Lee’s Mill Earthworks in the city of Newport News are some of the best surviving remains of the 12-mile-long Warwick-Yorktown line that delayed the Union advance toward Richmond in 1862. This Civil War site features rifle pits and a standard 19th-century redoubt designed by prominent Confederate engineers Isaac St. John and Alfred Rives. These fortifications were the site of a battle on April 5, 1862, that led to a three-week siege of Union Major Gen. George McClellan’s forces. This act resulted in the Union’s failure to capture Richmond and prolonged the Civil War for three more years. The Lee’s Mill Earthworks site would likely yield archaeological evidence that can only be assessed for significance through future investigations.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia