Battle of Williamsburg

A critical part of the Battle of Williamsburg took place here on May 5, 1862, with Union troops occupying a ridge across present-day U.S. Route 60 and Confederate redoubts standing on the ridge to the west. Felled timber created clear fields of fire for the Confederates, and abatis obstructed the Federal attack in what was then heavily wooded ground without the railroad. The battle began when Union Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac encountered the rear guard of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army retreating up the Peninsula toward Richmond. The Confederates meant to fight a delaying action, but it quickly became a major engagement. By 8 A.M., Union Gen. Joseph Hooker’s attack on Fort Magruder had spread to this position, and intense fighting against Confederate Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox’s brigade took place in this valley, later called the bloody ravine. By midday, Confederate field commander Gen. James Longstreet had committed the reserves, and Virginia regiments under Gens. A.P. Hill and George Pickett advanced from Redoubts 2, 3, and 4 and drove the Federals back. At 3 P.M., Union Gen. Philip Kearny arrived with reinforcements, and the battle ended with both sides in roughly their original positions. That night the Confederates abandoned their redoubts and continued withdrawing toward Richmond. McClellan wired Washington, “The victory is complete,” but Johnston later replied that if the enemy had beaten them on the fifth, his army would have lost most of its baggage and artillery.

Virginia · United States