Civil War in Norfolk and South Hampton Roads (1861-1865)
Troy Valos, SMC Special Collections Librarian, May 2023
Brief Timeline:
April 17, 1861: Virginia secedes from the Union.
April 20, 1861: Retreating Union forces sets fire to Gosport Naval Shipyard (now the Norfolk Naval Shipyard). Naval ships in and around the shipyard including the USS Merrimack are set ablaze.
May 18 - 19, 1861: First local encounter took place between the USS Monticello and the Confederate battery at Sewell’s Point (now Norfolk Naval Base).
March 8, 1862: Battle between the CSS Virginia and the Union Blockading fleeting. USS Congress and USS Cumberland sunk by the Virginia.
March 9, 1862: Battle between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack)
May 10, 1862: Retreating Confederate forces sets fire to Gosport Naval Shipyard. The CSS Virginia is taken off Carney Island and scuttled by her crew to prevent her capture by Union forces.
Mayor William Lamb surrenders Norfolk to Union forces under General John E. Wool’s command and the Union occupation of Norfolk begins.
June 17, 1863 – Dr. David M. Wright affair - Dr. Wright shot and killed US Army Lt Sanborn
1865 – Union forces under the command of General Benjamin Butler leave Norfolk
1865 – Reconstruction begins
Sources:
1. Primary Sources:
A. Books and Pamphlets:
Personal Narratives:
Chelborg, Mary A. Smith. Siege of Norfolk during the Civil War. Virginia Beach, Va.: The Author, 1932.
Hoole, William Stanley, and Addie Shirley Hoole. Confederate Norfolk: The Letters of a Virginia Lady to the Mobile Register, 1861-1862. University, Ala: Confederate Pub. Co, 1984.
Pierpoint, Francis Harrison. Letter of Governor Pierpoint, to his Excellency the President and the honorable Congress of the United States, on the subject of abuse of military power in the command of General Butler in Virginia and North Carolina. Washington, D. C., McGill & Witherow, printers and stereotypers, 1864.
Wallace, Elizabeth Curtis. Glencoe Diary; The War-Time Journal of Elizabeth Curtis Wallace. Chesapeake, Va: Norfolk County Historical Society, 1968.
B. Church Records:
Christ Church (Norfolk, VA). Rector’s Register of Christ Church, 1847-? (Microfilm)
Christ Church (Norfolk, VA). Vestry Minutes 1828-1905. (Microfilm)
Freemason Street Baptist Church (Norfolk, VA). Membership, 1848-2002. (Microfilm)
Saint Mary’s Catholic Church (Norfolk, VA). Reel # 67. (Microfilm)
Saint Paul’s Church (Norfolk, VA). Parish Register, 1849-1960. (Microfilm)
Saint Paul’s Church (Norfolk, VA). Vestry Minutes 1749-1930. (Microfilm)
C. Governmental Records:
Norfolk, Virginia. Records of Common Council (Microfilm)
Reel # 2: Volume 8, 1854 – 1860
Reel # 3: Volume 8, 1854 – 1860 (continued)
Norfolk, Virginia. Register of Deaths 1853 – 1897, Reel # 46 (Microfilm)
Virginia. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death Records. (Microfilm)
Reel # 20: Norfolk County, 1853 – 1880
Reel # 24: Princess Anne County, 1853 – 1896
Reel # 33: Norfolk City, 1853 – 1893
D. Maps:
E. Newspapers/Magazines/Journals:
Microfilmed Copies:
Southern Argus Daily (The) January 10, 1848 to December 19, 1860
Norfolk Post (The) June 22, 1865 to April 5, 1866
Norfolk Virginian December 16, 1865 to March 19, 1898
Norfolk Journal December 4, 1866 to October 1, 1873
Originals Bounded:
The Day Book July 3, 1860 to September 6, 1860
The New Regime April 23, 1864 to May 12, 1864
F. Photographs/Images:
SMC Lithograph Collection (MSS 0000-xxx)
2. Secondary Sources:
A. Books and Pamphlets:
Barcroft, John W. Our Twin Cities: Norfolk and Portsmouth. Norfolk, Va: Barcroft, publisher, 1887-1888. Call Number #: 975.552
Burton, H. W., and Alexander Crosby Brown. The history of Norfolk, Virginia. A review of important events and incidents which occurred from 1736-1877, also a record of personal reminiscences and political, commercial, and curious facts. Norfolk: Norfolk Virginian Job Print, 1877. Call Number #: 975.5521 BUR
Bogger, Tommy. Free Blacks in Norfolk, Virginia, 1790-1860: The Darker Side of Freedom. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1997.
Burton, H. W. The History of Norfolk, Virginia A Review of Important Events and Incidents Which Occurred from 1736 to 1877; Also a Record of Personal Reminiscences and Political, Commercial, and Curious Facts. Norfolk, Va: Norfolk Virginian Job Print, 1877.
Connolly, M. B. Norfolk 1865 – 1868: Reconstruction, Riot, and Radicals. Norfolk, Va.: Connolly, 1987?
Connolly, M. B. Union Occupation of Norfolk and Portsmouth: Prelude to Reconstruction or Precursor to Violence? Norfolk, Va: Connolly, 1987.
Emmerson, John Cloyd, Jr. The Federal Occupation & Reconstruction Days in Portsmouth, Va.: 1863-1872. Norfolk, Va: J. C. Emmerson, 1900.
Jordan, Ervin Leon. A Painful Case: The Wright-Sanborn Incident in Norfolk, Virginia, July-October, 1863. Thesis (M.A.)--Old Dominion University, 1979.
Lamb, Robert W. Our Twin Cities of the Nineteenth Century (Norfolk and Portsmouth): Their Past, Present, and Future. Norfolk, Va: Barcroft, 1887.
Parramore, Thomas C., Peter C. Stewart, and Tommy Bogger. Norfolk: The First Four Centuries. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1994.
Porter, John W. H. A Record of Events in Norfolk County, Virginia, from April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862: With a History of the Soldiers and Sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, Who Served in the Confederate States Army or Navy. Salem, Mass: Higginson Book Co, 1997.
Squires, W. H. T., Francis E. Turin, and Maurice Edward Bennett. Through the Years in Norfolk. Portsmouth, VA: Printcraft Press, 1937.
Walters, John, and Kenneth Wiley. Norfolk Blues: The Civil War Diary of the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues. Shippensburg, PA, USA: Burd Street Press, 1997.
Stewart, William H. History of Norfolk County, Virginia and Representative Citizens. Salem, Mass: Higginson Book Co, 1997. Call Number #: 975.552 HIS
B. Newspapers/Magazines/Journals:
Johnson, Ludwell H. 1985. "Blockade or Trade Monopoly?: John A. Dix and the Union Occupation of Norfolk". Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 92, no. 1.
Websites and Databases:
Virginia Chronicle (Library of Virginia – digitized newspapers)
Chronicling American (Library of Congress – digitized newspapers)
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
HathiTrust (searchable library of digitized books, periodicals, etc.)
Internet Archive (searchable library of digitized books, periodicals, etc.)