In the American Civil War, and still a suburban hamlet of Richmond at the time, the northern fringes of Rockett's Landing were chosen to become one of the two sites in the Richmond area to serve as a Confederate Navy shipyard as compensation for the loss of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in May 1862 (the other one having been William Graves's smaller yard further upstream), with yard installations eventually straddling both sides of the James River.
During the remainder of the war, the yard serviced and built vessels for the James River Squadron, most notably its casemate ironclads such as CSS Fredericksburg, CSS Richmond and CSS Texas (1865).
The yard ceased operations and was partially burnt by retreating Confederate troops, when Richmond fell to Union troops the next day on April 3, 1865, though the hamlet itself was spared according to the contemporary map, featured on the left.

When President Abraham Lincoln started his tour of the fallen city the following day, he came ashore at Rockett's Landing.
In the American Civil War, and still a suburban hamlet of Richmond at the time, the northern fringes of Rockett's Landing were chosen to become one of the two sites in the Richmond area to serve as a Confederate Navy shipyard as compensation for the loss of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in May 1862 (the other one having been William Graves's smaller yard further upstream), with yard installations eventually straddling both sides of the James River. During the remainder of the war, the yard serviced and built vessels for the James River Squadron, most notably its casemate ironclads such as CSS Fredericksburg, CSS Richmond and CSS Texas (1865). The yard ceased operations and was partially burnt by retreating Confederate troops, when Richmond fell to Union troops the next day on April 3, 1865, though the hamlet itself was spared according to the contemporary map, featured on the left.
When President Abraham Lincoln started his tour of the fallen city the following day, he came ashore at Rockett's Landing.
Rocketts Landing