Yorktown, VA

Headnote
Yorktown, the seat of justice, is on York River, 11 miles from its mouth, 33 from Norfolk, and 70 from Richmond. It was established by law in 1705, and was once a nourishing village, and had considerable commerce. There are now only about 40 dwellings, many of which are dilapidated and fast going to decay. The Swan tavern, in this town, is said to be the oldest in Virginia. (Historical Collections, 1852)
Place Unit Type
City or Town
Containing Unit
York County, VA

Yorktown, Virginia (Howe)

Gazetteer/Almanac
Yorktown, the seat of justice, is on York River, 11 miles from its mouth, 33 from Norfolk, and 70 from Richmond. It was established by law in 1705, and was once a nourishing village, and had considerable commerce. There are now only about 40 dwellings, many of which are dilapidated and fast going to decay. The Swan tavern, in this town, is said to be the oldest in Virginia.

The water scenery at York is fine. The river, full a mile wide, is seen stretching far away until it merges into Chesapeake Bay — an object of beauty when rolling in the morning light, its ripples sparkling in the sun, or when its broad bosom is tinged with the cloud-reflected hues of an autumnal sunset.
Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Virginia… (Charleston, SC: William R. Babcock, 1852), 519-520.
Date Type
- In eastern Virginia, thousands of Confederate troops make a stealthy withdrawal from Yorktown Battles/Soldiers
In Hanover County, Virginia, Pennsylvania cavalry capture W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, son of Robert E. Lee Battles/Soldiers
In Virginia, Union artillery outside Yorktown delivers a preliminary barrage on Confederate defenses Battles/Soldiers
In York County, Virginia, Confederate troops repulse a Union attack at the Battle of Big Bethel Battles/Soldiers
Near Williamsburg, Virginia, forty-thousand pursuing Union troops clash with the Confederate rearguard Battles/Soldiers
On the Virginia Peninsula, the Army of the Potomac advances to besiege Yorktown Battles/Soldiers
The cornerstone of the Soldiers' Monument is laid at Hampton National Cemetery in Virginia. Battles/Soldiers
Union telegrapher dies in a Washington DC hospital of wounds from a booby-trap left in Yorktown Battles/Soldiers
Date Title
Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Terrible Tornado in Virginia,” July 5, 1859
Abraham Lincoln to John Dix, January 14, 1863
How to Cite This Page: "Yorktown, VA," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/21045.