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Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia
Location: Hanover County
Campaign: Peninsula Campaign (March-September 1862)
Date(s): June 26, 1862
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS]
| Battle of Mechanicsville |
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Forces Engaged: 31,987 total (US 15,631; CS 16,356)
Estimated Casualties: 1,700 total (US 400; CS 1,300)
Description: Second of the Seven Days Battles*. Gen. Robert
E. Lee initiated his offensive against McClellan’s right flank north of the Chickahominy River. A. P. Hill threw his
division, reinforced by one of D. H. Hill’s brigades, into a series of futile assaults against Brig. Gen. Fitz John
Porter’s V Corps, which was drawn up behind Beaver Dam Creek. Confederate attacks were driven back with heavy casualties.
Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley divisions, however, were approaching from the northwest, forcing Porter to withdraw the
next morning to a position behind Boatswain Creek just beyond Gaines’ Mill.
* The second phase of the Peninsula
Campaign, consequently, took a negative turn for the Union when Lee launched fierce counterattacks just east of Richmond
in the Seven Days Battles (June 25 – July 1, 1862). Although they are formally considered part of the Peninsula Campaign,
the final battles of June 25 to July 1, with Lee in command and on the offensive against McClellan, are popularly known as
the Seven Days Battles.
Result(s): Union victory
Source: National Park Service
Advance to:
Recommended Reading:
Seven Days Battles; Virginia's Civil War Battles; Peninsula Campaign
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