Half-Way House

As Grant grappled with Lee in the Wilderness and near Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864, Union Gen. Benjamin Butler landed with 30,000 troops at Bermuda Hundred, eight miles east of here, to open another front and threaten Richmond from the south. This building, dating from 1760, was a prominent landmark during the battle of Drewry’s Bluff on May 16 and was used by Butler during the fighting. Early in the battle, Confederate artillery north of here found the range, shattering brick dependencies and plowing up the grounds around the building, while soldiers had already helped themselves to the house’s contents and left it pretty well rummaged. Butler’s defeated Army of the James rallied around the Half-Way House on the afternoon of the 16th, and the strong Union position there halted the Confederate attack and ended the battle. The fighting at Drewry’s Bluff marked the end of Butler’s offensive operations against Richmond.

Bellwood, Virginia · United States