BIG BETHEL: THE FIRST BATTLE

Pvt. Henry L. Wyatt, 1st North Carolina Volunteers, Killed in Action, Big Bethel, Virginia, June 10, 1861.

He was from Tarboro and the Children of the Confederacy dedicated a fountain to him which is on the Common. It is one of only two commons left in the states.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: JOHN V. QUARSTEIN

PHONE: 757-879-3420, E-MAIL: jvquarstein@aol.com

The Hampton Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, Hampton History Museum and the Bethel Chapter 185 United Daughters of the Confederacy are pleased to announce programs commemorating the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Big Bethel.

On 10 June 2011, beginning at 6:30 PM, a lecture will be presented at the Hampton History Museum by John V. Quarstein featuring excerpts from his new book, BIG BETHEL: THE FIRST BATTLE. A book signing will be held following the lecture with all proceeds benefitting the Hampton History Museum. The next morning, a ceremony will be held at the Big Bethel battlefield unveiling the Union Big Bethel Monument and a wreath laying at the memorial honoring Pvt. Henry Lawson Wyatt, 1^st North Carolina Volunteers, CSA.

The 10 June Battle of Big Bethel was the first time during the Civil War that Union and Confederate soldiers engaged in open combat. While later considered a skirmish in comparison to the bloody battles to come later in the war, the engagement caused some of the Civil War’s firsts: first friendly fire incident, death of the first Union soldier in combat, the first battlefield amputation, the first West Point graduate killed in action, and the mortal wounding of the first Confederate infantryman. The Confederate use of field fortifications enabled their 1400 defenders to repel the piecemeal attacks of the Federal 4,400-strong strike force. Despite this defeat, the Union was able to retain control of the very tip of the Peninsula below the northwest branch of the Back River. This situation allowed the North to use Ft. Monroe as a base for the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron as well as for all of its major amphibious operations. In turn, the Confederate victory at Big Bethel raised enthusiasm for the war and reinforced the myth that one Southerner could defeat at least four or five Northerners. Big Bethel allowed the Confederacy to control most of the Hampton Roads, with its agricultural and shipbuilding resources, until May 1862.

For additional information, please contact John V. Quarstein at 757-879-3420.