern Hill Eastern Richmond Defensive Fortifications including Fort Gilmore, Fort Johnson, Fort Harrison, Fort Hoke, and Fort Brady Also included are several pictures of monuments and memorials in some Norfolk and Suffolk Cemeteries
Siege of Suffolk, Virginia About 17 or so miles southwest of Portsmouth, Virginia, is the city of Suffolk. Soon after the fall of both Norfolk and Portsmouth to the northeast in May of 1862 until the end of the war, Suffolk was under the control of Union forces. However, from early April to May of 1863 the city was laid siege to by Confederate forces under the command of Confederate General James Longstreet. During this siege, the Union sent a small fleet of armored ironclad ships down the Nansemond River to relieve the siege. This fleet was fired at and returned fire upon Confederate shore batteries along the river just west of the town. Soon afterward, Longstreet and his troops were recalled by General Robert E. Lee, ending the siege. Although no known fortifications remain of this siege, two historical markers are present in the city to commemorate the siege. Both are located on N. Main Street, one at its intersection with Godwin Blvd. and Pruden Blvd., and the other about 3/4th of a mile south near the parking lot of a Pizza Hut.
Located in Suffolk's Cedar Hill Cemetery is the following plaque concerning the siege.
A few miles north east of Suffolk along the southbound lanes of Highway 58 stands the below maker. The actual site of the Pig Point Battery is, as the marker states, about 3 direct miles north of the maker at the eastern shoreline of the mouth of the Nansemond River where it enters the James River. Today the area is part of the Tidewater Community College property just west of the Monitor-Merrimack Bridge-Tunnel of I-664. No remains of the actual battery are extant.
Dismal Swamp Canal and the Battle of South Mills Leading South from what is now Chesapeake, Virginia, to the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, is the Dismal Swamp Canal. It skirts the eastern edge of the Dismal Swamp and passes through South Mills, North Carolina, where a lock was at the time and still is located today. During the war, both sides wanted control of the canal since it connected the Portsmouth/Norfolk area with the Sound, therefore, it was as an avenue of supplies to the Confederacy in the area. Two skirmished occurred over the control of the canal, the first in April 1862 and the second in December 1863. Following are pictures and markers pertaining to the canal and these skirmishes.
This marker is located in the Deep Creek Lock Park, in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake, Virginia.
This marker is located in the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail parking lot, in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake.
The above two markers are located in the Ballahack Boat Ramp/Dismal Swamp Canal Trail parking lot along the canal/trail near the corner of Ballahack Rd. and Highway 17 in southern Chesapeake. Although the North West Canal is no longer usable, its remnants can be seen along Glencoe St. just north of the remains of the Beeckwood Manor and cemetery (see below).
Beechwood Manor and its cemetery, both located on Belle Haven St. in southern Chesapeake, Virginia about a mile east of the canal.
Map of the Civil War in North Carolina (from the above marker)
CSS Albemarle (from the above marker) SS Massaoit (from the above marker)
The "Battle of Elizabeth City" painting (from the above marker) The above marker and its insets are located just off of the parking lot in the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center along Highway 17, 3 miles south of the Virginia-North Carolina state border in North Carolina.
The above marker is located on Canal Dr. in South Mills, North Carolina, just west of the South Mills Lock.
This marker is situated on State Road 343, about 2.5 miles southeast of South Mills. - - To the east of the village of Deep Creek was the Village of Great Bridge, now part of Chesapeake, VA. Years earlier, a battle had been fought here - known as the Battle of Great Bridge - between Patriot forces and those aligned with the British prior to the actual full-fledged outbreak of the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War, the canal and lock at Great Bridge were important to both the Union and the Confederacy. Below are pictures of a plaque and its inset map that is located in the Great Bridge Lock Park.
Norfolk, VA, Cemeteries Cemeteries in the south are full
of memorials to southern (Confederate) soldiers. Norfolk's
cemeteries are no different. Below is a statue commemorating
Confederate dead that was recently transferred from downtown Norfolk to
the Elmwood Cemetery.
Next to the Elmwood Cemetery is the West Point Cemetery. Unlike the Elmwood Cemetery, which was only for whites, the West Point Cemetery was for African-Americans. It was very common of the era to have separate cemeteries for the two races. In the West Point cemetery is a statue to Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, the colored regiment made famous in the movie Glory. For his bravery in the 18 July 1863 battle for Fort Wagner, South Carolina, Carney would be awarded the Medal of Honor. Not pictured, surrounding the statue are gravesites of 100 other African-American veterans, including several Buffalo Soldiers.
Suffolk, VA, Cemetery Suffolk's Cedar Hill Cemetery contains the remains of numerous Confederate veterans, including a plaque commemorating them.
Jamestown Island Even the Jamestown Island, the
site of the earliest permanent English settlement in the Americas, was
fortified during the Civil War.
This marker is located along the
Island Drive, the driving tour road around the island. Behind it,
in the overgrown woods, is what remains of the fortification.
Seven Days Battles East and southeast of Richmond are the sites of
what is known as the Seven Days Battles, effectively the last battles of
the 1862 Peninsula Campaign that took place one after the other on seven
consecutive days from 25 June to 1 July 1862. They are now part of
the Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Currently, only The Battle of
Glendale and The Battle of Malvern Hill of these Seven Days Battles is
listed here. The Others will come.) The last two and most southern of
these seven battles are known as Heading south on Willis Church Road one first comes to the below historical maker, positioned on the west side of the road.
A couple of hundred feet down and on the east side of the road sits the Glendale National Cemetery, near where 30 June The Battle of Glendale took place.
A little over a mile south of the Glendale National Cemetery along Willis Church Road, is the Confederate position of the battle. There are markers on either side of the road. Malvern Hill can be seen in the distance to the south. To the east of the road is a parking area with several interpretive markers as well as a walking trailhead.
Across the road is another, smaller parking area and a couple additional interpretive markers along with the remains of a church parsonage.
Just south of this position along Willis Church Road - at its intersection with Carters Mill Road - stands the following historical marker. The battle field is behind this marker.
Further up the road, at the top of the hill is the Union position during the battle. A parking lot and several interpretive markers are available. This site is also located on either side of Willis Church Road, and is about 2 direct miles north of the James River.
The following pictures and associated plaques and markers are taken from the Union position on Malvern Hill facing northward towards what was the approaching Confederate forces.
The above picture is a view of the Historic Farm Road and the battlefield.
Along this farm road is where the Confederate forces made their farthest advance on Malvern Hill.
Just to the left (west) of the Union position on top of Malvern Hill is a wooded area that contains the Crew House. It is a private residence, so tours are not available yet signage and walking trails are extant to the viewer.
Richmond Defenses Confederate forces, well aware of
the Union's wishes to take the city, erected a defensive line along with
several fortifications east of the city. Several of these still
exist and can be visited. Many of these are along Battlefield Park
Road, which is around 8 driving miles west of the Malvern Hill site.
These defensive lines and fortifications are part of and maintained by
the Richmond National Battlefield Park. One needs only travel the
eight miles west along Highway VA 5 to Battlefield Park Road, which will
be on the left (south). Driving south on Battlefield Road the
defensive line is readily seen running parallel to the road.
All along Battlefield Park Road
are defensive lines as pictured above.
The first fortification south of Highway 5 is
Fort Gilmore, a Confederate position.
The next major fortification along this route is Confederate
Fort Johnson.
Fort Harrison, south of Fort Johnson, was arguably the
strongest of the Confederate fortifications along this line.
Fort Hoke, south of Fort Harrison, would fall to Union forces
only to be recaptured and held by the Confederates.
The last fortification along this
defensive line is
(Pictures of addtional Civil War battle-sites and other notable pictures of the war can be accessed at http://www.robertcdaniels.com/Civil_War_Pictures.htm.)
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