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      eHistory  >  American Civil War  >  Battles  >  Cockpit Point ... Search
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Cockpit Point (1862)
 
War:   American Civil War
 
Also known as:   Batteries at Evansport, Freestone Point, Shipping Point
 
Date(s):   3 Jan 1862
 
Location:   Prince William County, Virginia, US
 
Outcome:   Inconclusive
 
Description:   Lt. R.H. Wyman, USN
Brig. Gen. S.G. French, CSA

Two US gunboats faced a Confederate battery.

There were no casualties.

After victory at First Manassas, the Confederate army established a defensive line from Centreville along the Occoquan River to the Potomac River. In October, the Confederates constructed batteries at Evansport, Freestone Point, Shipping Point, and Cockpit Point to close the Potomac River to shipping and isolate Washington. By mid-December, the Confederates had 37 heavy guns in position along the river. On January 3, Cockpit Point was shelled from Anacostia with neither side gaining an advantage.

Union ships approached the point again on March 9 but discovered that the Confederates had abandoned their works and retired closer to Richmond, as part of Joe Johnston’s wider withdrawal. McClellan had been planning an amphibious operation on Urbanna, outflanking the fortifications, but word had leaked to Johnston. But McClellan hadn’t done anything for nearly five months, and a few Confederate batteries sealed the Potomac. McClellan’s inactivity embarrassed the Lincoln Administration


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