Cumberland Town

WO-21

Richard Littlepage III established Cumberland Town on the south side of the Pamunkey River in 1748. A busy shipping center, the town offered a tobacco inspection station, warehouses, wharves, and a ferry. The Virginia House of Burgesses briefly considered Cumberland Town a candidate to replace Williamsburg as the colonial capital in 1748. During the Revolutionary War, a public supply depot and a military hospital were established here. During the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War, Cumberland was the headquarters of Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan from 13 to 16 May 1862. Nearly 110,000 troops camped here before moving toward White House.

Department of Historic Resources, 2016

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Alonzo T. Dill and Brent Tarter, “The ‘hellish Scheme’ To Move The Capital,” Virginia Cavalcade (Summer 1980), 30: 4-11. George B. McClellan letters: http://www.americancivilwar.com/authors/Joseph_Ryan/150-Year-Anniversary/May-1862/General-McClellan-Progression-May-1862/General-McClellan-Progression-May-1862.html Malcolm H. Harris, “The Port Towns of the Pamunkey,” William and Mary Quarterly (Oct. 1943), 23:493-516. Richard E. Killblane, “White House Landing: Sustaining the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign”: http://www.transportation.army.mil/historian/documents/White%20House%20Landing%20paper.pdf Ethan S. Rafuse, McClellan’s War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union, 213 https://books.google.com/books?id=On5ExeFZVuoC&pg=PA213&lpg=PA213&dq=mcclellan+cumberland+landing+may+1862&source=bl&ots=x8JRfQRwXO&sig=0WP_t8b3V_FWSSEX4uwcRp3NttI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQi6ftmO7LAhVKFx4KHZuKBSU4ChDoAQg9MAk#v=onepage&q=mcclellan%20cumberland%20landing%20may%201862&f=false Stephen W. Sears, ed., The Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, 264-267. William W. Hening, Statutes at Large, 6: 171-172, 211, 492.