Battle of Chester Station

Battle of Chester Station. May 10, 1864. (preface)... , On May 5, 1864 Union Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's Army of the James landed at Bermuda Hundred to sever Confederate communication lines between Richmond and Petersburg. Five days later to keep the connection open, 2,000 Confederates under Gen. Robert Ransom advanced south from Drewry's Bluff along the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (present-day U.S. Rte 1). Three Federal infantry Regiments and part of the 1st Connecticut Light Battery formed a defensive line here from the Winfree House east to the turnpike., In 100° heat, the Confederates tried twice to break the line. To your left, the 9th and 38th Virginia Infantry charged down the turnpike, and part of the 169th New York Infantry gave way, abandoning a cannon. The 14th, 53rd and 57th Virginia Infantry then converged from three directions to assault the Federals near the Winfree House. As the defenders' ammunition dwindled, desperately needed Union infantry and artillery reinforcements arrived, deploying directly into the Winfree House lane along the turnpike and checking the Virginians' advance. Outnumbered, Confederates gave ground., When Federal artillery shells ignited the woods behind you, wounded soldiers on both sides were in danger of incineration. As the fighting dwindled, a flag of truce was agreed on to rescue them. When night fell, the Confederates retired to Drewry's Bluff and the Federals withdrew east to the Bermuda Hundred, leaving the smoldering battlefield behind. They had failed to cut the Confederate communication lines, and remained for months on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula., (captions) , Capt. Alfred P. Rockwell’s 1st Connecticut Light Battery, posted near Winfree House, repulsing Confederate charge, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler . Gen Robert Ransom