| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — "Liberty Hall" |
| | Site of the home of
Samuel Merdith, Sr., Gent.
(1689-1762)
Processioner-1708
St. Pauls Parish, Hanover Co.
A grandson of
Thomas Meredith, Sr.
Emigrant in 1636, Virginia
His land grant in 1661 — Map (db m56524) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — “The Old Church” — Erected on this spot in 1753 |
| | Established originally on the Pamunkey River prior to 1684
Subsequently moved to the village of “Old Church” and rebuilt in 1718
The Rev. Patrick Henry officiated 1737-1777 — Map (db m15886) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery — Connecticut Remembers Her Fallen Sons |
| | Late on the afternoon of June 1, 1864, Col. Elisha Strong Kellogg and his 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery attacked Confederate entrenchments to the west along with other Federal troops from the Sixth and the Eighteenth Corps. Kellogg advanced his 1500 men across this ground in three battalions with weapons at port arms. The combined Union attacks resulted in the capture of approximately 300 prisoners. Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hoke’s Confederate division halted their further progress with . . . — Map (db m15228) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 36th Wisconsin |
| | . . . — Map (db m15901) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Bloody Baptism of Fire |
| | “It was the work of almost a single minute. The air was filled with sulphurous smoke, and the shrieks and howls of more than two hundred and fifty mangled men rose above the yells of triumphant rebels and the roar of their musketry.”
Theodore F. Vaill Adjutant, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery
The first heavy fighting at Cold Harbor erupted here, on the afternoon of June 1, 1864, when Grant determined to test the strength of the newly-built Confederate line. The 2nd . . . — Map (db m40247) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Captured Trench |
| | On the morning of June 1, 1864, Confederate soldiers of Thomas Clingman’s North Carolina brigade frantically dug this trench. They anticipated a Union assault later in the day. Around 6:00 p.m. Federal troops of the VI Corps moved into position near Old Cold Harbor, a half-mile to the east, and with two hours of daylight remaining, received orders to attack. This would be part of the first Union assault at Cold Harbor.
Emory Upton’s brigade of 2600 Union infantry attacked here. An intense, . . . — Map (db m16883) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Deadly Delay |
| | The Union assaults of June 3 failed on nearly all fronts. For the next three days, while Federal wounded lay untended between the lines, Generals U. S. Grant and R. E. Lee struggled over the details of a truce. On June 7, more than 100 hours after the attack, the generals agreed to a two-hour truce. Along one part of the line work parties found 244 Union dead and only three survivors.
One New Jersey soldier recalled that during the truce the former enemies were
talking to each . . . — Map (db m16886) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Dreadful Harvest — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | The grim drama at Cold Harbor cost some 13,000 Federals and nearly 5,0000 Confederates killed, wounded, or captured. Southern morale soared after the battle, while Grant’s men were embittered by the lopsided defeat. One Union officer wrote that it was “a murderous engagement” because “we were recklessly ordered to assault the enemy’s entrenchments.” The gallantry of the Union soldiers at Cold Harbor is a powerful testament to their commitment. “This is a pretty . . . — Map (db m16188) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Lethal Occupation |
| | From this advanced Confederate line, constructed after the grand Union assault of June 3, Lee’s sharpshooters searched for targets. They were near enough to the Federal line that enemy voices could be heard.
Between June 3 and June 12 constant skirmishing, artillery firing, and the deadly business of the Union and Confederate sharpshooters characterized the Cold Harbor fighting. Up and down the lines soldiers feared the work of these marksmen with their long range rifles. One Virginia . . . — Map (db m16887) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Powerful Postion |
| | General Porter held an impressive defensive position above Boatswain’s Creek. The first line of battle stood at the base of the hill to your front. The second line was posted nearby, and the third was along the crest behind you, where most of the artillery had unlimbered.
All three parallel lines of battle enjoyed clear fields of fire through the scattered, open woods. One Confederate considered Porter’s position “the strongest point I saw occupied by either army during the war.” — Map (db m16393) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position |
| | You are standing in front of a Union artillery battery, located on a commanding hill about 400 yards behind the front lines. From here Union officers watched for activity along the Confederate lines, and opened fire with a barrage of shells whenever they spotted a target. Southern cannoneers responded, but their projectiles either ripped into the ground in front of the Union guns, or passed harmlessly overhead.
Rarely during this two week battle were the guns silent. Constant shelling . . . — Map (db m16196) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Balloons Over the Battlefield |
| | “The view I had of the field of battle from the balloon for the first time that afternoon showed me how serious it was…..I was up half an hour in all, when I saw certain movements of our forces which made me hurry down and gallop up to Genl. McClellan.”
Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, Union staff officer
From this vantage point the Chickahominy Valley opens in front of you. Before June 27, McClellan’s engineers built 10 different bridges across the Chickahominy River . . . — Map (db m34897) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 12 — Battle Of Bethesda Church |
| | Here stood Bethesda Church, founded about 1830 and used by Baptists and Disciples of Christ until it burned in 1868. In May 1864, during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps formed the left flank of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union line here, facing Gen. Robert E. Lee's army. On 30 May, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's attack on Warren's position failed. Early attacked again on 2 June, but was beaten back by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps. The next day Grant assaulted the . . . — Map (db m15672) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 25 — Battle of Cold Harbor — Position of the Federal Sixth Corps |
| | Advancing on June 1, 1864 from Old Cold Harbor, the Federal Sixth Corps occupied this and adjacent positions from which on June 3 the Army of the Potomac delivered repeated assaults against the main Confederate defences, which were approximately 400 yards westward. — Map (db m14231) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 26 — Battle of Cold Harbor — The Field of the Heaviest Losses |
| | This was approximately the farthest point gained and held by the Federals in their assaults of June 3, 1864 on the Confederate main line, 130 yards to the west. The heaviest losses sustained by the Federals were along and on either side of this road. — Map (db m14232) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 27 — Battle of Cold Harbor — The Confederate Main Line |
| | Here Longstreet’s Corps, with Breckinridge and A.P. Hill’s Corps to the southward, repulsed on June 3, 1864, fourteen assaults from the East against the confederate main line. The federal losses, about 7000, were the heaviest ever sustained in America in so brief an action. Placed by the Confederate Memorial Literary Society. — Map (db m14234) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 28 — Battle of Cold Harbor — Main Line of Anderson’s Left Wing |
| | The Confederate earthworks here crossing this road were occupied May 31 – June 12, 1864, by the Left Division “Fields” of the First Corps. Then commanded by R.H. Anderson. Heavily attacked on June 3, this part of the line was held against repeated assaults. — Map (db m14235) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 29 — Battle of Cold Harbor — Position of the Confederate Left Wing |
| | On the main Confederate line, eight miles long, which here crossed the Old Church Road, the Federal Army, June 3, 1864, made numerous futile and costly charges. The heaviest of these were three miles southeastward and were accounted “the worst slaughter of the war”. — Map (db m14236) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — E 130 — Battle of Cold Harbor — Flag of Truce |
| | On 5 June 1864, two hot days after Gen. Robert E. Lee's bloody repulse of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's frontal assault, Federal Lt. Col. Theodore Lyman met Confederate Maj. Thomas J. Wooten nearby on Cold Harbor Road to initiate written communication on the plight of the Union wounded between the lines. Confederate Gen. A. P. Hill's trenches stood 800 yards west, and skirmishers' rifle pits survive only 200 yards away. Because Lee and Grant disagreed on terms, two more days elapsed before they . . . — Map (db m15667) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 11 — Battle of Cold Harbor |
| | The left of Lee's line at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, crossed the road here. The main battle took place to the east, where Grant attacked Lee's trenches without success. — Map (db m15670) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Battle of Gaines' Mill |
| | “The most terrific fire I ever witnessed, except at Gettysburg.” Col. Eppa Hunton, 8th Virginia Infantry
“It was one continued roar of cannons & musketry you could not hear yourself think. Such desperate fighting never graced the pages of history.” David Hyde, 9th Pennsylvania Reserves
In these fields and woods unfolded the largest and bloodiest battle of the Seven Days—Gaines’ Mill. On the morning of June 27, 1862, Union General Fitz John . . . — Map (db m43319) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Bayonets Are For Digging |
| | This covered-way, constructed after June 3, connected the main Confederate line behind you to the low ground in front. A South Carolinian stationed near here recalled:
To guard against the shells that were continually dropping in our midst or outside of our works, the soldiers began burrowing like rabbits in rear of our earthworks and building covered-ways from their breastwork to the ground below. In a few days men could go the length of a regiment without being exposed in the least, . . . — Map (db m16891) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 3 — Beaver Dam Creek |
| | Confederate troops pursuing Federals retreating eastward from Mechanicsville here came under heavy fire from across Beaver Dam Creek and were halted with loss in the late afternoon of June 26, 1862. — Map (db m14220) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Beaver Dam Creek — Richmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 |
| | General Robert E. Lee’s plan on June 26, 1862 did not anticipate a direct assault on the Union position here at Beaver Dam Creek. He hoped to maneuver instead of force to drive Fitz John Porter’s troops away from their powerful entrenchments. But Lee’s carefully crafted plan fell apart. Poor coordination among his various columns caused delays. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s 20,000 men were not able to get into position north of here, above Beaver Dam Creek, before sunset. . . . — Map (db m14983) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Beaver Dam Creek — 1862 Seven Days' Battles |
| | (left panel)
Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park
The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the battlefield landscapes, to hear the stories of the combatants and civilian residents, and to understand the complex reasons why Richmond came to symbolize the heart and soul of the Confederacy.
Regulations
This is a partial list of park . . . — Map (db m37063) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Between the Lines |
| | You are standing now just in front of the main section of Confederate fortifications. The primary line of Union entrenchments is 200 yards to your left. With the end of Grant’s attacks on the afternoon of June 3, the battle followed a less noisy but more sinister course. For the next nine days the armies hunkered down in their trenches and kept a wary eye on each other. Active sharpshooters prevented the men from showing themselves above the tops of the earthworks, while mortars randomly rained . . . — Map (db m15257) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 68 — Cavalry Action at Cold Harbor |
| | On 31 May 1864, Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s Union cavalry brigade, operating under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, advanced along this road and through these fields. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate horsemen fought a fluid defensive battle, gradually withdrawing to a stronger position at the Cold Harbor crossroads just west of here. The Mantlo farmhouse on the north side of this road was here during the action. Later, before the Union army left Cold Harbor on 12-13 June, it erected a . . . — Map (db m17558) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor — 1864 Overland Campaign |
| | (left panel)
Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park
The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the battlefield landscapes, to hear the stories of the combatants and civilian residents, and to understand the complex reasons why Richmond came to symbolize the heart and soul of the Confederacy.
Regulations
This is a partial list of park . . . — Map (db m40246) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor Battlefield — Richmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 |
| | Here Grant and Lee, with combined armies numbering some 180,000 men, fought for two weeks in May and June of 1864. They came here directly after the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and North Anna River. Grant stretched his line to seven miles here and attacked, but his assaults, especially on June 1 and 3, failed. Undaunted, he marched his army south to Petersburg and began the long process of cutting Richmond’s supply lines. Although these fields and woodlots around Cold Harbor . . . — Map (db m15047) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor Battlefield Walking Trail — Hanover County Parks and Recreation |
| | For thirteen days Union and Confederate armies faced each other around Cold Harbor, their lines separated by only 150 yards of ravaged ground. Twice, on June 1 and June 3 1864, savage fighting erupted when the Federals launched massive assaults against the entrenched Confederates. You are standing near the center of the Union lines, held by the Sixth Corps. From here, Grant’s lines extended two miles south to the Chickahominy River and nearly five miles to the north. To view this section of . . . — Map (db m16214) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 30 — Cold Harbor Campaign — Advanced Position of Ewell's Corps |
| | The second advanced position held by Ewell’s Confederate Corps here crossed the Old Church Road. This position was evacuated by the Confederates on the night of May 30, 1864. Occupied by the Federals on May 31 and attacked from the West by Southern troops on June 1. — Map (db m14237) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 31 — Cold Harbor Campaign — Advanced Position of Ewell's Corps |
| | Across the Old Church road at this point ran the advanced line of about 700 yards held by part of Ewell’s Confederate Corps on May 30, 1864. Abandoned that night, the position was occupied May 31 by troops of the Fifth Federal corps. — Map (db m14238) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor: June 2, 1864 — Hanover County Parks and Recreation |
| | This drawing (below) by the famous Civil-War artist, Alfred Waud, provides a rare glimpse of the Cold Harbor battlefield, sketched from this very spot on June 2, 1864. Union cannons blazed away at the Confederate lines only a half-mile in front of you. The Garthright House and outbuildings can be seen in the background. The tree-lined Cold Harbor road sits off to the right. The sketch appeared in the June 25, 1864, issue of Harper’s Weekly with the following description by the artist: . . . — Map (db m15279) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Confederate Breastworks |
| | This remarkably preserved stretch of the main Confederate line saw little action. Although the land here was much less wooded in 1864, its occupants appreciated the partial shelter offered by the low ground. The soldiers took advantage of it to erect some of the strongest positions to be seen anywhere on the battlefield. The Union front line is 500 yards east of here.
Both sides were sensitive to the presence of Bloody Run, which flows just to your right. Grant’s infantry had used the . . . — Map (db m16890) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Confederate Fortifications |
| | The diary of Edward R. Crockett, 4th Texas Infantry, illustrates the daily pressure of life in these trenches:
June 4th
“We work hard last night & dawn on the 4th have a heavy work completed. We have quit sleeping almost entirely.”
June 5th
“Last night we strengthened our works with a stockade & a cheaveau de freize, we worked all night, skirmishing all day...."
At Cold Harbor the quality of a soldier’s entrenchments could mean the difference . . . — Map (db m34613) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Confederate Grand Assault |
| | “All was disorder and excitement; the field was full of men running for their very lives, and it was almost impossible to make any resistance to the tide of humanity pressing down upon us.”
John E. Stewart, 44th New York
General James Longstreet received orders to attack just before sunset. Almost as if on dress parade, Longstreet’s regiments started forward across an open field. Union gunners found their range; exploding shells tore huge gaps in the Confederate lines. . . . — Map (db m56493) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Confederate Position — Cold Harbor - 1864 |
| | These earthworks are the center of the Confederate line – six miles of overlapping entrenchments. Taking advantage of the Union delay, the Confederates prepared defenses that swept every approach with cannon and rifle-musket. Across open ground came the Union assault, lethally exposed. Today there are trees, some undergrowth. On June 3, 1864, Federal soldiers had no place to take cover. — Map (db m15230) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Confederate Pursuit |
| | By nightfall Porter’s force had safely retreated across the Chickahominy. Lee had sustained nearly 9,000 casualties in his first victory of the war, while the Federals lost close to 6,000. “I could hear on all sides the dreadful groans of the wounded,” wrote one soldier, “oh the awful scene witnesses on the battlefield.” Determined to destroy McClellan’s army before it reached the James River, Lee continued to attack the retreating Federals. The armies . . . — Map (db m15233) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 13 — Cornwallis's Route |
| | Gen. Charles Cornwallis and his British forces left Petersburg on 24 May 1781 to attack the Marquis de Lafayette and his troops stationed in Richmond. Learning of Cornwallis's movements, Lafayette abandoned the city on 27 May and moved north through Hanover County to the North Anna River. After bivouacking at White Oak Swamp on 27 May, Cornwallis pursued Lafayette through Hanover County until 1 June, when the British troops reached the North Anna River. There Cornwallis sent his forces west in . . . — Map (db m22373) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Digging In |
| | By the time the armies reached Cold Harbor soldiers on both sides were adept at building earthworks. The trenches before you are typical of the works that stretched for nearly seven miles and defined the fighting here at Cold Harbor. Union general John Gibbon wrote, “A few hours were all that was necessary to render any position so strong by breastworks that the opposite party was unable to carry it and it became a recognized fact amongst the men themselves that when the enemy had . . . — Map (db m16207) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 24 — Edmund Ruffin's Grave |
| | Here at Marlbourne is the grave of Edmund Ruffin (1794-1865), one of the leading American agriculturists of the 19th century. He published and edited the Farmer's Register, an agricultural journal, for several years. In 1843, Ruffin moved to Marlbourne, where he performed many experiments to maintain the fertility of the soil using marl (a natural deposit of calcium carbonate) as fertilizer, resulting in increased crop yields. An ardent secessionist, he fired one of the first shots at . . . — Map (db m22364) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Eighth N. Y. Heavy Artillery — Cold Harbor |
| | Eighth N. Y. Heavy Artillery
Col. Peter A. Porter
4th Brigade, 2D Division, 2D Corps
Army of the Potomac
Roll of Honor
Killed or died of wounds received in the
Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864
Col. Peter A. Porter — Map (db m16286) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 4 — Ellerson's Mill |
| | From this main position above Ellerson's Mill, the Federal regulars who had stopped the Confederate advance of June 26, 1862 withdrew during the night, having discovered that "Stonewall" Jackson was turning their right flank. — Map (db m14198) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Federal Artillery Battery — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | Under the cover of night, Union artillerists left their horses at the foot of the hill behind you and dragged six rifled cannon up the slope by hand. The guns were then placed side by side inside this redoubt, with earthen mounds known as traverses, separating them for protection. The ammunition chests were carried behind the guns and placed in trenches dug for their protection. One artilleryman recalled that spare ammunition was wrapped in raincoats and placed near the guns. This hill . . . — Map (db m16199) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Field Hospital — Garthright House - 1864 |
| | During the Battle of Cold Harbor in June, 1864, the Union turned this middle-class plantation into a field hospital. The residents – forced to move to the basement – watched blood dripping down between the floorboards. After Grant left for Petersburg, the Confederates set up their field hospital in the Garthright House. — Map (db m15227) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Final Stand |
| | Civil War artillery was a splendid defensive weapon, particularly when the battlefield landscape offered the gunners open fields of fire. At Gaines’ Mill the woods plagued the Union artillery. Several gaps in the trees however, offered a direct line of sight toward the massing Confederate infantry 300 yards away. Along most of the line the Union gunners fired through or over the open woods.
During the battles climatic moments these Union gunners of the 5th Massachusetts Battery momentarily . . . — Map (db m43334) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — From Farmland to Forest — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | Time has changed this landscape dramatically since the war. In 1864, much of the Co1d Harbor area was cleared farmland. One Federal believed this openness of the land was “the greatest part of the misery” at Cold Harbor. The deadly fire of Confederate sharpshooters prevented Union soldiers from moving freely behind the lines. “There was no cover from the fire of the enemy,” a veteran observed, except in the trench itself. To move safely between front and rear, Union . . . — Map (db m16186) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 9 — Gaines' Mill |
| | Near this spot stood the mill that gave its name to the battle of June 27, 1862 also called “First Cold Harbor”. About 1500 yards SSW was the home of Dr. Gaines, where the United States Army had its balloon station. — Map (db m14205) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Gaines' Mill — 1862 Seven Days' Battles |
| | (left panel)
Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park
The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the battlefield landscapes, to hear the stories of the combatants and civilian residents, and to understand the complex reasons why Richmond came to symbolize the heart and soul of the Confederacy.
Regulations
This is a partial list of . . . — Map (db m40249) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Gaines’ Mill — Richmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 |
| | The action here on June 27, 1862, was the second-largest battle in American history up to that time. One day earlier General Robert E. Lee had pried the Union Fifth Corps from its position at Beaver Dam Creek. Here he brought 65,000 Confederate soldiers to bear against that same corps, which stood on this ground with its back less than two miles from the Chichahominy River and with its front protected by the steep ravine of Boatswain Creek. A vigorous defense by the Union Fifth Corps repulsed . . . — Map (db m15022) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Garthright House |
| | "We charged across the open field under a murdrous storm of balls & canister shot...& soon gained complet[e] possesion of all the buildings....We soon fortified as best we could the aproaches to the house by barrells & farming tools & held the position...."
June 1, 1864, diary of John F.L. Hartwell, 121st New York infantry
The Garthright House stood in the path of charging troops at two battles: Gaines’ Mill in 1862 and Cold Harbor in 1864. The house belonged to Miles Garthright, . . . — Map (db m34617) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Grant's Grand Assault |
| | “We did not go far, only for six rods [100 feet]…soon…by the lively use of bayonets, frying-pans, tin plates, and cups, we had a temporary protection, and the satisfaction of holding practically all the ground we had been over.”
Oscar Waite, 10th Vermont Infantry
Cold Harbor is best known today for high losses among the attacking Union formations on June 3. The Sixth Corps made a small advance here, but most of the famous carnage occurred elsewhere. A few hundred yards . . . — Map (db m34615) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 15 — Henry's Call to Arms |
| | One mile east on the river was Newcastle. There, on May 2, 1775, Patrick Henry put himself at the head of the Hanover volunteers and marched against the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, who had seized the colony's powder. — Map (db m22374) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Historic Cold Harbor Road |
| | In this location ran the original road from Mechanicsville to Cold Harbor. The bridge that crossed Beaver Dam Creek was destroyed by Union troops prior to the June 26, 1862, battle. — Map (db m15219) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — E 141 — Historic Polegreen Church |
| | In 1747, the meetinghouse here became vital to the colonists' struggle for religious and civil liberty when Samuel Morris and other Hanover Presbyterian dissenters called the Rev. Samuel Davies (1723-1761) to become pastor. Davies, a great orator who inspired Patrick Henry, was Virginia's first licensed non-Anglican minister. He promoted literacy among enslaved Africans in several colonies with funds he raised in England. In 1759, he became president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton . . . — Map (db m15830) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Holding the High Ground |
| | Today’s landscape makes it difficult to appreciate the many strengths of the Union position. The charging Confederates faced more obstacles than they could overcome: open fields, steep slopes, a broad and swampy creek, Union infantry using a millrace for protection, and powerfully positioned Union artillery crowning the ridge. These circumstances help explain how the Confederates lost 1,500 men here, the Federals only 350.
Despite the decisive victory here, army commander George B. . . . — Map (db m37065) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Hood's Attack |
| | Fitz John Porter's troop had repulsed Confederate attacks throughout the afternoon. With daylight waning, Lee turned to John Bell Hood to spearhead the final assault. Personally leading the 4th Texas and the 18th Georgia, General Hood instructed his men not to fire until they crossed the creek.
They "madly plunged" into Boatswain's Creek and shattered Porter's lines. Charging up the steep bank, one Texan remembered slaughtering "the retreating devils as they scampered up the hill." Hood's . . . — Map (db m16396) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — In Reserve |
| | You are standing among entrenchments built by soldiers of the Union Eighteenth Corps less than ¼ mile from the front lines. At Cold Harbor regiments typically rotated out of the front lines every other day. This explains the many layers of reserve lines seen here. Although not safe from enemy fire, soldiers in reserve could at least relax their vigilance somewhat.
A New Hampshire soldier stationed here during the second week of the battle wrote about these reserve positions: . . . — Map (db m16522) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Intensity of Battle |
| | “By the time we had gotten across, the front line, broken by our fire, frightened … which sounded like forty thousand wild cats, had reached their second line, … confusion, and they, panicstricken, left their works and croded to the top of the hill, thus preventing their artillery from firing into us….” Edmund D. Patterson, 9th Alabama Infantry
New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield defended this sector of Porter’s line. . . . — Map (db m43320) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Keep Digging |
| | These trenches represent a dramatic change in battlefield tactics. When the two armies met on this ground in 1862, soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder; victory was often dependent upon the success or failure of a dramatic charge.
By 1864 field fortifications played an increasingly significant role in determining the outcome of a battle. Despite the obvious advantage held by an entrenched army, commanders continued to order frontal assaults against these nearly impregnable positions, resulting in enormous casualties. — Map (db m16882) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Keep Your Head Down |
| | This shallow, winding depression is all that remains of a “zigzag” constructed by Union troops in June 1864. In trench warfare, soldiers dug ditches, called zigzags or covered-ways, to provide protection from sharpshooters as they moved from one line of entrenchments to another.
Soldiers at Cold Harbor crawled through covered-ways carrying heavy loads of rations or ammunition, prompting one infantryman to remark that he felt “like some unholy cross between a pack mule and a snake.” — Map (db m16881) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Killing Fields |
| | “The men bent down as they pushed forward, as if trying … to breast a tempest, and the files of men went down like rows of blocks or bricks pushed over by striking against each other.”
John L. Piper, 12th New Hampshire Infantry
At first light on June 3, 1864, over half of the Army of the Potomac rushed forward across a wide front. Theirs was a high stakes gamble. The risk: a frontal attack against well-fortified Confederate defenders. The reward: the prospect of . . . — Map (db m34609) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Lee’s First Strike |
| | The Confederate plan did not call for an attack against the Union position along Beaver Dam Creek. Instead, a series of manuevers would make the Union defenses here untenable. But poor communication and unexpected obstacles caused delays. Lee felt vulnerable. A large portion of his army lay isolated on the other side of the Chickahominy. He decided to test the Union defenses here while his primary plan unfolded.
Southern infantrymen suddenly found themselves advancing from the village of . . . — Map (db m40243) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Lee’s First Victory: At a Huge Cost |
| | “Yesterday evening we was in one of the hardest fought battles ever known. I never had a clear conception of the horrors of war until last night….In going round that battlefield with a candle searching for friends I could hear on all sides the dreadful groans of the wounded and their heart piercing cries for water…May I never see any more such in life…I assure you that I am heartily sick of soldiering.” A.N. Erskine, 4th Texas Infantry
By nightfall Union resistance on . . . — Map (db m43335) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 2 — Mechanicsville |
| | Near this village on June 26, 1862, Confederate troops under General R.E. Lee attacked and drove eastward the right wing of the Federal army commanded by Major-General George B. McClellan. This action began the Seven Days' Battle. — Map (db m14219) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Misery In The Trenches |
| | The earthworks before you were home to Union soldiers for nearly two weeks during the fighting at Cold Harbor. One Federal officer described the suffering that these troops endured living and working in the trenches: “The work of intrenching could only be done at night. The fire of sharp-shooters was incessant, and no man upon all that line could stand erect and live an instant. This condition of things continued for twelve days and nights: Sharp-shooters’ fire from both sides went on . . . — Map (db m16208) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Mistaken Identity |
| | “It was now sun down and the air was dense with smoke, so that we were realty not certain whether the column before us were friends or enemies….Their banner was furled, and we could not get any clue from that….Just at this time Colonel Jenkins, in stentorian tones called out
‘show your flag or I’ll fire upon you!’ but that flag was not unfurled and the command was given ‘ready, aim, fire.’”
Letter to newspaper from a member of the 5th South Carolina Infantry . . . — Map (db m16401) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Morell’s Division, USA |
| | “The rebels rushed down the hill in line of battle, but it wasn’t quite so easy rushing across a swamp, waist deep in thick mud, and as they tried it we tried Sharp’s rifles at eight rods, firing as fast as we could put in cartridges, the distance being so short that aim was unnecessary.”
Cpl. William C. Kent
1st U.S. Sharpshooters (Berdan’s)
“The noise of the musketry was not rattling, as ordinarily, but one intense metallic din.”
Maj. William . . . — Map (db m16398) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 6 — New Cold Harbor — Where Two Battlefields Meet |
| | Around this crossroads is bloody ground. To the right is the field of Gaines' Mill or First Cold Harbor, fought June 27, 1862, with 14,800 casualties. To the left is Second Cold Harbor, near which 17,00 fell, May 30 - June 12, 1864. — Map (db m14200) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Nowhere To Go |
| | For nearly two weeks, from June 3 to June 12, the soldiers endured the agony of trench warfare. One Virginian recalled:
Thousands of men cramped up in a narrow trench, unable to go out, or to get up, or to stretch or to stand, without danger to life and limb; unable to lie down or to sleep for lack of room and pressure of peril; night alarms, day attacks, hunger, thirst, supreme weariness, squalor, vermin, filth, disgusting odors everywhere, the weary night succeeded by the yet more . . . — Map (db m16895) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Pennsylvania Monument — Cold Harbor |
| | Erected by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
to all
Pennsylvania regiments
which participated in the operations
from May 31 to June 12, 1864.
Incident to and during the
Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia
June 1-3, 1864. — Map (db m16285) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Pickett’s Brigade, CSA |
| | “As soon as this advancing brigade reached the summit of the hill it was met by a storm of shot and shell I never saw exceeded except in the famous charge of Pickett’s men at Gettysburg.”
Col. Eppa Hunton
8th Virginia Infantry
“On they went, down the declivity, their ranks being thinned at every step….Down the hill they went, across the narrow valley.”
Letter from a member of Pickett’s Brigade to a Richmond newspaper
June 29, 1862 . . . — Map (db m16397) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 4 — Pine Slash — Welcome to Pine Slash and the Honeymoon Cottage |
| | Upon Patrick Henry’s marriage to Sarah Shelton in 1754, he received for her dowry a 300-acre tract of land and six slaves. Like many Virginians with small farms, Henry labored in the fields with his slaves. Much of the soil at Pine Slash had been exhausted by years of cultivation and along with drought, resulted in poor crops. In 1757 Henry marketed one hogshead of tobacco worth little more than £10. Soon the house at Pine Slash burned, destroying most of their possessions. Patrick and Sarah . . . — Map (db m46754) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Polegreen Church — Stalemate at Totopotomoy Creek — Lee vs. Grant – The 1864 Campaign |
| | Following the cavalry fight at Enon Church on May 28, 1864, Lee moved to block Grant’s advance toward Richmond. He stationed his army along a ridge protected by swampy Totopotomoy Creek. When Union infantry arrived they found Lee’s soldiers solidly dug in. Gen. Winfield Hancock’s Second Corps scouted the position on May 29, then attacked on May 30 and captured a small section of Southern trenches.
Frustrated in his attempts to break Confederate lines at the Totopotomoy, Grant looked for . . . — Map (db m15829) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 2 — Polegreen Church — Reverend Samuel Davies and a young Patrick Henry |
| | For more than a century the Polegreen Church stood as a monument to the Hanover Dissenters and Samuel Davies in the struggle for religious liberty. Though Davies died fifteen years before the American Revolution, his influence and revolutionary spirit was embodied in Patrick Henry, the orator of the Revolution.
When Reverend Samuel Davies arrived to Polegreen in 1747, Patrick Henry was only eleven years old. Patrick’ mother, Sarah, and her father, Isaac Winston, were active dissenter . . . — Map (db m32674) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 2 — Polegreen Church — Cradle of Religious Freedom in America |
| | From Virginia’s founding until the American Revolution 170 years later, the Anglican Church was the only state recognized religion. The government built the churches and the parsonages and paid the clergy with tax money. All other religious groups were discouraged, suppressed and harassed until a powerful religious movement, known as the “Great Awakening,” took hold in the middle colonies in 1739 when British evangelist George Whitefield preached in Williamsburg.
Whitefield . . . — Map (db m32679) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Powerful Position |
| | On the morning of June 27, General Fitz John Porter’s men arranged their formidable defenses along the slope of Boatswain’s Creek, where you are standing. Orders directed him to resist Lee’s advance, “even to my destruction,” remembered Porter.
Around 2:30 p.m. the first Confederate troops from A.P. Hill’s division attacked the center of Porter’s line. The fighting erupted less than ½-mile to your right. Hill’s men repeatedly advanced, only to meet destruction in the open . . . — Map (db m34900) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Preparation For Battle |
| | On June 2, 1864, the night before the grand assault at Cold Harbor, Union staff officers passed among the battle lines issuing orders. One officer, Major Horace Porter, was in this vicinity when he witnessed a scene of foreboding. Porter recalled: As I came near one of the regiments which was making preparations for the next morning’s assault, I noticed that many of the soldiers had taken off their coats, and seemed to be engaged in sewing up rents in them. This exhibition of tailoring seemed . . . — Map (db m16195) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Read’s Battalion CSA Artillery — Richmond National Battlefield Park |
| | These cannon mark the approximate position of a four-gun battery belonging to the Richmond Fayette Artillery, part of Major J.P.W. Read’s Battalion that held strategic points along the Confederate main line. The battery supported General Alfred Colquitt’s Georgia brigade on June 1, 1864, and participated in the repulse of a Union attack that evening. On the morning of June 3, Read’s gunners were again called to action. Their intense and accurate fire was directed towards the advancing Federal . . . — Map (db m15231) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Read's Batallion |
| | These cannon mark the approximate position of a four-gun battery belonging to the Richmond Fayette Artillery, part of Major J.P.W. Read’s Battalion that held strategic points along the Confederate main line. The battery supported General Alfred H. Colquitt’s Georgia brigade on June 1, 1864, and took part in the repulse of a Union attack that evening.
On the morning of June 3, Read’s gunners were again called to action. They directed an intense and accurate fire toward the advancing Federal . . . — Map (db m34050) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 3 — Rural Plains — "Give me liberty or give me death!" — Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 |
| | Rural Plains, home of the Shelton family for nearly three centuries, stands on the northern bank of Totopotomoy Creek. Eighteen-year-old Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton in 1754. Family tradition places the wedding ceremony in the first floor parlor located in the northwest corner of the house. The young couple soon moved a short distance away to Pine Slash, a small farm on a 300-acre tract of land.
The Shelton House received national attention in the spring of 1864 when Civil War . . . — Map (db m35014) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Rutland |
| | Rutland was the home of the Timberlake family for 200 years, built circa 1790-1810 as a one-and-one-half-story hall-and-parlor house. July 12-21, 1862, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart headquartered in the house, with an encampment of 3,000 cavalry. After the Civil War, it was enlarged in the Italianate style, and was named Rutland. The Virginia Central Railroad and Atlee’s Station were built, by 1850, on the southwestern edge of the property, and, in the 1930s, U.S. Rt. 301 bisected its fields. . . . — Map (db m20972) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Scars of Conflict |
| | Twelve days of combat transformed this once pastoral landscape. With every shift of a line of battle, the soldiers dug new works. Reserve troops dug too, well behind the front lines. By battle’s end, earthworks gouged the landscape in every direction, many times without apparent order. The earthworks in front of you are typical of the hundreds of pits that remain on the Cold Harbor battlefield. We do not know who built them, or even why; perhaps they sheltered the cannoneers of the battery . . . — Map (db m16200) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 4 — Seven Days Battles — Mechanicsville |
| | Down this slope in the late afternoon of June 26, 1862, A. P. Hill moved to attack the Unionists holding the east side of Beaver Dam Creek. Pender’s Brigade was on the left, Ripley’s on the right. Exposed to a terrible fire from entrenched troops, Pender and Ripley were driven back, though some men reached the stream. — Map (db m14985) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 8 — Seven Days Battles — Porter’s Withdrawal |
| | Along this road Fitz-John Porter withdrew from Beaver Dam Creek in the early morning of June 27, 1862. McClellan, having learned that Stonewall Jackson was approaching Porter’s rear, late at night ordered the withdrawal to another position. This was on Boatswain Creek, not far from New Cold Harbor. — Map (db m14994) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 16 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines’s Mill |
| | This is the site of Gaines’s Mill, which gave its name to the Battle of June 27, 1862. Here A. P. Hill’s advance guard, following Porter, came in contact with the Union rearguard. After a short action the Unionists withdrew to a position on Boatswain Creek, closely pursued by the Confederates. — Map (db m14996) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 25 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines’s Mill |
| | Along the slopes of Boatswain Creek, facing north and west, extended Porter’s position in the afternoon of June 27, 1862. The line was held by Sykes’s division facing north, and Morell’s facing west. Later McCall was thrown in to assist Morell. At dark Lee broke the Union line, and Porter retreated across the Chickahominy. — Map (db m15008) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 10 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines’s Mill |
| | Here Lee and Stonewall Jackson conferred in the morning of June 27, 1862. Jackson’s troops halted here until A. P. Hill arrived from Beaver Dam Creek. Hill then moved southward by Gaines’s Mill and Longstreet turned to the east. All three columns approached the Union position on Boatswain Creek. — Map (db m15053) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 2 — Seven Days Battles — Mechanicsville |
| | Mechanicsville was held by Union outposts when, in the early afternoon of June 26, 1862, A. P. Hill reached it coming from the north. The Unionists were quickly driven back to their position on Beaver Dam Creek. Then D. H. Hill, followed by Longstreet, crossed the Chickahominy on this road and joined A. P. Hill. — Map (db m15211) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 80 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines’s Mill |
| | On this hill, facing north, Sykes’s division was posted in the afternoon of June 27, 1862, holding the eastern end of the Union line. Here Jackson attacked, while to the west A. P. Hill and Longstreet renewed their assaults. When the Union line was broken on their left, Sykes’s regulars fell back to the river still fighting. — Map (db m15225) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 60 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines's Mill |
| | Stonewall Jackson reached this point in the afternoon of June 27, 1862, after a circuit of Gaines's Mill. When he learned that A. P. Hill and Longstreet to the west were hard pressed, he moved south to join in the attack. — Map (db m15464) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 70 — Seven Days Battles — Gaines's Mill |
| | The hill to the south, part of the Union line, was assailed by Stonewall Jackson (with D. H. Hill) in the late afternoon of June 27, 1862, after A. P. Hill's and Longstreet's first assaults on the west had failed. Jackson's men carried the Union position at the bayonet's point, while A. P. Hill and Longstreet were also successful. — Map (db m16169) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 9 — Seven Days' Battles — Jackson's March to the Battefields |
| | Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and his troops passed through this intersection on 27 June 1862, having arrived from the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson's troops united with Gen. Robert E. Lee's forces just south of here at Walnut Grove Church that morning. Later in the day Lee's and Jackson's combined forces and successfully assaulted the Union V Corps at the Battle of Gaines's Mill. — Map (db m15458) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 12 — Seven Days' Battles — New Bridge |
| | Leading up to and during the Seven Days' Battles from 25 June to 1 July 1862, bridges and roads played an important role in the movement of the Union and Confederate armies. New Bridge on the Chickahominy River was 1.5 miles south of here, and was one of the most important of the many river crossings. Union army troops marched through this region to Mechanicsville on 24 May 1862. Confederate Maj. Gens. James Longstreet's and Ambrose P. Hill's divisions used the New Bridge on 29 June 1862 as . . . — Map (db m15675) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 23 — Seven Days' Campaign — Gaines's Mill |
| | On 25 June 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia in the Seven Days' Campaign to drive Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and his Army of the Potomac from the gates of Richmond. By 27 June the Union left flank rested atop Turkey Hill near Gaines's Mill. At first Lee's piecemeal assaults failed, as Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill led his division down this slope and across Boatswain Swamp, followed on the right by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet. Finally, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson . . . — Map (db m15463) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 6 — Seven Days’ Battles — Battle of Beaver Dam Creek |
| | The Civil War battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) began on the afternoon of 26 June 1862. Confederate Maj. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill’s division crossed the Chickahominy upstream at Meadow Bridges and encountered Union skirmishers. The Federals fell back to a strong position east of Beaver Dam Creek at Ellerson’s Mill. There the Confederates attacked along a two-mile front, but were repulsed by Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter’s V Corps. That night Union forces abandoned their position and occupied . . . — Map (db m14988) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — PA 20 — Seven Days’ Battles — Gaines’s Mill |
| | Half a mile south is Boatswain Creek. The battle that was begun at Gaines’s Mill by A. P. Hill, following Porter’s rear guard, culminated at the Union position on Boatswain Creek. There A. P. Hill and Longstreet, moving eastward, and Jackson coming from the north, converged to attack the Unionists, commanded by Porter. — Map (db m14998) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — O 8 — Sheridan's Raid |
| | Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan from 9 to 14 May 1864 led three cavalry divisions on a raid around Richmond. His forces severed vital Confederate communication lines, destroyed railroad tracks, and captured stores and supplies. On 11 May Sheridan's troops defeated Confederate Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry forces at Yellow Tavern, and mortally wounded Stuart. The next day Sheridan's men fought Confederate forces while crossing the Chickahominy River at the Meadow Bridges, north of here. . . . — Map (db m15214) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Site of Ellerson’s Mill |
| | The foundation of the mill was located in the depression below the road bed. The millrace that supplied water to power the mill was built along the base of the hill and remnants can be seen today. The mill pond was located just beyond the modern Route 156 bridge. Grist mills were essential elements of the 19th-century farming community, and their remains can be found throughout the Seven Days Battlefields. — Map (db m15220) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Site of Polegreen — Presbyterian Church |
| | Founded 1748 by
Rev. Samuel Davies
Presbytery of New
Castle synod of
New York. Seven years
before the organization
of Hanover Presbytery
1755
Destroyed June 1st 1864.
Erected by Woman's Auxillary
East Hanover Presbytery
1929. — Map (db m32681) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Springfield Plantation |
| | In 1862 this farmhouse was home to the widow Sarah Watt, her granddaughter, Mary Jane Haw, and a maid. It was a typical Hanover County plantation of several hundred acres with some 28 slaves who produced a modest income from grains, potatoes, and livestock. Around the house stood a kitchen, slave quarters, and other outbuildings. A series of roads, now abandoned, connected the Watt family to their neighbors and Richmond.
Their lives drastically changed on the morning of June 27, 1862. The . . . — Map (db m34618) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Stand Guard And Stay Awake |
| | This well preserved rifle pit is one of many that extended across this hilltop and along the entire front. It marks the most advanced Federal position in this sector, only 50 yards from similar Confederate pits on the opposite crest.
Soldiers posted in these depressions gave early warning of any unusual enemy movements. Because they were so close to the enemy, many of these positions could be occupied only at night. — Map (db m16885) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 1 — Studley — Birthplace of Patrick Henry |
| | Only archaeological remnants of Studley survive today, but in the 18th century this was the site of an impressive two-story brick house. Studley was built by John Syme in the 1720s for his wife Sarah Winston. After his death, she married John Henry. The couple’s nine children were born at the house, including their son, Patrick Henry, who was born on May 29, 1736. Patrick Henry attended a local school until the age of ten and also received instruction from his father in classics and theology. A . . . — Map (db m46775) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Texas |
| | (front)
Remembers the valor and devotion of
its soldiers who participated in the battle
of Gaines’ Mill, Virginia - June 27, 1862
Here, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
continued his attacks against Union Maj.
Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the
Potomac which was attempting to capture
Richmond. From June 25 - July 1, Lee and
McClellan fought a series of engagements
known as the Seven Days Battles, this being
the 3rd in that series. On June 27,
McClellan’s V . . . — Map (db m55604) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Battle Begins |
| | Porter’s soldiers rested their muskets across a make-shift breastwork of felled trees, bales of hay, and knapsacks. A Union soldier remembered “an ominous silence” that covered the battlefield moments before Lee launched his first assault at 2:30 p.m.
Union shells screamed overhead ripping huge gaps in the charging Southern lines. When the Confederates reached the exposed high ground across the creek, Porter’s infantry greeted the attackers with “deadly and staggering . . . — Map (db m16392) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Battle Ends |
| | This panoramic view reveals many of the key scenes associated with the close of the battle. The landscape here has changed very little. When the left of Porter’s line disintegrated just before sunset, much of it fell back through this ground. Desperate rearguard fighting occurred here. Union cavalry, anxious to buy time for the artillery to escape, launched a small counterattack from the low ground bordering the Chickahominy River. It ended in disaster when Southern infantrymen, firing volleys, . . . — Map (db m16395) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Battle of Gaines’ Mill |
| | Although victorious at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26, 1862, Union General George B. McClellan believed Stonewall Jackson’s 25,000 Confederates threatened the Union right flank. The next morning, June 27, McClellan ordered Fitz John Porter’s Fifth Corps to retire from its position behind Beaver Dam Creek toward the Chichahominy and continue with the rest of the Union army to the James River. McClellan’s decision signaled the end of offensive operations against Richmond. He had surrendered the . . . — Map (db m14999) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Battle of Gaines’ Mill - 1862 — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | All the visible remains along the trail date from the June 1864, Battle of Cold Harbor, but this ground figured prominently in the Seven Days campaign of 1862 as well. On June 27, 1862, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederates advanced south through here during the final stages of the battle of Gaines’ Mill. Union artillery posted on a plateau half a mile to your right dropped shells among the Confederates every few seconds. After several hours of inconclusive fighting, . . . — Map (db m16202) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Battle Opens — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | By mid-afternoon on June 1, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant massed 45,000 Federals near Old Cold Harbor, 800 yards east of here. At 5:00 p.m. he ordered an attack, hoping to split Lee’s army into two parts. Six veteran New Jersey regiments under Colonel William H. Penrose crossed this ground and passed the nearby Garthright House. At first a “death-dealing artillery fire” raked the Federals, then blasts of Confederate musketry. The Federal attack stalled after an advance of more than a half . . . — Map (db m16185) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Bloody Eighth — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | The 8th New York Heavy Artillery joined the Army of the Potomac midway through the Overland Campaign in an effort to offset the Federal casualties suffered at the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. The regiment of 1,600 men, still fresh from serving in the defenses of Baltimore and now fighting as infantry, had seen only limited action before Cold Harbor. Starting from this vicinity on the morning of June 3, 1864, the 8th New York attacked the Confederate earthworks located 500 yards . . . — Map (db m16198) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Cavalry Charge |
| | “In as short while we felt the ground begin to tremble like an earthquake and heard a noise like the rumbling of distant thunder. It was a regiment of United States cavalry charging us….When they were within about forty yards of us, we poured a volley into them and prepared to receive them on our bayonets; but our one volley had done dreadful execution.”
Pvt. William R. Hamby
4th Texas Infantry
“On came that splendid body of regular cavalry at breakneck . . . — Map (db m16402) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — E 11 — The Chickahominy River & Seven Days' Battles |
| | During the Civil War's Seven Days' Battles from 25 June to 1 July 1862, many engagements occurred along and near the Chickahominy River. Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan led the Army of the Potomac. His goal was to capture the Confederate capital city of Richmond, defended by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Battles fought near the river include Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) on 26 June, Gaines's Mill on 27 June, and Savage's Station on 29 June. These and other battles encouraged McClellan to retreat . . . — Map (db m15212) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Cold Harbor Killing Fields |
| | The heaviest fighting on June 3 occurred at three separate spots outside the present boundary of the national park. You are looking northward toward one of those places. Two brigades of infantry from the Eighteenth Corps charged from right to left across the flat, open field beyond the creek. The Confederate fortifications were leveled long ago, but in 1864 they provided security for Southern riflemen and artillerists who swept the open ground with their fire.
“The surface of the . . . — Map (db m16523) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Confederates Attack |
| | A. P. Hill initiated the action on June 26, 1862, by sending his division across the Chickahominy River. His troops drove the Union outposts through Mechanicsville and back beyond Beaver Dam Creek. A brigade led by Roswell Ripley supported Hill closely. As Ripley’s Georgians and North Carolinians reached this ground they encountered a withering fire. Private Edgar A. Jackson of Ripley’s brigade, writing after the battle, described the fighting here in a letter to his mother: As we . . . — Map (db m23788) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Creek Runs Red — Beaver Dam Creek – 1862 |
| | June 26, 1962 On this ground raged the heaviest fighting of the battle of Beaver Dam Creek. Fourteen Union cannon on the ridge beyond the creek blasted Dorsey Pender’s and Roswell Ripley’s Confederates as they charged across the fields behind you. Federal infantry – Pennsylvanians shielded by earthworks and a mill race – ravaged they gray lines with bullets as they waded into the waist-deep stream. “To take the works,” wrote a Southern officer, “was . . . — Map (db m14978) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Deadly Work of Sharpshooters — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | Adding to the misery of the Union and Confederate soldiers at Cold Harbor was the fear of enemy sharpshooters. Quite often armed with special rifles these marksmen would prey on any unfortunate soldier who appeared in their sights. A Confederate officer described their tactics at Cold Harbor: “If one caught a glimpse of an enemy anywhere, he would sight carefully at that spot…if someone appeared, he had only to press his trigger.” A soldier from the 15th New Jersey Infantry was . . . — Map (db m16204) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Decisive Moment |
| | “Dashing up the steep bank, being within thirty yards of the enemy’s works, we flew towards the breastworks, cleared them, and slaughtered the retreating devils as they scampered up the hill towards their battery.” Decimus Barziza, 4th Texas Infantry
The decisive moment of the Battle of Gaines’ Mill came around 7:00 p.m. where you are standing. Frustrated by the unsuccessful piecemeal assaults, Lee approached Brigadier General John Bell Hood and asked “Can you . . . — Map (db m43337) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Family Cemetery |
| | “Near Cold Harbor stands the house where my father was born, and not far from the house there is a graveyard, surrounded by a brick wall…there sleep the generations of my forefathers. In that enclosure is buried Mr. James Hooper.
Dr. Thomas W. Hooper, 1895
James Hooper died in 1754. Following the Hoopers, the old farmhouse and surrounding fields were home to the Garthrights during the Civil War and the McGhees in later years. Members of both families probably are buried in this . . . — Map (db m16209) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Federal Collapse |
| | “All was disorder and excitement; the field was full of me running for their very lives, and it was almost impossible to make any resistance to the tide of humanity pressing down upon us….It seemed as though the air was full of bullet, whistling all around us, and 20 or 30 cannon throwing grape and canister in incessant showers. Above all this noise could be heard the shrieks of the wounded and dying, dozens of whom were falling on every side.”
John E. Stewart
44th New . . . — Map (db m16403) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Pennsylvanians Stand Firm |
| | Five regiments of Pennsylvania troops, supported by artillery, held the high ground in front of you. In 1862 the slopes were open with no trees to block the view. Lieutenant Colonel A. J. Warner of the 10th Pennsylvania Reserves was entrenched with his unit on the hill just upstream from Ellerson’s Mill. After the war Warner reminisced about the Confederate attacks: As soon as they reached rifle range our men opened upon them such a destructive fire from the rifle pits and the old mill dam . . . — Map (db m15224) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Polegreen Story |
| |
From Virginia’s founding at Jamestown in 1607 until the American Revolution, the Anglican Church was the only officially recognized church.
The government built the churches, maintained the parsonages and paid the clergy, all with tax money. All other religious groups were discouraged, suppressed or harassed until a powerful religious movement, kown as the “Great Awakening,” took hold in the late 1730s in Virginia.
Initially energized by the preaching of Rev. . . . — Map (db m60968) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Ultimate Sacrifice |
| | The losses sustained by both armies during the Wilderness to Cold Harbor campaign made the world shudder. Casualties by some estimates averaged 2,000 per day, and at Cold Harbor nearly 18,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured.
While Confederate dead were removed and taken to Richmond, Union dead were hastily buried in shallow trenches near where they fell. In 1866 burial parties scoured the battlefields, collecting the remains and reburying them just east of here. Today 2,000 . . . — Map (db m16896) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Union Left Flank |
| | This loop trail visits the left of the Union line. Along it you will learn about the charge of General Pickett’s Confederate brigade; see more of the ground stubbornly defended by General Morell’s division; learn of the bravery displayed by an Alabama flag-bearer; and read the stories of Federal soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for outstanding heroism at Gaines’ Mill. The final markers discuss the collapse of the Union position; the ill-advised twilight cavalry charge; and a fatal case . . . — Map (db m16394) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — The Waters Ran Red |
| | This sluggish creek is known as Bloody Run in memory of the violent hand-to-hand fighting that occurred here.
Bloody Run flows east to west, winding through the woods. During the battle the brush-choked stream and its gentle slopes provided the only cover in sight. The open terrain in this area made the powerful Confederate defenses on the hill to your left even more formidable, and contributed to the overwhelming victory of the Southern army on June 3. — Map (db m16888) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 7 — The Watt House — Gaines' Mill Battlefield |
| | Entrenched in three lines on this plateau, the right wing of McClellan's army, withdrawn from Beaver Dam Creek, resisted Confederate attacks on June 27, 1862 until driven back at nightfall by a general assault. — Map (db m14201) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Those People Stand No Chance |
| | From this dominating position, Confederates of Major General Robert Hoke’s Division, easily repulsed part of the famous June 3 assault. For the South Carolinians holding this line, the battle ended before they knew a serious charge had been made.
[I was] situated near the centre of the line along which this murderous repulse was given, and awake and vigilant of the progress of events, [and] was not aware at any time of any serious assault having been given.
Johnson Hagood, . . . — Map (db m16894) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — Cold Harbor |
| | Near this stone rest the remains of
889 Union Soldiers,
gathered from the Battle Fields of
Mechanicsville, Savage-Station, Gaines-Mills,
And the vicinity of
Cold-Harbor.
Erected by Congress
Year of our Lord 1877, and in the 101st year of the
Independence of the United States of America. — Map (db m16287) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Totopotomoi |
| | 1656
Totopotomoi
Chief of the Pamunkey Indians, faithful ally of the English, killed in Battle of Bloody Run near Richmond
1754
Rural Plains
Built 1670
Home of Sarah Shelton, married here to Patrick Henry
1864
Battle of the Totopotomoi
Preceding Cold Harbor
Erected by Hanover Branch A.P.V.A. 1932 — Map (db m16166) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Totopotomoy Creek |
| |
(left panel)
Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park
The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the battlefield landscapes, to hear the stories of the combatants and civilian residents, and to understand the complex reasons why Richmond came to symbolize the heart and soul of the Confederacy.
Regulations
This is a partial list of . . . — Map (db m46755) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Union Artillery |
| | Porter posted his batteries intermittently along this ridge. Most of his guns were twelve-pounder Napoleons like the two here. “The woods were full of smoke,” wrote a Massachusetts artillerist, “and thicker and thicker buzzed the bullets.” Soon the Confederate infantry appeared. One of the Federal guns fired a double charge of canister at 35 yards range, which “mowed their ranks awfully,” It was a last salute. Thousands of gray-clad . . . — Map (db m15234) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Union Earth Works |
| | Thousands of Union soldiers lived in these fortifications for eleven long days in 1864. The piles of freshly shoveled dirt sheltered the men from the scorching June sun while shielding them from enemy missiles. The lengthy halt at Cold Harbor allowed soldiers of both armies to further perfect the art of self-protection. Powerful defenses like these saved lives, made offensive operations undesirable to both army commanders, and contributed to the stalemate from June 3-12.
Tired Union . . . — Map (db m16520) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Union Position — Cold Harbor - 1864 |
| | The night before, Union soldiers write their names on scraps of paper fastened to their clothing, hoping to be identified after the battle. At 4:30 a.m. they are ordered to attack the Confederate earthworks clearly visible across the open field. Most of the dying is over in thirty minutes. Unable to advance or retreat, the surviving Federals use spoons, forks, or bayonets to dig in where they lie, beneath a waist-high ceiling of fire. Afterward the Union Army built the more elaborate . . . — Map (db m15229) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Union Reserve Line — Cold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail |
| | The Union front lines lay 325 yards west of here; reserve troops occupied this ground. These Union pits may have been a stop along the relay system that brought reinforcements and supplies to the forward line. Imagine soldiers huddled inside these trenches, with their rifles, canteens, blankets, and haversacks, waiting for the call to the front. “The baking down of the summer sun became intolerable,” remarked one veteran, “that the line of men would canopy the whole trench . . . — Map (db m16190) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Union Rifle Pits |
| | These well-preserved rifle pits probably mark the far end of the Union line. The 16th Michigan Infantry or 44th New York Infantry likely built them on the morning of the battle to guard the western flank of the army. Although some Federal soldiers dug-in, none entrenched on this battlefield to the extent they did two years later at Cold Harbor.
“I am of the opinion now…that had our lines been better posted and entrenched…we might have been saved from defeat….Two years later the . . . — Map (db m16400) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Walk in the Footsteps of History |
| | This one-mile walking trail covers historic ground that witnessed two weeks of intense fighting in June 1864. It winds through earthen fortifications built more than a century ago. The Cold Harbor battle raged over thousands of acres, and this loop trail traverses only a small portion of the battlefield. You can help protect the historic earthworks of this site by walking only on the trail. These fragile fortifications can be preserved only through a respectful appreciation of their . . . — Map (db m15259) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 5 — Walnut Grove Church |
| | Here, on the morning of June 27, 1862, as he was directing the pursuit of McClellan's right wing, Robert E. Lee met "Stonewall" Jackson whose Army of the Valley arrived to join in the attack on the Federals the same afternoon. — Map (db m14199) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Watt Family Farm — Gaines’ Mill – 1862 — Richmond National Battlefield Park |
| | Civil War armies selected battlefields without regard to the civilians who made their homes there. The resulting death and destruction affected the residents’ lives for decades. The Watts lived here for nearly 60 years before the battle. They owned 523 acres and 28 slaves who tended the fields of corn, oats, wheat and potatoes. On June 27, 1862, nearly 100,000 soldiers battled within a two-mile radius of this farmhouse. In the aftermath ”the walls and roof were torn with shot and . . . — Map (db m15232) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Watt Farm Road |
| | Modern snake-rail fencing and shallow depressions carved out long ago by wagons and livestock mark the location of one of two thoroughfares that passed through the plantation. This road led from the Watt Farm to the New Bridge crossing of the Chickahominy River and ultimately to Richmond, a trip that required a full day’s travel. In Richmond an eager market awaited the farm’s vegetables and grains.
“Having the advantage of a rail fence, I ordered my boys to make with their . . . — Map (db m43333) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — We Have Broken Through |
| | This ravine played a critical role in the early stages fighting at Cold Harbor. On the afternoon of June 1, 1864, Thomas L. Clingman’s North Carolinians and William T. Wofford’s Georgians, attempting to hold this position, failed to occupy the low swampy ground in the ravine.
Union soldiers of the Sixth Corps took advantage of this weakness by attacking along the drainage and piercing the Confederate defenses. Southern reserves quickly rushed forward and drove back the attackers, sealing . . . — Map (db m16884) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — We Must Hold This Line |
| | After two days of bitter combat, Confederate infantry built their final line of defense across this spot. Remnants of that line are visible emerging from the woods to your left. Richmond stood only nine miles to the southwest and General Lee knew that he must hold here. A Federal victory could mean the destruction of his army and the fall of the Confederate capital. Once completed, the opposing battle lines at Cold Harbor stretching nearly seven miles. You are standing at the center of the Confederate position. — Map (db m15258) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Welcome to Historic Polegreen Church |
| |
Cradle of Religious Freedom
From time to time, the power of a unique person and place changes the course of history. Here at Polegreen, between 1747 and 1759, the Reverend Samuel Davies inspired a small rural community––free and slave–to chart a course of freedom from a controlling government and the established state church.
Today, the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation preserves and interprets this important movement for civil and religious freedom . . . — Map (db m60967) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — 8 — Whiting's Advance — Approximate Line of Whiting's Advance |
| | Near this point, between the brigades of Martindale and Butterfield, Confederate forces first penetrated the main Federal position in the Battle of Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862. The Fourth Texas Regiment led the charge. — Map (db m14204) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Wilcox’s Alabama Brigade, — Longstreet’s Division, — Army of Northern Virginia, CSA |
| | Brigadier General Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox
Wilcox’s Alabama Brigade, Longstreet’s Division, Army of Northern Virginia, CSA
Near here on June 27, 1862, three Confederate brigades under General Cadmus M. Wilcox ascended this hill, broke the Union line, and later assisted in capturing a battery of artillery. Wilcox’s own Alabama brigade spearheaded the charge, losing nearly 600 men killed and wounded of the 1850 soldiers in the four regiments.
(reverse side)
Casualties . . . — Map (db m16391) HM |
| Virginia (Hanover County), Mechanicsville — Wilcox’s Brigade, CSA |
| | “A private by the name of Jones….seized the colors, his right arm was soon broken, he then held it with his left hand, and he was soon shot through both legs no broken bones, and then his left arm was wounded and the colors fell, were picked up and given to a third man, Jones protesting….said they had taken the colors from him, ‘my arms are broken and I am shot through both 1egs, but I can walk, and I asked them to tie the flag staff to my body and I would and could.”
Gen. . . . — Map (db m16399) HM |
| Virginia (Henrico County), Mechanicsville — Z 147 — Hanover County / Henrico County |
| | Hanover County
Area 512 Square Miles
Formed in 1720 from New Kent, and named for the Electorate of Hanover. Patrick Henry and Henry Clay were born in this county. In it were fought the battles of Gaines's Mill, 1862, and Cold Harbor, 1864.
Henrico County
Area 280 Square Miles
An original shire formed in 1634. Named for Henrico Town, founded in 1611, which was named for Henry, Prince of Wales. The Battles of Seven Pines, Savage's Station, Glendale and Malvern Hill, 1862, took . . . — Map (db m15455) HM |
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