Battle of Mathias Point
The Battle of Mathias Point, Virginia (June 27, 1861) was an early naval action of the American Civil War in connection with the Union blockade and the corresponding effort by the Confederates to deny use of the Potomac to the enemy.
| Battle of Mathias Point | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
James H. Ward † James C. Chaplin J. P. K. Mygatt |
Daniel Ruggles John M. Brockenbrough R. M. Mayo | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
36–50 gunboat crew | 400–500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 killed 4 wounded | none | ||||||
Two Union gunboats tried to prevent the Confederates from installing a battery on the Potomac at Mathias Point in King George County, Virginia. A landing party prepared to install their own battery, but were beaten back before they could unload their guns from the USS Thomas Freeborn. Cannon fire from this vessel kept the Confederates temporarily at bay, and Commander James H. Ward ordered another landing. This was also repulsed, and Ward was killed, becoming the first Union Navy officer to be killed in the war. The Confederates held this position until March 1862.