Siege of Suffolk - Lifting The Siege

Lifting The Siege

Lamson, discouraged at the removal of the Union troops from Hill's Point, withdrew his gunboats from the Nansemond River but made a deal with Getty that he would return the gunboats if pickets could be sent to Hill's Point. Getty's infantry tried three times to cross the river but were turned back each time.

While Longstreet had conceded to besieging the Union garrison instead of a quicker frontal assault, it did allow his troops to conduct a highly successful foraging campaign in the Blackwater region. Suffolk's close proximity to Washington, D.C., allowed for both General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck and Secretary of State William H. Seward to make visits to the Suffolk defenses. Seward even stayed overnight in Suffolk and Peck renamed one of his fortresses in his honor.

Finally on April 30, Lamson's sailors landed on Hill's Point and set up pickets. However, around this time Longstreet began to receive word of Union movements in northern Virginia under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. Longstreet assumed he would be called to reinforce Lee, though no orders were issued at the time. Peck also received reports of Union movements and assured Hooker he could hold Longstreet at Suffolk. On May 1, the first day of fighting at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Hooker insisted to Peck that Longstreet had rejoined Lee, although Peck insisted that he had not left Suffolk. None of Longstreet's forces had returned to Lee by this point but the Confederate foraging wagons began to move back to the North. It was clear at this point that Lee and Hooker were engaged in a major battle, but Longstreet informed Richmond that he would not withdraw until the wagons were safe. On May 3 the withdrawal orders were given. Early on May 3 Getty's division attacked Law's Alabamans and captured the first line of Confederate trenches. The fighting produced relatively high casualties while Longstreet decided to continue with his withdrawal plans later in the day. Corcoran's front pursued Pickett as he withdrew, but they were unable to catch up to the retreating Confederates. By May 9 Longstreet had rejoined Lee near Fredericksburg.