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Mechanicsville in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Final Stand

 
 
Final Stand Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 11, 2011
1. Final Stand Marker
Inscription. 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 stopped their fire as retreating Union infantry poured out of the woods in front of you. When the advancing Confederates appeared the gunners blasted the Confederate infantry. The Southerners returned fire, leaving an astonishing carnage of dead horses and wounded artillerymen. The battery limbered up and moved to higher and safer ground behind you.

“…they rushed through the woods over the brook, now filled with dead bodies, closing their ranks as fast as our fire mowed them down….The woods were full of smoke, and the bullets buzzed round our heads like a swarm of angry bumblebees….My horse had a bullet in its flank and one sergeant’s horse lay dead on the ground.” Let. Charles A. Phillips 5th Massachusetts Battery
 
Erected 2011 by Richmond National Battlefield Park
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.
 
Location. 37° 34.414′ N, 77° 17.542′ W. Marker is in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. Marker can be reached from Watt House Road (Virginia Route 718) 0.7 miles south of Cold Harbor Road (Virginia Route 156). This marker is located in the Gaines' Mill Battlefield unit of the Richmond National Battlefield Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6283 Watt House Road, Mechanicsville VA 23111, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Federal Collapse (a few steps from this marker); Union Artillery (a few steps from this marker); Whiting's Advance (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Confederate Pursuit (about 300 feet away); Lee’s First Victory: At a Huge Cost (about 300 feet away); Hood's Attack (about 400 feet away); The Union Left Flank (about 500 feet away); Seven Days Battles (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.
 
Also see . . .
1. Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Submitted on June 12, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
2. Gaines’ Mill. CWSAC Battle Summary (Submitted on June 12, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
Final Stand Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 11, 2011
2. Final Stand Marker
 

3. The Battle of Gaines' Mill. Civil War Trust (Submitted on June 13, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.) 
 
Confederates advancing to the capture of disabled guns. Gaines Mills image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alfred R. Waud, June 27, 1862
3. Confederates advancing to the capture of disabled guns. Gaines Mills
Library of Congress [LC-USZC4-5843]
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 12, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 709 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on June 12, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

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Mar. 18, 2024