Mid-January 1865, Lieutenant General Ulysses S Grant, commander of the Union Army, was still bogged down around Petersburg Virginia, where he had been attempting to take the city since June of the previous year. City Point (now, Hopewell), Virginia, on the south bank of the James River, was General Grant’s field headquarters, with its Union port serving as the logistical supply hub for the Union forces around Petersburg. If the Confederates could destroy the supply depot at City Point, it would greatly disrupt General Grant’s campaign to capture Petersburg. The Confederate James River Squadron, commanded by Flag Officer John K. Mitchell, was given the task of carrying out such an attack. The ensuing action was the last major naval battle of the Civil War. I present a detailed account of the failed attempt by the Confederates to destroy City Point.
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Text Copyright, 2023-06-25, by Lowell L. Getz. All Rights Reserved.
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