According to a historical marker erected by the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Gateways and Watertrails Network, the first shots in the Civil War in Virginia were fired on May 3, 1861 when the USS Yankee sailed upriver and fired on Confederates at Gloucester Point. The Richmond Howitzers stationed at Gloucester Point returned fire and the USS Yankee withdrew to the mouth of the York River. Within a year, Union forces took control of the area and maintained control of Gloucester County for the rest of the war. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Confederate army recognized that Gloucester Point was critical to Virginia’s river defense. Gloucester Point had been continuously fortified since 1667.
...