Early in 1863, as a part of the VII Corps, his brigade, composed of men from New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, was sent to Suffolk, Virginia. There, in April and May, it was besieged by Confederates under Lieutenant General James Longstreet. Once the siege was lifted, Terry reported to Major General John A. Dix, who in late June shipped his brigade up the York and Pamunkey rivers to White House, Virginia. For the next three weeks Terry participated in an operation threatening General Robert E. Lee's communications line to Richmond during the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania.