The Siege of Yorktown (April 5 – May 4, 1862) was fought as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, marching from Fort Monroe toward Richmond, encountered Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder's Confederate force positioned behind the Warwick Line at Yorktown. McClellan had anticipated moving through the Peninsula without significant resistance, but upon encountering Confederate defensive works, he suspended his advance and committed to siege operations rather than direct assault.
The engagement began on April 5 when the IV Corps under Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes made initial contact with Confederate fortifications at Lee's Mill. Magruder's tactical movements of troops back and forth created the impression of stronger Confederate defenses than actually existed, convincing Union commanders of the formidability of the works. As an artillery duel commenced between the armies, reconnaissance by Keyes revealed the extent and strength of Confederate fortifications. Keyes advised McClellan against assaulting the Confederate line, leading McClellan to order the construction of Union siege fortifications and the positioning of heavy siege guns. Meanwhile, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston reinforced Magruder's position. On April 16, Union forces attempted to probe the Confederate line at Dam No. 1 but failed in this effort.
The siege lasted until May 4, 1862, representing a significant pause in McClellan's advance up the Peninsula. The outcome demonstrated how effective defensive positioning and McClellan's cautious approach could delay Union operations, though the immediate tactical and strategic consequences of the siege's conclusion are not detailed in the provided article excerpt.
The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.
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