Hampton Roads Burns During the Civil War

From the March 29, 2014, Hampton Roads (Va,) Daily Press "Hampton Roads' greatest fires" Mark St.John Erickson.

I knew about the first fires, but not the last one.

SHIPYARD SCORCHED-- Gosport Navy Yard in Potsmouth was burned twice during the Civil War by Union and then Confederate trying to destroy its drydock, workshops and storehouses. But each time it recovered.

FIERY SACRIFICE-- Confederates put Hampton to the torch on August 10, 1861, razing 500 structures but leaving the charred shell of St. John's Episcopal Church.

CATASTROPHIC EXPLOSION-- Crammed with Union ammunition, the Yorktown Courthouse catches fire on Dec. 16, 1863, erasing at least a dozen buildings, including the Swan Tavern, in a nightlong series of blasts heard miles away.

---Old B-Runner