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Historical Markers and War Memorials in Mechanicsville, Virginia

 
Clickable Map of Hanover County, Virginia and Immediately Adjacent Jurisdictions image/svg+xml 2019-10-06 U.S. Census Bureau, Abe.suleiman; Lokal_Profil; HMdb.org; J.J.Prats/dc:title> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Usa_counties_large.svg Hanover County, VA (282) Caroline County, VA (64) Goochland County, VA (37) Henrico County, VA (344) King William County, VA (44) Louisa County, VA (43) New Kent County, VA (56) Spotsylvania County, VA (406)  HanoverCounty(282) Hanover County (282)  CarolineCounty(64) Caroline County (64)  GoochlandCounty(37) Goochland County (37)  HenricoCounty(344) Henrico County (344)  KingWilliamCounty(44) King William County (44)  LouisaCounty(43) Louisa County (43)  NewKentCounty(56) New Kent County (56)  SpotsylvaniaCounty(406) Spotsylvania County (406)
Hanover is the county seat for Hanover County
Mechanicsville is in Hanover County
      Hanover County (282)  
ADJACENT TO HANOVER COUNTY
      Caroline County (64)  
      Goochland County (37)  
      Henrico County (344)  
      King William County (44)  
      Louisa County (43)  
      New Kent County (56)  
      Spotsylvania County (406)  
 
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1 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — "Liberty Hall"
Site of the home of Samuel Merdith, Sr., Gent. (1689-1762) Processioner-1708 St. Pauls Parish, Hanover Co. A grandson of Thomas Meredith, Sr. Emigrant in 1636, Virginia His land grant in 1661Map (db m70460) HM
2 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — “The Old Church”Erected on this spot in 1753
Established originally on the Pamunkey River prior to 1684 Subsequently moved to the village of “Old Church” and rebuilt in 1718 The Rev. Patrick Henry officiated 1737-1777Map (db m15886) HM
3 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 11th Mississippi Monument
(front) 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment Law's Brigade Hood’s Division Jackson’s Corps Lee's Army of Northern Virginia C.S.A. Dedicated 2016 In their honor The men who carried this position were soldiers . . . Map (db m174711) HM WM
4 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy ArtilleryConnecticut Remembers Her Fallen Sons
Late on the afternoon of June 1, 1864, Col. Elisha Strong Kellogg and his 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery attacked Confederate entrenchments to the west along with other Federal troops from the Sixth and the Eighteenth Corps. Kellogg . . . Map (db m15228) HM
5 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 36th Wisconsin
(Front):This monument has been erected by one of their comrades Charles A. Storke in memory of the members of Companies B, E, F and G of the Thirty Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. who here fought on the first day of June 1864. (East . . . Map (db m155858) HM
6 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Bloody Baptism of Fire
“It was the work of almost a single minute. The air was filled with sulphurous smoke, and the shrieks and howls of more than two hundred and fifty mangled men rose above the yells of triumphant rebels and the roar of their musketry.” . . . Map (db m40247) HM
7 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Captured Trench
On the morning of June 1, 1864, Confederate soldiers of Thomas Clingman’s North Carolina brigade frantically dug this trench. They anticipated a Union assault later in the day. Around 6:00 p.m. Federal troops of the VI Corps moved into position near . . . Map (db m16883) HM
8 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Deadly Delay
The Union assaults of June 3 failed on nearly all fronts. For the next three days, while Federal wounded lay untended between the lines, Generals U. S. Grant and R. E. Lee struggled over the details of a truce. On June 7, more than 100 hours after . . . Map (db m16886) HM
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9 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Dreadful HarvestCold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail
The grim drama at Cold Harbor cost some 13,000 Federals and nearly 5,0000 Confederates killed, wounded, or captured. Southern morale soared after the battle, while Grant’s men were embittered by the lopsided defeat. One Union officer wrote that it . . . Map (db m16188) HM
10 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Lethal Occupation
From this advanced Confederate line, constructed after the grand Union assault of June 3, Lee’s sharpshooters searched for targets. They were near enough to the Federal line that enemy voices could be heard. Between June 3 and June 12 constant . . . Map (db m16887) HM
11 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Powerful Postion Reported permanently removed
General Porter held an impressive defensive position above Boatswain’s Creek. The first line of battle stood at the base of the hill to your front. The second line was posted nearby, and the third was along the crest behind you, where most of the . . . Map (db m16393) HM
12 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — A Well Preserved Union Artillery Position
You are standing in front of a Union artillery battery, located on a commanding hill about 400 yards behind the front lines. From here Union officers watched for activity along the Confederate lines, and opened fire with a barrage of shells whenever . . . Map (db m16196) HM
13 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Attacking the High GroundRichmond National Battlefield Park
Totopotomy Creek separated the armies here between May 29 and 31, 1864. Twice the men of the Union 2nd Corps (Barlow's Division) charged down this slope. They hoped to cross the "deep morass" and seize the opposite heights. Darkness halted the first . . . Map (db m79239) HM
14 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Balloons Over the Battlefield
“The view I had of the field of battle from the balloon for the first time that afternoon showed me how serious it was…..I was up half an hour in all, when I saw certain movements of our forces which made me hurry down and gallop up to Genl. . . . Map (db m34897) HM
15 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-12 — Battle Of Bethesda Church
Here stood Bethesda Church, founded about 1830 and used by Baptists and Disciples of Christ until it burned in 1868. In May 1864, during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps formed the left flank of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's . . . Map (db m15672) HM
16 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 25 — Battle of Cold HarborPosition of the Federal Sixth Corps
Advancing on June 1, 1864 from Old Cold Harbor, the Federal Sixth Corps occupied this and adjacent positions from which on June 3 the Army of the Potomac delivered repeated assaults against the main Confederate defences, which were approximately 400 . . . Map (db m14231) HM
17 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 26 — Battle of Cold HarborThe Field of the Heaviest Losses
This was approximately the farthest point gained and held by the Federals in their assaults of June 3, 1864 on the Confederate main line, 130 yards to the west. The heaviest losses sustained by the Federals were along and on either side of this road.Map (db m181651) HM
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18 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 27 — Battle of Cold HarborThe Confederate Main Line
Here Longstreet’s Corps, with Breckinridge and A.P. Hill’s Corps to the southward, repulsed on June 3, 1864, fourteen assaults from the east against the Confederate main line. The Federal losses, about 7000, were the heaviest ever sustained in . . . Map (db m14234) HM
19 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 28 — Battle of Cold HarborMain Line of Anderson’s Left Wing
The Confederate earthworks here crossing this road were occupied May 31 – June 12, 1864, by the Left Division “Fields” of the First Corps. Then commanded by R.H. Anderson. Heavily attacked on June 3, this part of the line was held . . . Map (db m14235) HM
20 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 29 — Battle of Cold HarborPosition of the Confederate Left Wing
On the main Confederate line, eight miles long, which here crossed the Old Church Road, the Federal Army, June 3, 1864, made numerous futile and costly charges. The heaviest of these were three miles southeastward and were accounted “the worst . . . Map (db m14236) HM
21 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — E-130 — Battle of Cold HarborFlag of Truce
On 5 June 1864, two hot days after Gen. Robert E. Lee's bloody repulse of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's frontal assault, Federal Lt. Col. Theodore Lyman met Confederate Maj. Thomas J. Wooten nearby on Cold Harbor Road to initiate written communication on . . . Map (db m15667) HM
22 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-11 — Battle of Cold Harbor
The left of Lee's line at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, crossed the road here. The main battle took place to the east, where Grant attacked Lee's trenches without success.Map (db m15670) HM
23 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Battle of Gaines' Mill
“The most terrific fire I ever witnessed, except at Gettysburg.” Col. Eppa Hunton, 8th Virginia Infantry “It was one continued roar of cannons & musketry you could not hear yourself think. Such desperate fighting never . . . Map (db m181650) HM
24 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Battle of Totopotomoy CreekMay 30 - June 1, 1864
Fighting occurred here and elsewhere around the Polegreen Church as part of the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, spanning three days from May 30 to June 1, 1864. This ground lay between the opposing lines, and witnessed the ebbs and flows of fierce and . . . Map (db m69654) HM
25 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Bayonets Are For Digging
This covered-way, constructed after June 3, connected the main Confederate line behind you to the low ground in front. A South Carolinian stationed near here recalled: To guard against the shells that were continually dropping in our midst . . . Map (db m16891) HM
26 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Beaver Dam CreekRichmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 — Reported missing
General Robert E. Lee’s plan on June 26, 1862 did not anticipate a direct assault on the Union position here at Beaver Dam Creek. He hoped to maneuver instead of force to drive Fitz John Porter’s troops away from their powerful entrenchments. But . . . Map (db m14983) HM
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27 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Beaver Dam Creek1862 Seven Days' Battles
(left panel) Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the . . . Map (db m37063) HM
28 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 3 — Beaver Dam Creek
Confederate troops pursuing Federals retreating eastward from Mechanicsville here came under heavy fire from across Beaver Dam Creek and were halted with loss in the late afternoon of June 26, 1862.Map (db m14220) HM
29 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Between the Lines
You are standing now just in front of the main section of Confederate fortifications. The primary line of Union entrenchments is 200 yards to your left. With the end of Grant’s attacks on the afternoon of June 3, the battle followed a less noisy but . . . Map (db m15257) HM
30 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-68 — Cavalry Action at Cold Harbor
On 31 May 1864, Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt’s Union cavalry brigade, operating under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, advanced along this road and through these fields. Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate horsemen fought a fluid defensive battle, . . . Map (db m17558) HM
31 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor1864 Overland Campaign
(left panel) Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the . . . Map (db m40246) HM
32 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor BattlefieldRichmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Park – 1862/64 — Reported permanently removed
Here Grant and Lee, with combined armies numbering some 180,000 men, fought for two weeks in May and June of 1864. They came here directly after the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and North Anna River. Grant stretched his line to seven . . . Map (db m15047) HM
33 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor Battlefield Walking TrailHanover County Parks and Recreation
For thirteen days Union and Confederate armies faced each other around Cold Harbor, their lines separated by only 150 yards of ravaged ground. Twice, on June 1 and June 3 1864, savage fighting erupted when the Federals launched massive assaults . . . Map (db m16214) HM
34 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 30 — Cold Harbor CampaignAdvanced Position of Ewell's Corps
The second advanced position held by Ewell’s Confederate Corps here crossed the Old Church Road. This position was evacuated by the Confederates on the night of May 30, 1864. Occupied by the Federals on May 31 and attacked from the West by Southern . . . Map (db m14237) HM
35 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 31 — Cold Harbor CampaignAdvanced Position of Ewell's Corps
Across the Old Church road at this point ran the advanced line of about 700 yards held by part of Ewell’s Confederate Corps on May 30, 1864. Abandoned that night, the position was occupied May 31 by troops of the Fifth Federal corps.Map (db m14238) HM
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36 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor CrossroadsCold Harbor, 1864
Carnage returned to Cold Harbor during the 1864 Overland Campaign. On May 31, Gen. Philip Sheridan's Federal cavalry attacked Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's Confederate horsemen at the crossroads. Col. Thomas Devin's brigade advanced from the east along the . . . Map (db m215122) HM
37 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor CrossroadsCold Harbor Tavern
Since the mid-eighteenth century, travelers through this crossroads found respite at a tavern that once stood to your immediate front. Tradition holds that "cold harbor" refers to a place where travelers could find rest and obtain a cold drink . . . Map (db m215126) HM
38 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor CrossroadsCold Harbor, 1862
War first visited this quiet country crossroads in the spring of 1862. The Union Army of the Potomac marched through and camped around Cold Harbor in late May during Gen. George McClellan's drive to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. . . . Map (db m215314) HM
39 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor: June 2, 1864Hanover County Parks and Recreation
This drawing (below) by the famous Civil-War artist, Alfred Waud, provides a rare glimpse of the Cold Harbor battlefield, sketched from this very spot on June 2, 1864. Union cannons blazed away at the Confederate lines only a half-mile in front of . . . Map (db m15279) HM
40 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Cold Harbor: The Early Actions
On May, 31, 1864, while the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia fought along Totopotomoy Creek, four miles to the north, Federal and Confederate cavalry gravitated toward the Old Cold Harbor crossroads. Following their victory . . . Map (db m90838) HM
41 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Confederate Breastworks
This remarkably preserved stretch of the main Confederate line saw little action. Although the land here was much less wooded in 1864, its occupants appreciated the partial shelter offered by the low ground. The soldiers took advantage of it to . . . Map (db m16890) HM
42 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Confederate Fortifications
The diary of Edward R. Crockett, 4th Texas Infantry, illustrates the daily pressure of life in these trenches: June 4th “We work hard last night & dawn on the 4th have a heavy work completed. We have quit sleeping almost . . . Map (db m34613) HM
43 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Confederate Grand Assault
“All was disorder and excitement; the field was full of men running for their very lives, and it was almost impossible to make any resistance to the tide of humanity pressing down upon us.” John E. Stewart, 44th New York . . . Map (db m56493) HM
44 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Confederate PositionCold Harbor - 1864
These earthworks are the center of the Confederate line – six miles of overlapping entrenchments. Taking advantage of the Union delay, the Confederates prepared defenses that swept every approach with cannon and rifle-musket. Across open . . . Map (db m15230) HM
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45 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Confederate Pursuit
By nightfall Porter’s force had safely retreated across the Chickahominy. Lee had sustained nearly 9,000 casualties in his first victory of the war, while the Federals lost close to 6,000. “I could hear on all sides the dreadful groans of . . . Map (db m15233) HM
46 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-13 — Cornwallis's Route
Gen. Charles Cornwallis and his British forces left Petersburg on 24 May 1781 to attack the Marquis de Lafayette and his troops stationed in Richmond. Learning of Cornwallis's movements, Lafayette abandoned the city on 27 May and moved north through . . . Map (db m22373) HM
47 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Damaged but not Destroyed — Richmond National Battlefield Park —
While the 1864 battle raged around their home, members of the Shelton family sought safety within its thick basement walls. Shells from Confederate cannon struck the house many times, terrifying the family inside and causing significant damage. . . . Map (db m228887) HM
48 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Digging In
By the time the armies reached Cold Harbor soldiers on both sides were adept at building earthworks. The trenches before you are typical of the works that stretched for nearly seven miles and defined the fighting here at Cold Harbor. Union general . . . Map (db m16207) HM
49 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Digging In Under Fire — Richmond National Battlefield Park —
Union soldiers constructed this portion of earthworks while under fire from Confederates across Totopotomoy Creek, 650 yards behind you to the west. Union Lt. Robert Robertson observed: "It was difficult to keep the men at work under the galling . . . Map (db m229038) HM
50 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-24 — Edmund Ruffin's Grave
Here at Marlbourne is the grave of Edmund Ruffin (1794-1865), one of the leading American agriculturists of the 19th century. He published and edited the Farmer's Register, an agricultural journal, for several years. In 1843, Ruffin moved to . . . Map (db m22364) HM
51 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Eighth N. Y. Heavy ArtilleryCold Harbor
. . . Map (db m155877) HM
52 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 4 — Ellerson's Mill
From this main position above Ellerson's Mill, the Federal regulars who had stopped the Confederate advance of June 26, 1862 withdrew during the night, having discovered that "Stonewall" Jackson was turning their right flank.Map (db m14198) HM
53 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Federal Artillery BatteryCold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail
Under the cover of night, Union artillerists left their horses at the foot of the hill behind you and dragged six rifled cannon up the slope by hand. The guns were then placed side by side inside this redoubt, with earthen mounds known as traverses, . . . Map (db m16199) HM
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54 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Field HospitalGarthright House - 1864 Reported permanently removed
During the Battle of Cold Harbor in June, 1864, the Union turned this middle-class plantation into a field hospital. The residents – forced to move to the basement – watched blood dripping down between the floorboards. After Grant left for . . . Map (db m15227) HM
55 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Final Stand
Civil War artillery was a splendid defensive weapon, particularly when the battlefield landscape offered the gunners open fields of fire. At Gaines’ Mill the woods plagued the Union artillery. Several gaps in the trees however, offered a direct line . . . Map (db m43334) HM
56 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Firing Blind
The mounds seen here might be improvised mortar positions built by Confederate artillerists in June 1864. Normal cannon pits had fields of fire, often established by keeping the front parapet low or by building a platform on which the gun could sit. . . . Map (db m79798) HM
57 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — From Farmland to ForestCold Harbor Battlefield Park Walking Trail
Time has changed this landscape dramatically since the war. In 1864, much of the Co1d Harbor area was cleared farmland. One Federal believed this openness of the land was “the greatest part of the misery” at Cold Harbor. The deadly fire . . . Map (db m16186) HM
58 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — From Stalemate to BreakthroughRichmond 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 . . . Map (db m119580) HM
59 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Gaines' Mill1862 Seven Days' Battles
(left panel) Visiting Richmond National Battlefield Park The concentration of Civil War resources found in the Richmond area is unparalleled. The National Park Service manages 13 sites, giving visitors an opportunity to examine the . . . Map (db m40249) HM
60 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 9 — Gaines' Mill
Near this spot stood the mill that gave its name to the battle of June 27, 1862 also called “First Cold Harbor”. About 1500 yards SSW was the home of Dr. Gaines, where the United States Army had its balloon station.Map (db m14205) HM
61 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Gaines’ MillRichmond Battlefield — Richmond Nat’l Battlefield Pk – 1862/64 — Reported permanently removed
The action here on June 27, 1862, was the second-largest battle in American history up to that time. One day earlier General Robert E. Lee had pried the Union Fifth Corps from its position at Beaver Dam Creek. Here he brought 65,000 Confederate . . . Map (db m15022) HM
62 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Garthright House
"We charged across the open field under a murdrous storm of balls & canister shot...& soon gained complet[e] possesion of all the buildings....We soon fortified as best we could the aproaches to the house by barrells & farming tools & held the . . . Map (db m34617) HM
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63 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Grant's Grand Assault
“We did not go far, only for six rods [100 feet]…soon…by the lively use of bayonets, frying-pans, tin plates, and cups, we had a temporary protection, and the satisfaction of holding practically all the ground we had been over.” Oscar . . . Map (db m34615) HM
64 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — O-15 — Henry's Call to Arms
One mile east on the river was Newcastle. There, on May 2, 1775, Patrick Henry put himself at the head of the Hanover volunteers and marched against the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, who had seized the colony's powder.Map (db m22374) HM
65 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Historic Cold Harbor Road
In this location ran the original road from Mechanicsville to Cold Harbor. The bridge that crossed Beaver Dam Creek was destroyed by Union troops prior to the June 26, 1862, battle.Map (db m15219) HM
66 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — E-141 — Historic Polegreen Church
In 1747, the meetinghouse here became vital to the colonists' struggle for religious and civil liberty when Samuel Morris and other Hanover Presbyterian dissenters called the Rev. Samuel Davies (1723-1761) to become pastor. Davies, a great orator . . . Map (db m15830) HM
67 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Holding the High Ground
Today’s landscape makes it difficult to appreciate the many strengths of the Union position. The charging Confederates faced more obstacles than they could overcome: open fields, steep slopes, a broad and swampy creek, Union infantry using a . . . Map (db m37065) HM
68 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Hood's Attack
Fitz John Porter's troop had repulsed Confederate attacks throughout the afternoon. With daylight waning, Lee turned to John Bell Hood to spearhead the final assault. Personally leading the 4th Texas and the 18th Georgia, General Hood instructed his . . . Map (db m16396) HM
69 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — In Reserve
You are standing among entrenchments built by soldiers of the Union Eighteenth Corps less than ¼ mile from the front lines. At Cold Harbor regiments typically rotated out of the front lines every other day. This explains the many layers of reserve . . . Map (db m16522) HM
70 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Intensity of Battle
“By the time we had gotten across, the front line, broken by our fire, frightened … which sounded like forty thousand wild cats, had reached their second line, … confusion, and they, panicstricken, left their works and croded to the top of . . . Map (db m43320) HM
71 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — June 3, 1864 — 18th Corps: A Disastrous Attack
General John H. Martindale’s division of the 18th Corps deployed on this ground prior to its participation in the Federal attack on the morning of June 3, 1864. At 4:30 a.m., the roughly 3,400 men of the division advanced toward strong Confederate . . . Map (db m90841) HM
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72 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Keep Digging
These trenches represent a dramatic change in battlefield tactics. When the two armies met on this ground in 1862, soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder; victory was often dependent upon the success or failure of a dramatic charge. By 1864 field . . . Map (db m16882) HM
73 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Keep Your Head Down
This shallow, winding depression is all that remains of a “zigzag” constructed by Union troops in June 1864. In trench warfare, soldiers dug ditches, called zigzags or covered-ways, to provide protection from sharpshooters as they moved . . . Map (db m16881) HM
74 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Keitt’s Attack — Morning, June 1, 1864
On the morning of June 1, General Lee was anxious to regain control of the Old Cold Harbor Crossroads and ordered two Confederate infantry divisions to attack the outnumbered Union cavalry troopers defending the intersection. Colonel Laurence M. . . . Map (db m90842) HM
75 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Killing Fields
“The men bent down as they pushed forward, as if trying...to breast a tempest, and the files of men went down like rows of blocks or bricks pushed over by striking against each other.” John L. Piper, 12th New Hampshire . . . Map (db m189322) HM
76 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Lee’s First Strike
The Confederate plan did not call for an attack against the Union position along Beaver Dam Creek. Instead, a series of manuevers would make the Union defenses here untenable. But poor communication and unexpected obstacles caused delays. Lee felt . . . Map (db m40243) HM
77 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Lee’s First Victory: At a Huge Cost
“Yesterday evening we was in one of the hardest fought battles ever known. I never had a clear conception of the horrors of war until last night….In going round that battlefield with a candle searching for friends I could hear on all sides . . . Map (db m43335) HM
78 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Lives on the Line — Richmond National Battlefield Park —
"Between our works and the house... was a semi-circle of negro quarters, and in front of these little frame and log houses the artillerymen had backed up their caissons and ammunition wagons to conceal them as much as possible from the . . . Map (db m228889) HM
79 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 2 — Mechanicsville
Near this village on June 26, 1862, Confederate troops under General R.E. Lee attacked and drove eastward the right wing of the Federal army commanded by Major-General George B. McClellan. This action began the Seven Days' Battle.Map (db m14219) HM
80 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Misery In The Trenches
The earthworks before you were home to Union soldiers for nearly two weeks during the fighting at Cold Harbor. One Federal officer described the suffering that these troops endured living and working in the trenches: “The work of intrenching . . . Map (db m16208) HM
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81 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Mistaken Identity
“It was now sun down and the air was dense with smoke, so that we were realty not certain whether the column before us were friends or enemies….Their banner was furled, and we could not get any clue from that….Just at this time Colonel . . . Map (db m16401) HM
82 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Morell’s Division, USA
“The rebels rushed down the hill in line of battle, but it wasn’t quite so easy rushing across a swamp, waist deep in thick mud, and as they tried it we tried Sharp’s rifles at eight rods, firing as fast as we could put in cartridges, the . . . Map (db m16398) HM
83 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 6 — New Cold HarborWhere Two Battlefields Meet
Around this crossroads is bloody ground. To the right is the field of Gaines' Mill or First Cold Harbor, fought June 27, 1862, with 14,800 casualties. To the left is Second Cold Harbor, near which 17,00 fell, May 30 - June 12, 1864.Map (db m14200) HM
84 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Nowhere To Go
For nearly two weeks, from June 3 to June 12, the soldiers endured the agony of trench warfare. One Virginian recalled: Thousands of men cramped up in a narrow trench, unable to go out, or to get up, or to stretch or to stand, without danger . . . Map (db m16895) HM
85 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Pennsylvania MonumentCold Harbor
. . . Map (db m174823) HM
86 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Pickett’s Brigade, CSA
“As soon as this advancing brigade reached the summit of the hill it was met by a storm of shot and shell I never saw exceeded except in the famous charge of Pickett’s men at Gettysburg.” Col. Eppa Hunton 8th Virginia Infantry . . . Map (db m16397) HM
87 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 4 — Pine SlashWelcome to Pine Slash and the Honeymoon Cottage
Upon Patrick Henry’s marriage to Sarah Shelton in 1754, he received for her dowry a 300-acre tract of land and six slaves. Like many Virginians with small farms, Henry labored in the fields with his slaves. Much of the soil at Pine Slash had been . . . Map (db m46754) HM
88 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Polegreen ChurchStalemate at Totopotomoy Creek — Lee vs. Grant – The 1864 Campaign —
Following the cavalry fight at Enon Church on May 28, 1864, Lee moved to block Grant’s advance toward Richmond. He stationed his army along a ridge protected by swampy Totopotomoy Creek. When Union infantry arrived they found Lee’s soldiers solidly . . . Map (db m15829) HM
89 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 2 — Polegreen ChurchReverend Samuel Davies and a young Patrick Henry
For more than a century the Polegreen Church stood as a monument to the Hanover Dissenters and Samuel Davies in the struggle for religious liberty. Though Davies died fifteen years before the American Revolution, his influence and revolutionary . . . Map (db m32674) HM
90 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 2 — Polegreen ChurchCradle of Religious Freedom in America
From Virginia’s founding until the American Revolution 170 years later, the Anglican Church was the only state recognized religion. The government built the churches and the parsonages and paid the clergy with tax money. All other religious groups . . . Map (db m32679) HM
91 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Powerful Position
On the morning of June 27, General Fitz John Porter’s men arranged their formidable defenses along the slope of Boatswain’s Creek, where you are standing. Orders directed him to resist Lee’s advance, “even to my destruction,” remembered Porter. . . . Map (db m34900) HM
92 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Preparation For Battle
On June 2, 1864, the night before the grand assault at Cold Harbor, Union staff officers passed among the battle lines issuing orders. One officer, Major Horace Porter, was in this vicinity when he witnessed a scene of foreboding. Porter recalled: . . . Map (db m16195) HM
93 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Read’s Battalion CSA ArtilleryRichmond National Battlefield Park Reported permanently removed
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 . . . Map (db m15231) HM
94 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Read's Battalion
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. . . . Map (db m155838) HM
95 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — 3 — Rural Plains"Give me liberty or give me death!" — Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 —
Rural Plains, home of the Shelton family for nearly three centuries, stands on the northern bank of Totopotomoy Creek. Eighteen-year-old Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton in 1754. Family tradition places the wedding ceremony in the first floor . . . Map (db m35014) HM
96 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Rutland
Rutland was the home of the Timberlake family for 200 years, built circa 1790-1810 as a one-and-one-half-story hall-and-parlor house. July 12-21, 1862, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart headquartered in the house, with an encampment of 3,000 cavalry. . . . Map (db m20972) HM
97 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — Scars of Conflict
Twelve days of combat transformed this once pastoral landscape. With every shift of a line of battle, the soldiers dug new works. Reserve troops dug too, well behind the front lines. By battle’s end, earthworks gouged the landscape in every . . . Map (db m16200) HM
98 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — PA-10 — Seven Days BattlesGaines’s Mill
Here Lee and Stonewall Jackson conferred in the morning of June 27, 1862. Jackson’s troops halted here until A. P. Hill arrived from Beaver Dam Creek. Hill then moved southward by Gaines’s Mill and Longstreet turned to the east. All three columns . . . Map (db m15053) HM
99 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — PA-16 — Seven Days BattlesGaines’s Mill
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 . . . Map (db m14996) HM
100 Virginia, Hanover County, Mechanicsville — PA-2 — Seven Days BattlesMechanicsville
Mechanicsville was held by Union outposts when, in the early afternoon of June 26, 1862, A. P. Hill reached it coming from the north. The Unionists were quickly driven back to their position on Beaver Dam Creek. Then D. H. Hill, followed by . . . Map (db m15211) HM

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Mar. 19, 2024