From Stalemate to Breakthrough

From Stalemate to Breakthrough. Richmond National Battlefield Park. The largest battle of the Peninsula Campaign, Gaines' Mill, began here. On the afternoon of June 27, 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee''s Army of Northern Virginia reached the New Cold Harbor crossroads just 300 yards north of here. Lee spread his men across a two-mile arc and attacked. He hoped to drive the Union 5th Corps, commanded by Gen. Fitz John Porter, into the Chickahominy River. This was the second day of what became known as the Seven Days battles., The first several hours witnessed repeated and unsuccessful Confederate attacks through the woods on your left and across the fields on your right. They aimed at the Union line beyond Boatswain's Creek. Daylight waned. When the soldiers of Whitings division arrived here they provided fresh manpower that helped the final attack get started. That last all-out effort stretched across the width of the battlefield and incorporated more men in a simultaneous attack than any other episode in Lee''s career., To see more of the battlefield, please continue four-tenths of a mile down the Watt House Road to the main parking lot., The final hour before sunset witnessed heavy action in all directions. The non-profit American Battlefield Trust prepared this map for Richmond National Battlefield Park. The Trust is responsible for preserving much of this battlefield landscape.