Yorktown, Virginia by Kale Wilford;

Author:Kale, Wilford;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2018-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

These thirteen-inch mortars were part of Federal Battery No. 4 with officers of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Photograph by James F. Gibson on Mathew Brady’s staff. Library of Congress.

Johnston never wanted to defend Yorktown. He believed the position was indefensible. He felt strongly that fortifications were weak and faulty, with both flanks vulnerable and easily outmaneuvered by the Union navy on either the York or James River. Johnston told President Davis that Yorktown could not be held, but after a council of war Davis directed Johnston to defend the town.

During the last week of April, McClellan was positioning more than 110 heavy siege guns along with 300 smaller field guns. If unleashed, they could demolish the Confederate batteries and defenses. On April 29, 1862, Johnston notified Lee, “we must abandon the Peninsula soon.” He noted that the fight for Yorktown “must be one of artillery, in which we cannot win. The result is certain; the time only doubtful.”

Johnston ordered a withdrawal, but not before the Confederate artillery opened up a massive barrage against McClellan’s batteries on Saturday, May 3, and on into the evening. The shells were not concentrated on any particular target but unleashed at random.

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