Civil War in Hampton Roads: A New Beginning

A New Beginning is the fourth and final episode in WHRO’s documentary series Civil War in Hampton Roads. In the wake of the Peninsula Campaign, the Union seized control of all of Hampton Roads and the South lost the use of critical shipbuilding transportation, industrial and agricultural area. The Confederates attempted to recapture Suffolk in the spring of 1863. The resulting siege only enabled the Confederacy to obtain food supplies from the surrounding rich agricultural area. Only Smithfield would remain unoccupied by the Union throughout the war. Fort Monroe became a center for the recruitment of U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), as many African-Americans sought to serve in this war to end slavery.

One of the major hospitals serving the Union army in Virginia – the Chesapeake Military Hospital – was located at the Chesapeake Baptist Female Seminary and served thousands of Federal soldiers. Harriet Tubman, the great heroine of the Underground Railway, served as the chief nurse at the USCT and contraband hospital facilities. In January 1865, an effort was made to negotiate an end to the war.  Known as the Hampton Roads Peace Conference, it failed to bring about a settlement; however, the war would soon be over. Despite the destruction it caused, the Civil War brought massive social, political, and economic changes to Hampton Roads.

The end of slavery gave a new life to African-Americans. Former slaves like Thomas Calhoun Walker became community leaders. Walker became the only African-American to hold statewide office in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s W.P.A., when he was appointed consultant and advisor on Negro Affairs in 1934. New economic opportunities arose with the arrival of new railroads, which fostered a boom in the Hampton Roads tourism, seafood, shipbuilding and lumber industries.

Available Soon on DVD
Point, Click and Contribute to receive your own copies of programs in this series. Each episode of the Civil War in Hampton Roads series is available for a contribution to WHRO of $100. All four episodes are available together as a thank you gift when you contribute $365.