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

Seven Days' Battles-Gaines's Mill

Seven Days' Battles Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, April 17, 2022

1. Seven Days' Battles Marker

New updated marker.

Inscription. Just to the east was Gaines's Mill, a multistory grist mill that burned during the Civil War. Confederates under Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill encountered light Federal resistance there early on the afternoon of 27 June 1862. Heavy fighting took place later that day at Boatswain Creek, just to the southeast. There Union Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps established a defensive line to protect the rest of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac as it moved toward the James River. Confederates under Gen. Robert E. Lee attacked in waves, sustaining heavy casualties. Reinforcements broke through the Union line just before sunset, and the Federals retreated across the Chickahominy River.

Erected 2016 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number PA-16.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is June 27, 1862.

Location. 37° 35.219′ N, 77° 18.242′ W. Marker is in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. It is at the intersection of Cold Harbor Road (Virginia Route 156) and Old Millstone Drive, on the left when traveling east on Cold Harbor Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mechanicsville VA 23111, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Central Virginia,

and in the Richmond Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker

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: Gaines' Mill (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Seven Days' Battles (approx. half a mile away); The Tramp of Marching Feet (approx. 0.6 miles away); Firing Blind (approx. ¾ mile away); New Cold Harbor (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Seven Days’ Battles (approx. ¾ mile away); Confederate Breastworks (approx. 0.8 miles away); Nowhere To Go (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Seven Days Battles (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. This new marker stands as a replacement for a 1932 marker that was originally placed 0.2 miles east (GPS 37.58672, -77.30128).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old Marker Near This Location titled "Seven Days Battles".

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, April 17, 2022

2. Seven Days' Battles Marker

New marker and location

Credits. This page was last revised on October 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2025, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 72 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 25, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.