When the Bermuda Hundred Campaign began, Confederate forces south of the James River were widely scattered across southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina, and attention was focused north on the Battle of the Wilderness. After the Army of the James landed at Bermuda Hundred on May 5, 1864, scarcely 6,000 troops defended Richmond and Petersburg while Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia fought Grant and the Army of the Potomac in the Wilderness. Confederate generals Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and George Pickett rushed to gather troops to block Butler. Beauregard, a Louisiana native who graduated from West Point in 1838, had served as an engineer, fought in the Mexican-American War, commanded Confederate forces at Fort Sumter and First Manassas, and took command at Shiloh after Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was killed. Poor health forced him from field service in late 1862, and he held mainly administrative duties until he was called to meet Butler's threat in 1864. He was known for a theatrical manner, elaborate strategic plans, and a strong mutual dislike with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Pickett, born in Virginia in 1825, graduated last in his West Point class in 1846 but earned distinction in the Mexican War and the western territories. Known as a capable combat leader with an immaculate appearance and flashy style, he saw his division shattered in the charge associated with his name at Gettysburg. In 1864 he commanded the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, later served under Beauregard, and in the opening days of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign bore responsibility for the defense of Richmond and Petersburg.