Battle of Yorktown

The Battle of Yorktown took place from April 5-May 4, 1862.

General George B. McClellan’s army marching from Fort Monroe encountered General John B. Magruder’s small Confederate army at Yorktown behind the Warwick River. General Magruder, being an actor before the war, convinced McClellan that his army was much larger than it actually was by moving his troops and artillery in such a noisy way to make them look much larger than they actually were. General McClellan hearing this suspended the march up the Peninsula toward Richmond. Here the general ordered the construction of siege fortifications and brought his heavy siege guns to the front.
Meanwhile reinforcements were brought in for General Magruder. On April 16 McClellan ordered Dam Number one to be taken, due to reports of weakness from earlier in the battle. After a brief fight at Dam Number one Magruder realized the weakness in this position and ordered it to be strengthened. Nine regiments in total moved to improve this position. Seeing this McClellan worried that this strengthening might interrupt his installation of artillery and thus ordered his men to avoid general engagement but to hamper the defensive works of Damn number one. The fight at Dam Number One from a Union perspective was pointless; it cost them casualties of 35 dead and 121 wounded.

After this attack McClellan tried to convince his navy to manoeuvre the Confederates’ big guns at Yorktown and Gloucester Point and ascend the York River to West Point to outflank the Warwick Line. McClellan planned for a massive bombardment to begin at dawn on May 4, but because of the slow pace at which this plan went through the Confederate army slipped away in the night toward Williamsburg.