128:
111:
485:, McClellan could bring his heavy siege artillery to the outskirts of Richmond. He moved slowly and deliberately, reacting to faulty intelligence that led him to believe the Confederates outnumbered him significantly. By the end of May, the army had built bridges across the Chickahominy and was facing Richmond, straddling the river, with one third of the Army south of the river, two thirds north. (This disposition, which made it difficult for one part of the army to reinforce the other quickly, would prove to be a significant problem in the upcoming
450:
558:
571:'s 28th North Carolina on a reconnaissance patrol at the farm owned by Dr. Thomas H. Kinney. The New Yorkers, along with the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters, skirmished briskly with the Confederates until Porter's main body arrived, driving the outnumbered Rebels up the road in the direction of the courthouse. Porter set out in pursuit with most of his force, leaving three regiments (the 2nd Maine, the 44th New York, and the damaged 25th New York), under the command of Brig. Gen.
39:
548:
434:, a natural barrier in the spring when it turned the broad plains to the east of Richmond into swamps. Johnston's men burned most of the bridges over the Chickahominy and settled into strong defensive positions north and east of the city. McClellan positioned his 105,000-man army to focus on the northeast sector, for two reasons. Firstly, the
604:
characterized by misjudgments on both sides. The right flank of the Union Army remained secure although technically, the
Confederates at Peake's Crossing had not intended to threaten it. Also, McDowell's Corps did not need its roads kept clear because it never arrived; the defeat of Union forces at the
603:
General McClellan claimed that
Hanover Court House was yet another "glorious victory over superior numbers" and judged that it was "one of the handsomest things of the war." However, the reality of the outcome was that superior (Union) numbers won the day in a disorganized fight that was
496:. If this were true, it would threaten the army's right flank and complicate the arrival of McDowell's reinforcements. A Union cavalry reconnaissance adjusted the estimate of the enemy strength to be 6,000, but it was still cause for concern. McClellan ordered his close friend, Maj. Gen.
575:, to guard the New Bridge and Hanover Court House Roads intersection, a mile to the west of Kinney's farm. This movement exposed the rear of Porter's command to attack by the bulk of Branch's force, which Porter had mistakenly assumed was at Hanover Court House.
583:
and two cannons from Latham's
Battery. An initial assault by the 18th was repulsed, but when the 37th joined in, Martindale's force was almost destroyed by the heavy fire. The 44th New York suffered 25% casualties and its battle flag received 44 bullet holes.
616:
to recall McDowell to
Fredericksburg. The estimates of Union casualties vary, from 355 (62 killed, 233 wounded, 70 captured) to 397. The Confederates left 200 dead and wounded on the field and 730 were captured by Porter's cavalry.
578:
Branch also made the poor assumption that Porter's force was significantly smaller than it turned out to be and so he attacked. Col. Charles C. Lee led his own regiment, the 37th North
Carolina, along with the
963:
624:
and Fair Oaks four days later. During the absence of Porter, McClellan was reluctant to move more of his troops south of the
Chickahominy, which made his left flank a more attractive target for Johnston.
438:, which ran roughly parallel to the Chickahominy, offered a line of communication that could enable McClellan to get around Johnston's left flank. Secondly, McClellan anticipated the arrival of the
492:
While skirmishing occurred all along the line between the armies, McClellan heard a rumor from a
Virginia civilian that a Confederate force of 17,000 was moving to Hanover Court House, north of
983:
204:
973:
473:
The Army of the
Potomac pushed slowly up the Pamunkey and established supply bases at Eltham's Landing, Cumberland Landing, and White House Landing. White House, the plantation of
968:
978:
919:
620:
A greater impact than the actual casualties, according to historian
Stephen W. Sears, was the effect on McClellan's preparedness for the next major battle, at
281:
591:
regiments back to the Kinney Farm. The
Confederate line broke under the weight of thousands of new troops and they retreated back through Peake's Crossing to
197:
567:
Porter's men approached Peake's Crossing in a driving rain. At about noon on May 27, his lead element, the 25th New York Infantry, encountered Col.
190:
568:
907:
888:
859:
818:
401:
527:, and included the 7th, 18th, 28th, and 37th North Carolina Infantry regiments, and the 45th Georgia Infantry. They had departed from
840:
790:
773:
758:
741:
341:
482:
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369:
force near Hanover Court House, which threatened the avenue of approach for Union reinforcements that were marching south from
796:
900:
Voices from Cemetery Hill: The Civil War Diary, Reports, and Letters of Colonel William Henry Asbury Speer (1861–1864)
446:, scheduled to march south from Fredericksburg to reinforce his army, and thus needed to protect their avenue of approach.
380:
The Union victory was moot, however, since the Union reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Maj. Gen.
352:
286:
239:
132:
127:
580:
958:
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244:
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588:
524:
474:
389:
374:
271:
149:
119:
748:
449:
532:
291:
276:
988:
523:, altogether about 12,000 men. The Confederate force, which actually numbered about 4,000 men, was led by Col.
493:
370:
326:
229:
91:
80:
587:
When messengers reached Porter with news of the engagement, he quickly dispatched the 9th Massachusetts and
366:
224:
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528:
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301:
234:
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486:
454:
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439:
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362:
355:
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535:, taking up position at Peake's Crossing, 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of the courthouse, near
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38:
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423:
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539:. Another Confederate brigade was stationed 10 miles (16 km) north at Hanover Junction.
779:
520:
508:
497:
344:
144:
507:
Porter departed on his mission at 4 a.m. on May 27 with his 1st Division, under Brig. Gen.
730:
852:
The Battle of Hanover Court House: Turning Point of the Peninsula Campaign, May 27, 1862
443:
435:
49:
547:
952:
478:
115:
110:
536:
512:
359:
934:
921:
430:, and extended counterclockwise so that his center and left were behind the
414:
as McClellan's army pursued him and approached the Confederate capital of
872:
519:, and a composite brigade of cavalry and artillery led by Brig. Gen.
182:
556:
546:
833:
The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula & the Seven Days
377:, was defeated at Peake's Crossing after a disorganized fight.
186:
718:
Eicher, 276; Sears, p. 117; Salmon, p. 91; Kennedy, p. 92.
964:
Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
898:
Speer, William H. A. (1997). Speer, Allen Paul (ed.).
734:
The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War
652:
Salmon, p. 88; Eicher, pp. 273-74; Sears, pp. 95-97.
835:. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
811:
The Peninsula & Seven Days: A Battlefield Guide
481:, became McClellan's base of operations. Using the
766:The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide
552:Map Illustrating the Battle of Hanover, Virginia.
783:To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign
984:Historic American Landscapes Survey in Virginia
705:
703:
373:. The smaller Confederate force, under Colonel
23:
753:. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998.
562:Engagement Near Hanover Court-House, Virginia.
974:Battles of the American Civil War in Virginia
351:extended north to protect the right flank of
198:
8:
881:The Peninsula Campaign March–July 1862
768:. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001.
453:Peninsula Campaign, map of events up to the
205:
191:
183:
20:
969:Union victories of the American Civil War
813:. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
639:
637:
418:. Johnston's defensive line began at the
979:Hanover County in the American Civil War
902:. Johnson City, TN: Overmountain Press.
797:National Park Service battle description
736:. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
448:
365:. Porter's objective was to deal with a
633:
410:withdrew his 60,000-man army from the
854:. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
46:battle of Hanover Ct. House. 1:45 PM.
7:
883:. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books.
612:in the Shenandoah Valley caused the
869:Historic American Landscapes Survey
402:Hanover Court House order of battle
14:
688:Sears, p. 114; Salmon, pp. 90-91.
670:Salmon, p. 90; Sears, pp. 113-14.
661:Salmon, p. 90; Sears, pp. 104-06.
426:, site of the recent Confederate
325:, took place on May 27, 1862, in
511:, the 3rd Brigade of Brig. Gen.
500:, commander of the newly formed
483:Richmond and York River Railroad
126:
109:
37:
16:Battle of the American Civil War
750:The Civil War Battlefield Guide
515:'s 2nd Division, under Colonel
679:Eicher, p. 275; Salmon, p. 90.
282:Garnett's & Golding's Farm
1:
873:Battle of Hanover Court House
697:Sears, p. 116; Salmon, p. 91.
319:Battle of Hanover Court House
24:Battle of Hanover Court House
785:. Ticknor and Fields, 1992.
504:, to deal with the threat.
1005:
606:First Battle of Winchester
399:
390:First Battle of Winchester
879:Martin, David G. (1992).
809:Burton, Brian K. (2007).
747:Kennedy, Frances H., ed.
533:Virginia Central Railroad
220:
168:
155:
138:
102:
56:
36:
28:
871:(HALS) No. VA-28, "
327:Hanover County, Virginia
81:Hanover County, Virginia
850:Hardy, Michael (2006).
525:Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
375:Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
340:On May 27, elements of
150:Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
52:, artist, May 27, 1862.
614:Lincoln administration
564:
554:
470:
323:Battle of Slash Church
139:Commanders and leaders
64:May 27, 1862
560:
550:
487:Battle of Seven Pines
455:Battle of Seven Pines
452:
400:Further information:
169:Casualties and losses
517:Gouverneur K. Warren
406:Confederate General
321:, also known as the
44:Commencement of the
935:37.7222°N 77.3763°W
931: /
581:18th North Carolina
475:W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee
363:Army of the Potomac
356:George B. McClellan
250:Hanover Court House
959:Peninsula campaign
829:Gallagher, Gary W.
573:John H. Martindale
565:
555:
471:
432:Chickahominy River
412:Virginia Peninsula
408:Joseph E. Johnston
382:Nathaniel P. Banks
335:American Civil War
331:Peninsula Campaign
261:Seven Days Battles
214:Peninsula Campaign
31:American Civil War
940:37.7222; -77.3763
909:978-1-57072-050-5
890:978-0-938289-09-8
861:978-0-7864-2464-1
820:978-0-8032-6246-1
780:Sears, Stephen W.
610:Stonewall Jackson
589:62nd Pennsylvania
477:, son of General
462: Confederate
386:Shenandoah Valley
329:, as part of the
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133:CSA (Confederacy)
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521:William H. Emory
509:George W. Morell
498:Fitz John Porter
467:
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442:under Maj. Gen.
345:Fitz John Porter
287:Savage's Station
272:Beaver Dam Creek
240:Eltham's Landing
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145:Fitz John Porter
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989:May 1862 events
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803:Further reading
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384:'s rout in the
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831:, ed. (2000).
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709:Sears, p. 117.
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494:Mechanicsville
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444:Irwin McDowell
436:Pamunkey River
424:Drewry's Bluff
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371:Fredericksburg
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50:Alfred R. Waud
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842:0-8078-2552-2
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759:0-395-74012-6
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742:0-684-84944-5
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569:James H. Lane
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531:to guard the
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479:Robert E. Lee
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428:naval victory
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225:Hampton Roads
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174:355–397
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537:Slash Church
529:Gordonsville
513:George Sykes
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302:Malvern Hill
277:Gaines' Mill
259:
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235:Williamsburg
103:Belligerents
43:
29:Part of the
938: /
622:Seven Pines
468: Union
420:James River
367:Confederate
255:Seven Pines
953:Categories
926:77°22′35″W
923:37°43′20″N
725:References
396:Background
342:Brig. Gen.
68:1862-05-27
599:Aftermath
353:Maj. Gen.
267:Oak Grove
416:Richmond
297:Glendale
230:Yorktown
156:Strength
76:Location
593:Ashland
502:V Corps
440:I Corps
388:at the
349:V Corps
333:of the
94:victory
66: (
906:
887:
858:
839:
817:
789:
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757:
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543:Battle
466:
460:
161:12,000
88:Result
629:Notes
360:Union
164:4,000
120:Union
92:Union
904:ISBN
885:ISBN
856:ISBN
837:ISBN
815:ISBN
787:ISBN
770:ISBN
755:ISBN
738:ISBN
317:The
61:Date
608:by
489:).
422:at
358:'s
347:'s
177:930
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702:^
636:^
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206:e
199:t
192:v
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118:(
70:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
