Mechanicsville in Hanover County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Read's Battalion
Richmond National Battlefield Park
| — | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | — |
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, August 3, 2010
1. Read's Battalion Marker
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 infantry—part of General U.S. Grant’s all-out assault against Lee’s lines.
“few men fell until we reached within [eighty yards] of the enemy’s first line, when they opened upon us with canister [and] grape hurling it into our faces and mowing down our lines as wheat falls before the reaper.”
Lt. Eli Nichols
8th New York Heavy Artillery
“It was a country generally flat, with many small clearings, & thin woods, & scattered pines. No long ranges, but favorable to cross fires & smooth bore richochet firing–& I put in position every gun I had.”
Brig. Gen. E. Porter Alexander
Chief of Artillery, First Corps
Erected 2010 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical
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Location. 37° 35.121′ N, 77° 17.187′ W. Marker is in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in Hanover County. It can be reached from the intersection of Cold Harbor Road and Anderson Wright Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5515 Anderson-Wright Dr, 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: Battle of Cold Harbor (a few steps from this marker); Cold Harbor (within shouting distance of this marker); Killing Fields (within shouting distance of this marker); We Must Hold This Line (within shouting distance of this marker); Walk in the Footsteps of History (within shouting distance of this marker); The Ultimate Sacrifice (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Nowhere To Go (approx. 0.2 miles away); Those People Stand No Chance (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsville.
Other markers no longer nearby. Read’s Battalion CSA Artillery (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it);
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, August 3, 2010
2. Cold Harbor Battlefield
More about this marker. On the upper right is a photo Maj. Read with the caption, “Major John Postell Williamson Read, formerly Chief of Police for Savannah, Georgia, commanded nearly 400 officers and men and 16 guns at Cold Harbor. The unit suffered only seven casualties.”
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old Marker At This Location titled "Read’s Battalion CSA Artillery".
Also see . . .
1. Cold Harbor. CWSAC Battle Summary (Submitted on August 5, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
2. Richmond National Battlefield Park. (Submitted on August 5, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,086 times since then and 31 times this year. Last updated on December 27, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 5, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
