Cockpit Point was a Civil War engagement fought in Virginia, 1862. The outcome was inconclusive.
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 by Anacostia and Yankee 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, after effectively sealing off the Potomac River for nearly five months.
This engagement, known variously as the fights at Cockpit Point, Freestone Point, or Shipping Point, unfolded on January 3, 1862, within Prince William County, Virginia. It formed part of the effort to blockade the Potomac River during the Civil War.
Following their triumph at First Bull Run, Confederate forces set up a defensive line stretching from Centreville down the Occoquan River to the Potomac. From the riverbanks, they positioned artillery to stop Union vessels from moving along the waterway. This arrangement served a dual purpose: shielding Manassas Junction to the west and Fredericksburg farther south, while also sealing the Potomac to commercial traffic and cutting off Washington from river access.
By October 1861, Confederate forces had built up fortifications at Evansport, the location now known as downtown Quantico. This included a pair of batteries positioned along the riverbank plus another situated 400 yards inland. Additional artillery emplacements dotted the area: a field battery sat where Chopawamsic Creek flows into the Potomac, a spot now occupied by the Marine Corps Air Facility; Shipping Point, today called Hospital Point on Quantico, held an unspecified number of guns; Freestone Point featured four Confederate cannons along the Potomac shoreline, ground that now lies within Leesylvania State Park; and Cockpit Point, situated near what is now an asphalt plant, contained six guns split among four batteries, including one heavy piece, alongside a powder magazine and rifle pits positioned to the rear, all perched atop a 75 foot cliff called Possum Nose. Confederate strength along the river had grown to 37 heavy guns by mid December.
The Freestone Point emplacements came under fire on September 25, 1861, from the USS Jacob Bell under Lieutenant Edward P. McCrea and the Seminole, led by Lieutenant Charles S. Norton. Cockpit Point endured its own bombardment on January 1, 1862, from the Anacostia, commanded by Lieutenant Oscar C. Badger, and the Yankee, under Lieutenant Eastman. This exchange produced no clear winner, though the Yankee sustained minor damage.
Union vessels returned to the area on March 9. Landing parties from the Anacostia and Yankee dismantled the deserted Confederate batteries at both Cockpit Point and Evansport, discovering that the CSS Page had already been destroyed by explosion. Consistent with their broader strategy of pulling back from coastal positions and islands, Confederate troops had abandoned these fortifications and withdrawn toward Richmond, having successfully blocked the Potomac River for close to five months.
Prince William County has been working toward creating the Cockpit Point Battlefield Heritage Park, with plans for it to welcome visitors in 2017. Once complete, the park will safeguard 113 acres of land, among them a 93-acre natural area centered on a pond. Along the Potomac River within the park lies a 16-acre site once used for gun batteries, where cannon emplacements can still be found.
This page covers Cockpit Point. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside historic sites, land records, and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
The account on this page is written by Aubrey Research from cited sources. Wikipedia is cited as a reference; its text is not reproduced.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the US, drawing on NRHP records, battlefield archives, census history and geological data to tell the full story of a place.