Siege of Yorktown (1862)

Last updated
Siege of Yorktown (1862)
Part of the American Civil War
Battle of Yorktown, Pursuit sketch.png
Pursuit of the flying rebels from Yorktown Sunday morning.
Alfred R. Waud, artist.
DateApril 5 – May 4, 1862
(4 weeks and 1 day)
Location
York County and Newport News, Virginia
Result

Inconclusive

Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg  United States (Union)Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg  Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George B. McClellan John B. Magruder
Joseph E. Johnston
Strength
ca.58,000 rising to 102,670 [1] 72,379 [2]
Casualties and losses
182 [3] 300 [3]

The Battle of Yorktown or Siege of Yorktown was fought from April 5 to May 4, 1862, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Marching from Fort Monroe, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac encountered Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder's small Confederate force at Yorktown behind the Warwick Line. McClellan suspended his march up the Peninsula toward Richmond and settled in for siege operations.

Contents

On April 5, the IV Corps of Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes made initial contact with Confederate defensive works at Lee's Mill, an area McClellan expected to move through without resistance. Magruder's ostentatious movement of troops back and forth convinced the Union that his works were strongly held. As the two armies fought an artillery duel, reconnaissance indicated to Keyes the strength and breadth of the Confederate fortifications, and he advised McClellan against assaulting them. McClellan ordered the construction of siege fortifications and brought his heavy siege guns to the front. In the meantime, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston brought reinforcements for Magruder.

On April 16, Union forces probed a point in the Confederate line at Dam No. 1. The Union failed to exploit the initial success of this attack, however. This lost opportunity held up McClellan for two additional weeks while he tried to convince the U.S. Navy to bypass the Confederates' big guns at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, ascend the York River to West Point and outflank the Warwick Line. McClellan planned a massive bombardment for dawn on May 5, but the Confederate army slipped away during the night of May 3 toward Williamsburg.

The battle took place near the site of the 1781 Siege of Yorktown.

Background

Trigger had chosen to approach the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, with an amphibious operation that landed troops on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula at Fort Monroe. His Army of the Potomac numbered 121,500 men, transported starting on March 17 by 389 vessels. [1] McClellan planned to use U.S. Navy forces to envelop Yorktown, but the emergence of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia and the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 8–9, 1862) disrupted this plan. The threat of the Virginia on the James River and the heavy Confederate batteries at the mouth of the York River prevented the Navy from assuring McClellan that they could control either the York or the James, so he settled on a purely land approach toward Yorktown. [4]

The Confederate defenders of Yorktown, led by Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder, initially numbered only 11–13,000 men; [5] the rest of the Confederate forces, under the overall command of General Joseph E. Johnston, remained spread out across eastern Virginia at Culpeper, Fredericksburg, and Norfolk. Magruder constructed a defensive line from Yorktown on the York River, behind the Warwick River, to Mulberry Point on the James River (even taking advantage of some trenches originally dug by Cornwallis in 1781 [6] ) to effectively block the full width of the Peninsula, although he could adequately man none of the defensive works at that time. This became known as the Warwick Line.

McClellan's plan called for Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman's III Corps to fix the Confederate troops in their trenches near the York River, while the IV Corps under Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes enveloped the Confederate right and cut off their lines of communication. McClellan and his staff, ignorant of the extent of Magruder's line, assumed the Confederates had concentrated only in the immediate vicinity of Yorktown. [7]

Battle

Union advance and Lee's Mill

Siege of Yorktown, April-May 1862 .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Confederate Union Yorktown April-May 1862.png
Siege of Yorktown, April–May 1862
  Confederate
  Union

On April 4, 1862, the Union Army pushed through Magruder's initial line of defense but the following day encountered his more effective Warwick Line. The nature of the terrain made it difficult to determine the exact disposition of the Confederate forces. McClellan estimated that the Confederates had 15 to 18,000 troops in the defensive line. [8] Accounts by Magruder's soldiers indicate he marched his troops back and forth throughout his lines as a ruse to make his forces look stronger. "This morning we were called out by the 'Long roll' and have been traveling most of the day, seeming with no other view than to show ourselves to the enemy at as many different points of the line as possible," a Louisiana soldier recorded in his diary. [9] Magruder's own reports, however, do not mention this. [10] Word of Magruder's deception reached Richmond nevertheless, with Mary Chestnut noting in her diary, "It was a wonderful thing how he played his ten thousand before McClellan like fireflies and utterly deluded him..." [11] On 6–7 April, McClellan estimated (given Magruder's reinforcements) that 30,000 troops were at Yorktown. [12] Troops continued to arrive and on 20 April McClellan estimated "more than 80,000" were at Yorktown. [13]

McClellan had five divisions available and advanced in two columns. The 4th Corps of two divisions under Keyes advanced towards Lee's Mill, [14] whilst the 3rd Corps of two divisions under Heintzelman advanced towards Yorktown proper. He kept his last division (Sedgwick) in reserve to commit to either column. The lead division of Keyes' corps under Brigadier General W.F. Smith contacted the position at Lee's Mill in the early afternoon of the 5th. Smith had two brigades (Davidson and Hancock) and a battery (Wheeler's) to hand and attempted to suppress the superior enemy artillery. He lost the firefight and despite an order from McClellan to Keyes "to attack with all his force if only with the bayonet", Smith withdrew back to Warwick Court House. The 3rd Corps advanced directly towards Yorktown, but were stopped by heavy artillery fire. [15]

That evening McClellan ordered two brigades to march across the entire frontage of the enemy line. The next day (April 6) Hancock and Burns took parts of their brigades and marched across the entire frontage to provoke enemy fire. Hancock took the 6th Maine Infantry and 5th Wisconsin Infantry left to right, and Burns went right to left. This proved that there was no break in the river that could easily be assaulted. That evening a major storm started, and shut down all troop movements until the 10th. Further recces were ordered in order to find a weak point to attack, and on April 9 Hancock performed a reconnaissance around Dam Number One, where Magruder had widened the Warwick to create a water obstacle nearby. The rebel picket line was along the Garrow Ridge on the eastern side of the river. Hancock drove off the Confederate pickets and took some prisoners. Smith and the attached engineer (Comstock) noted this was the only place along the river where the ground was higher on the eastern bank than the western, and hence was vulnerable. McClellan chided Smith for not taking an opportunity to attack stating "If you had gone and succeeded, you would have been a Major General". Hancock considered this area a weak spot in the line, but his messenger was captured by the rebels en route to Smith's HQ. Keyes believed that the Warwick Line fortifications could not be carried by assault and so informed McClellan. [16]

During this phase, Union Army Balloon Corps aeronaut Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe used two balloons, the Constitution and the Intrepid, to perform aerial observation. On April 11, Intrepid carried Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, a division commander of the V Corps, was aloft, but unexpected winds sent the balloon over enemy lines, causing great consternation in the Union command before other winds returned him to safety. Confederate Captain John Bryan suffered a similar wind mishap in a hot air balloon over the Yorktown lines. [17]

In Front of Yorktown, 1862-1863, by Winslow Homer In Front of Yorktown by Winslow Homer.jpeg
In Front of Yorktown , 1862–1863, by Winslow Homer

Dam Number One

[18]

Dam No. One Battlefield Site
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location13560 Jefferson Ave., Newport News, Virginia
Area143 acres (58 ha)
Built1862 (1862)
NRHP reference No. 95000972 [19]
Added to NRHPAugust 4, 1995
The skirmish near Dam Number One Skirmish at Lee's Mills.jpg
The skirmish near Dam Number One

It was to the amazement of the Confederates (who had estimated the Union's strength at 200,000, four times the real number), and the dismay of President] Abraham Lincoln that McClellan did not attack immediately. McClellan wished to either turn the position with an amphibious movement or find a weak point where an assault stood a reasonable chance of success. The Navy refused to cooperate, but on 14 April, McClellan's chief engineer John G. Barnard finally reported that a weak point had been found at Dam No. 1, located on the Warwick River. McClellan developed a plan of attack at that point. Initially a division (Smith's) would seize and occupy Garrow Ridge overlooking the dams. This would prevent the rebels from conducting further work on a fort they were building at the river's edge and prevent rebel scouts from finding the assembling assault forces. He would then assemble a large force behind the ridge and assault the rebel fortifications. On April 15 orders were sent to Smith to occupy the Garrow Ridge and probe the rebel fortifications to see whether there was a clearing in the woods behind the crossing. All the uncommitted units (Casey's Division, Richardson's Division and [Henry] Naglee's brigade) were ordered to assemble ready to assault in the following days.

Smith's operations, which took place on April 16, were a debacle. [20] Initially wildly successful in seizing the Garrow Ridge and advancing a small force to drive off the rebels, McClellan considered the task completed, and returned to his HQ to arrange for the assaulting units to move into position. Smith then decided to advance a small force of Vermonters across the Dam against his orders. They were rapidly pinned down as Brig. Gen. Howell Cobb's brigade, supported by two others, came down on this small force, and were driven back. In the process they collapsed the dam, and destroyed the crossing point. This rendered the planned assault impossible. Smith faced a severe criticism for his failure, and was the subject of a witchhunt by a Vermont senator. [21]

Drummer Julian Scott, along with First Sergeant Edward Holton and Captain Samuel E. Pingree were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroisim at Dam Number One. [22]

Aftermath of Dam No. 1

On the morning of April 17 it became obvious that no assault could be attempted at any point. At this point McClellan acquiesced to conducting "regular approaches" and ordered parallels to be dug for heavy artillery. [23] The siege preparations at Yorktown consisted of 15 batteries with more than 70 heavy guns, including two 200-pounder Parrotts and twelve 100-pounder Parrots, with the rest of the rifled pieces divided between 20-pounder and 30-pounder Parrotts and 4.5-inch (110 mm) Rodman siege rifles. These were augmented by 41 mortars, ranging in size from 8 inches (200 mm) to 13-inch (330 mm) seacoast mortars, which weighed over 10 tons and fired shells weighing 220 pounds. When fired in unison, these batteries would deliver over 7,000 pounds of ordnance onto the enemy positions with each volley. [24]

Union battery with 13-inch (330 mm) seacoast mortars, Model 1861, during siege of Yorktown, Virginia 1862. Yorktown artillery2.jpg
Union battery with 13-inch (330 mm) seacoast mortars, Model 1861, during siege of Yorktown, Virginia 1862.

McClellan had not given up hope of turning Yorktown. The commander of the York River flotilla, Missroon, had consistently refused to even approach the Yorktown batteries, citing the weakness of his ship. However, on 16 April the USS Sebago joined the flotilla, and her captain promptly reported Missroon's "cowardice". Missroon attempted to delay further by stating he'd only attack Yorktown if the opposite fortress at Gloucester Point was destroyed first. McClellan gave him the newly arrived division of Franklin as a landing force, but Missroon kept finding reasons not to land them. Finally on 30 April Missroon was relieved and replaced by Commander William Smith. Smith promptly closed with the Yorktown batteries and bombarded them. This would precipitate Johnston's retreat. [25]

For the remainder of April, the Confederates, now at ca. 72,000 effectives and under the direct command of Johnston, improved their defenses while McClellan undertook the laborious process of transporting and placing massive siege artillery batteries, which he planned to deploy on May 5. This would be followed by an assault by six divisions against "The Divide," a fortified line containing two forts (named the Red Redoubt and the White Redoubt) linked by continual trenchline between the head of the Warwick and the main fortress of Yorktown.

To Johnston, the naval bombardment of 30 April, and the initial Federal bombardment by the siege guns on 1 May were a signal that time was up. Johnston sent his supply train (which was small, because Yorktown was being supplied by water) in the direction of Richmond on May 3. That evening the rebels expended as much ordnance as possible to discourage pursuit, and when the last rebel infantry was clear, leaving booby traps and land mines in their works, the gunners set long fuses on the remaining powder and joined the retreat.

McClellan's guns and gunners near the lower wharf at Yorktown after the Confederate evacuation The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14762890385).jpg
McClellan's guns and gunners near the lower wharf at Yorktown after the Confederate evacuation

Sometime after midnight on 4 May, two escaped slaves approached Hancock's brigade. They said the rebels were withdrawing. Hancock sent the message to Smith, who was awoken at 2 a.m. with this information, which was followed immediately by Lt. George Custer reporting he'd seen the same from a balloon. Still groggy, Smith sent the messenger up to Keyes, and ordered the pickets to investigate at dawn. Custer was not satisfied with this and rode forward to Brookes's Vermont Brigade and told him. He immediately woke his brigade and set them in place to make a dawn attack, and at 5.30 a.m. the Vermonters seized the fortifications they'd been repelled by on 16 April. Keyes's message apparently did not arrive until well into the morning.

Meanwhile, sometime between 3.15 and 4.00 a.m., General Jameson, the General of the Trenches for the day, was informed that there were explosions in Yorktown and picket firing. He woke General Porter, the Director of the Siege, with the information. Porter looked through at Yorktown and dismissed the rumour that the rebels were retreating. However at 4.30 a.m. three rebel soldiers surrendered to the Federals and were brought to Jameson. He went back to Porter who this time accepted the information, ordering that reconissances be immediately sent out and for several regiments to occupy Yorktown at dawn.

At 5.30 a.m. the news reached McClellan's HQ. Awoken by the news he then telegraphed Sumner, Smith and Porter to push forward and ascertain the truth of the matter. Other news soon came in, and McClellan ordered a general pursuit. [26] He sent cavalry under Brig. Gen. George Stoneman in pursuit and ordered Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin's division to reboard Navy transports, sail up the York River, and cut off Johnson's retreat. The stage was set for the subsequent Battle of Williamsburg and Battle of Eltham's Landing. [27]

Battlefield preservation

The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 6 acres (0.024 km2) of the Lee's Mill section of the battlefield. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George B. McClellan</span> American major general (1826–1885)

George Brinton McClellan was an American military officer, politician, engineer, businessman and writer who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A West Point graduate, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War before leaving the United States Army to serve as a railway executive and engineer until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising the Army of the Potomac, which served in the Eastern Theater; he also served as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsula campaign</span> 1862 Union offensive in southeast Virginia during the American Civil War

The Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia, intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. McClellan was initially successful against the equally cautious General Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of the more aggressive General Robert E. Lee turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a humiliating Union defeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Days Battles</span> US civil war battles in 1862

The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign, but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign, not a separate campaign in its own right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Williamsburg</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Eltham's Landing</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Eltham's Landing, also known as the Battle of Barhamsville, or West Point, took place on May 7, 1862, in New Kent County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin's Union division landed at Eltham's Landing and was attacked by two brigades of Brig. Gen. G. W. Smith's command, reacting to the threat to the Confederate army's trains on the Barhamsville Road. Franklin's movement occurred while the Confederate army was withdrawing from the Williamsburg line, but he was unable to interfere with the Confederate movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hanover Court House</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Hanover Court House, also known as the Battle of Slash Church, took place on May 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Seven Pines</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, nearby Sandston, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Beaver Dam Creek</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, also known as the Battle of Mechanicsville or Ellerson's Mill, took place on June 26, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia. It was the first major engagement of the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the start of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's counter-offensive against the Union Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, which threatened the Confederate capital of Richmond. Lee attempted to turn the Union right flank, north of the Chickahominy River, with troops under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, but Jackson failed to arrive on time. Instead, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill threw his division, reinforced by one of Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill's brigades, into a series of futile assaults against Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps, which occupied defensive works behind Beaver Dam Creek. Confederate attacks were driven back with heavy casualties. Porter withdrew his corps safely to Gaines Mill, with the exception of Company F of the 8th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment who did not receive the orders to retreat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gaines' Mill</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles which together decided the outcome of the Union's Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the inconclusive Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) the previous day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against the right flank of the Union Army, relatively isolated on the northern side of the Chickahominy River. There, Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp. Lee's force was destined to launch the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon as the Confederates attacked in a disjointed manner, first with the division of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill, then Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, suffering heavy casualties. The arrival of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's command was delayed, preventing the full concentration of Confederate force before Porter received some reinforcements from the VI Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Savage's Station</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Savage's Station took place on June 29, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as the fourth of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. The main body of the Union Army of the Potomac began a general withdrawal toward the James River. Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder pursued along the railroad and the Williamsburg Road and struck Maj. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner's II Corps with three brigades near Savage's Station, while Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's divisions were stalled north of the Chickahominy River. Union forces continued to withdraw across White Oak Swamp, abandoning supplies and more than 2,500 wounded soldiers in a field hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John B. Magruder</span> American and Confederate military officer

John Bankhead Magruder was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War (1861–1865). As a major general, he received recognition for delaying the advance of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's large force, the Army of the Potomac, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, as well as recapturing Galveston, Texas the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Magruder</span>

Fort Magruder was a 30-foot (9.1 m) high earthen fortification straddling the road between Yorktown and Williamsburg, Virginia, just outside the latter city during the American Civil War. At the center of the Williamsburg Line, it was also referred to as Redoubt Number 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern theater of the American Civil War</span> Military operations in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania

The eastern theater of the American Civil War consisted of the major military and naval operations in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina.

Kingsmill is a geographic area in James City County, Virginia, that includes a large planned residential community, a resort complex, a theme park, a brewery, and a commercial park.

The Warwick Line was a defensive works across the Virginia Peninsula maintained along the Warwick River by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B. McClellan during the American Civil War in 1861–62.

The following Confederate Army units and commanders were the initial structure on April 30, 1862 of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War. It contains units throughout Virginia that influenced the campaign. The Union order of battle is listed separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee's Mill Earthworks</span> Archaeological site in Virginia, United States

Lee's Mill Earthworks is a historic archaeological site located at Newport News, Virginia. The earthworks formed part of the fortifications along the James River, which included fortifications at Fort Crafford, as well as, Dam No.1, and Wynne's Mill in Newport News Park. On April 5, 1862, advance units of Union Brigadier General Erasmus D. Keyes' IV Corps, under the command of Union Brigadier General William Farrar Smith, encountered Confederate units commanded by Brigadier General Lafayette McLaws at Lee's Mill. Heavy rains and massive earthen fortifications defending the river crossing stopped the Union troops from proceeding to Richmond. Confederate Major General John B. Magruder's extensive defensives beginning at Lee's Mill and extending to Yorktown along the Warwick River caused the Union Army of the Potomac Commander Major General George B. McClellan to initiate a month-long siege of the Warwick-Yorktown Line which lasted until May 3, 1862 and contributed to the eventual failure of McClellan's campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Malvern Hill</span> Battle in the American Civil War

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. It was the final battle of the Seven Days Battles during the American Civil War, taking place on a 130-foot (40 m) elevation of land known as Malvern Hill, near the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia and just one mile (1.6 km) from the James River. Including inactive reserves, more than fifty thousand soldiers from each side took part, using more than two hundred pieces of artillery and three warships.

The Battle of Garnett's and Golding's Farms took place June 27–28, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War's Peninsula Campaign. While the battle at Gaines's Mill raged north of the Chickahominy River, the forces of Confederate general John B. Magruder conducted a reconnaissance in force that developed into a minor attack against the Union line south of the river at Garnett's Farm. The Confederates attacked again near Golding's Farm on the morning of June 28 but in both cases were easily repulsed. The action at the Garnett and Golding farms accomplished little beyond convincing McClellan that he was being attacked from both sides of the Chickahominy.

References

  1. 1 2 ORA 11(1), 7, online and ORA 11(3), 184, online [ incomplete short citation ]
  2. ↑ Newton, Joseph E. Johnston and the Defence of Richmond 1861-2, Appendix B: The Strength of Johnston's Army at Yorktown and Seven Pines, pp. 213-216
  3. 1 2 Kennedy, pg. 90.
  4. ↑ Eicher, pg. 215.
  5. ↑ Kennedy, p. 88, states 11,000; Eicher, p. 215, and Salmon, pg. 76, state 13,000.
  6. ↑ Sears, pg. 48.
  7. ↑ Eicher, p. 215,
  8. ↑ ORA 11(1), 12; compare with Magruder's February return of 15,900 in ORA 9, 49, online [ incomplete short citation ]
  9. ↑ Sears, pg. 37
  10. ↑ Magruder's two reports are in ORA 11(1), pp. 403-411[ incomplete short citation ]
  11. ↑ Sears, pg. 38
  12. ↑ ORA 11(3), 76, online [ incomplete short citation ]
  13. ↑ ORA 11(3), 114-115.[ incomplete short citation ] Compare with appendix B of Newton, Joseph E. Johnston and the Defence of Richmond 1861-62. McClellan's estimates were of "aggregate present" and thus the actual enemy strength was ca. 84,000 on this date.
  14. ↑ "The battle at Lee's Mill". Philadelphia Inquirer, April 21. 1862.
  15. ↑ Beatie, Army of the Potomac Vol. 3, pp. 323-333, Siciliano, Major General William Farrar Smith: Critic of Defeat and Engineer of Victory, Ph.D., William and Mary College, 1984, pp. 80-82.
  16. ↑ Sears, pg. 42; Burton, pp. 15 and 20; Beatie, pg. 364, Siciliano, pp. 82-84 (drawing on Smith's diary Siciliano shows that Hancock's report conflates the 6 and 9 April recces). Comstock's report of the recce is online here. This portion of the Warwick River is now the Lee Hall Reservoir, part of Newport News Park.
  17. ↑ Sears, pp. 54–55.
  18. ↑ Union reports in the Official Records refer to this engagement as Lee's Mill or Burnt Chimneys. Sears, pg. 55, bases his work on these reports. However, more recent histories differentiate the skirmish on April 5 at Lee's Mill from the more significant action nearby on April 16, which they refer to as Dam Number One. See for example, Burton, pp. 14–19, and the Virginia Civil War Traveler map.
  19. ↑ "National Register Information System – (#95000972)". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  20. ↑ Fisher, Bernard, ed. (4 December 2022). "Battle of Dam No. 1". HMdb.org. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  21. ↑ Beatie, pp. 357-408
    Siciliano, pp. 84-97
  22. ↑ Salmon, pp. 76–77
    Rickard, np.
  23. ↑ Beatie, pp. 409-486
  24. ↑ Sears, pg. 58.
  25. ↑ Reed, Combined Operations in the Civil War, pp. 133-160, Beatie, pp. 393-408
  26. ↑ Beatie, pp. 487-499
  27. ↑ Salmon, pg. 80.
  28. ↑ American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.

Sources

37°11′02″N76°32′02″W / 37.184°N 76.534°W / 37.184; -76.534

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.