Sunday, October 11, 2026

Question: What was Yorktown’s role in the Civil War?

Answer: Yorktown served as a major supply port for whichever side controlled it, Union or Confederate. In 1862, it endured its second siege, with gunboats crowding the harbor and soldiers reinforcing the old Revolutionary earthworks. A massive gunpowder explosion in 1863 destroyed the courthouse and Swan Tavern, leaving the town devastated.