Battle of Cockpit Point 1862
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 3 January 1862 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1862 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 38.5913, -77.7315 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cockpit Point, the Battle of Freestone Point, or the Battle of Shipping Point, took place on January 3, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the blockade of the Potomac River during the American Civil War.
After victory at First Battle of Bull Run, the Confederate States Army (CSA) established a defensive line from Centreville along the Occoquan River to the Potomac River. The Confederates used the Potomac's banks as gun positions to halt Union traffic on the river, protecting Manassas Junction to the west and Fredericksburg to the south and to close the Potomac River to shipping and isolate Washington.
In October 1861, the Confederates constructed batteries at Evansport (now downtown Quantico), which consisted of two batteries on the river bank, and another 400 yd (370 m) inland, a CSA field battery located at the mouth of Chopawamsic Creek where it empties to the Potomac (now the Marine Corps Air Facility), Shipping Point (now Hospital Point on Quantico), number of guns unknown, Freestone Point, a CSA four-gun battery on the shore of the Potomac River, (now within Leesylvania State Park), and Cockpit Point (near the current asphalt plant), which consisted of six guns (one heavy gun) in four batteries, a powder magazine, and rear rifle pits, on top…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cockpit Point (revision 1370437433), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Second Battle of Rappahannock Station 1863 · 10 km
- First Battle of Rappahannock Station 1862 · 11 km
- First Battle of Auburn 1863 · 12 km
- Second Battle of Auburn 1863 · 13 km
- Battle of Kelly's Ford 1863 · 13 km
- Battle of Brandy Station 1863 · 16 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Battle of the Head of Passes 1861
- Bog Wallow Ambush 1861
- First Battle of Mesilla 1861
- Siege of Tubac 1861
- Skirmish at Blackwater Creek 1861
- Battle of Albuquerque 1862
- Battle of Antietam 1862
- Battle of Apache Pass 1862
- Battle of Augusta (1862) 1862
- Battle of Baton Rouge (1862) 1862
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles