After fighting to a draw in the Battle of Williamsburg on 5 May 1862, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army withdrew toward Richmond. Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, hoping to block Johnston's line of retreat, ordered a division under Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin to steam up the York River and disembark across from West Point, about a mile northeast of here. Franklin's men unloaded at a pontoon wharf and deployed in the nearby woods on 6-7 May. Confederate troops under Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith attacked in this vicinity on 7 May and pushed the Union forces back toward the river, allowing Johnston's main column to proceed westward without interference.
