The Battle of Yellow Tavern

The Battle of Yellow Tavern. . , Glen Allen, Henrico Courty, Virginia , On May 11, in the mists of the predawn, the combatants were assembling for the battle of Yellow Tavern, just six miles from the gates of Richmond. Stuart's cavalry raced south from Beaverdam to get ahead of Sheridan's advancing column. Stuart needed to find a suitable position to encounter and possibly divert the Union forces until reinforcements from Richmond could arrive., At 7 a.m. heavy repetitive booms heard coming from the northwest, alerted Stuart and his men to the skirmishing at Ground Squirrel Bridge in nearby Hanover County. Gen. James B. Gordon's North Carolina troops were tenaciously engaging Sheridan's rear line in order to slow the Union advancement toward Richmond. Barely an hour before the arrival of the Union cavalry, Stuart's southern column consisting of seven regiments reached the area in Henrico County known as "Yellow Tavern.", Yellow Tavern was a backwoods inn situated on the eastern side of Brook Road. Built in 1830 for travelers and carriage traffic from Richmond to Washington, the old tavern now sat abandoned and dilapidated with most of its exterior boards having been used for firewood. It was here at the tavern that Mountain Road from the northwest and Telegraph Road from the north converged to create Brook Turnpike to the south. This "Y" formation of the roads provided a suitable position for the Confederates to defend the entrance to Richmond., Stuart strategically placed along and in front of Telegraph Road, Brig. Gen. Lunsford Lomax's brigade facing westward and the approach of Sheridan. William C. Wickham's brigade was positioned along a rise almost perpendicular to Lomax's brigade facing south ready to attack Sheridan's flank as he arrived. They were joined by the Baltimore Light Artillery with their cannons situated on both sides of Telegraph Road. Stuart planned for Brig. Gen. James B. Gordon to continue to engage the enemy's rearguard on his arrival., By as early as 11 a.m. on May 11, Union scouting parties were sighted and indications were now clear that Sheridan's main force was taking battle positions., The Union cavalry made the first move. Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt began pushing his entire division against Gen. Lomax's western position on Telegraph Road. During the attack, Lomax's line defense was driven in, but the main Confederate line returned a devastating fire from both Telegraph Road and Wickham's men on the ridge. For the time being, the Union advance was blocked. As the action continued, Union forces began moving northward up Telegraph road, flanking Lomax's position. Pressure continued to be increased on Lomax's front as he was being attacked from both the west and the south.