Screwpiles: The Forgotten Lighthouses

Steamboats leave Pamunkey River heading to Harrison’s Landing, 1864. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper

June 29, 1862 – James River and Elizabeth River Lighthouses Disabled by Confederate Forces After the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac , Confederate forces evacuated from Norfolk and Portsmouth. By May 1862, the U.S. Army had control over both cities

and residents were under Martial Law. In addition to damaging the U.S. Navy Shipyard, individuals sympathetic to the south disabled the lighthouse beacons in the Elizabeth and James Rivers.

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