Quarterpath Road

Quarterpath Road was a historic roadbed that for centuries linked Williamsburg to Allen’s Wharf on the James River, and during the Battle of Williamsburg it ran behind the Confederate fortifications and took on added importance. Confederate Gen. John B. Magruder had intended to use the Williamsburg Line if forced to abandon the Warwick-Yorktown Line, but after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of the Confederate forces opposing Union Gen. George B. McClellan’s advance from Fort Monroe toward Richmond, he ignored that line and ordered a retreat up the Peninsula to the Confederate capital. On the evening of May 3, 1862, the Confederates withdrew from the Warwick-Yorktown defenses in heavy rain and on muddy roads, and when McClellan realized the fortifications had been abandoned, he sent Gen. Edwin V. Sumner in pursuit. Gen. James Longstreet’s division, serving as the Confederate rear guard, had to slow the Federals so Confederate artillery and wagon trains could continue toward Richmond, while Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry watched for pursuing Federal troops. On May 4, cavalry engagements took place between Williamsburg and Yorktown. One Confederate later recalled roads crowded with guns, wagons, ambulances, infantry, artillery, and cavalry splashing and bogging through darkness and mud, with long halts when stalled vehicles blocked the way. Stuart massed his strength on the Confederate left under Lt. Col. W.C. Wickham’s 4th Virginia Cavalry, which clashed along the Yorktown Road with Union Gen. George Stoneman’s cavalry, including four batteries of horse artillery, one commanded by Philip St. George Cooke, Stuart’s father-in-law. When Stoneman detached Gen. William H. Emory to cut off part of the Confederate cavalry, Stuart and his horsemen became separated from the Southern forces, and Stuart rode along the beach on the James River and then up Quarterpath Road to rejoin the Confederate army.

Williamsburg, Virginia · United States