A Different View

BY KATHERINE CALOS - Staff Writer
Published: July 21, 2008

In the region around the former capital of the Confederacy, tales of the Civil War often come with a Confederate slant.

To hear a different perspective, try Fort Pocahontas in Charles City County. During annual re-enactments of the Action at Wilson’s Wharf, the loud boom of cannons and the pow-pow-pow of musketfire tell a story of success by the U.S. Colored Troops.

The 50-foot-high point at Wilson’s Wharf was one of the highest elevations on the James River when Union forces advanced toward Richmond in May 1864. The deep-water channel came close to shore there, making ships vulnerable to cannonfire.

To protect federal ships, Gen. Benjamin Butler sent two USCT regiments on May 5 to build a fort, which they named Fort Pocahontas. They had made significant progress by the time Confederate troops, under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, attacked on May 24.

That attack is the focus of yearly re-enactments on a weekend near the anniversary date.

Kenneth Forte of Wilmington, Mass., has been there three years in a row as a black infantryman.

“This is one of the few re-enactments that I go to where you’re actually doing it on the ground they fought on. I’m very honored to be here,” he said. “It’s the most beautiful campsite ever.”

For him, it’s important to teach people about the role of black soldiers who fought to preserve the union and to end slavery.

“There are a lot of people I have addressed that really don’t know a whole heck of a lot about it,” he said. “I’ve gone to Tuskegee and someone asked me, ‘There weren’t black troops in the Civil War, were there?’ and I said, ‘Only 200,000.’” They were taken aback. They had no clue.

“We don’t see the same faces [in the audience] every year. There are some people out there for the first time, and they’re learning something.”

Lee expected an easy victory over the black troops at Fort Pocahontas. He had about 2,500 cavalry. About 1,400 troops were inside the fort. He expected them to flee or surrender once the attack started.

But, they didn’t.

“The Confederates sent a message saying, ‘We will kill everyone inside the walls and not take any prisoners,’” said Sgt. Brian Behler with the 7th New York Cavalry before the re-enactment began. “There was a parlay where that message was delivered, and the federals said, ‘No, we will not give up the fort. We will fight to the last man.’”

They didn’t have to. Confederates were the ones who suffered the most in the attack, with about 150 men killed, injured or captured. Union troops had only about 27 casualties.

Black troops proved they could fight with bravery.

“They did it repeatedly,” Forte said, “but this was one of them.”

During the re-enactment weekend, visitors can tour the tree-shaded campsites of both armies, sit beneath a canopy to watch two days of battles and visit a small museum. Harrison Tyler, who owns nearby Sherwood Forest Plantation, created the museum in an 18th-century house he moved to the fort site.

Tyler bought the land around the fort in 1996 at a time when few recognized its significance. Tangled brambles and briers covered the USCT earthworks. A Maryland developer had planned to raze the land for a retirement community. Fortunately for Civil War preservationists, the developer went bankrupt.
Military historian Ed Besch, in researching some of the lesser known battlefields of the Civil War, discovered the significance of the site. He contacted Tyler, who took him by boat to see the site from the water.

“He said, ‘Look at the walls of the fort,’ and all I could see was briers,” Tyler recalled. As it turned out, the earthworks are among the best preserved in the country.

“No other Civil War site in the country still has the V in the [cannon] platform where the muzzle stuck through,” Tyler said.

Descendants of some of the leaders at Fort Pocahontas often come back for the re-enactments. One of them is Joe Funk of Shrewsbury, Pa. His great-uncle, Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, designed the fort.

After the Confederate retreat started toward Appomattox, Weitzel moved into Richmond as commander of Union troops north of the Appomattox River.
“He came into Richmond and put out the fires that [Confederate Gen. Richard] Ewell started,” Funk said. “He met Lincoln the next day in Jeff Davis’ office.”

Because of the connections, Funk comes back to Fort Pocahontas year after year.

As he said, “It’s a special one.”

IF YOU GO
Getting there: Fort Pocahontas is about 37 miles east of Richmond and 2.5 miles east of Sherwood Forest Plantation, which was the home of President John Tyler and remains the home of his grandson Harrison Tyler. From Richmond, go east on state Route 5. After passing Sherwood Forest, take the second right, which is Rt. 614 (Sturgeon Point Road).
Hours: The fort is open by appointment for groups of 10 or more. The annual re-enactment is open to the public for two days in May.
Sherwood Forest: The grounds are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The 300-foot mansion, which was the home of President John Tyler, is the longest frame house in America.
Cost: Group tours at Fort Pocahontas cost $8 per person for adults and $5 for students. Re-enactment rates are $10 for adults and $8 for students per day; or $15 for adults and $10 for students for a two-day pass. Sherwood Forest self-guided grounds tour costs $10 per person ages 16 and above. Private house tours cost $35 per person by advance arrangement.
Details: (804) 829-9722, http://www.fortpocahontas.org and http://www.sherwoodforest.org