The Battle of Haw's Shop

— Lee vs. Grant - The 1864 Campaign —

Confederate cavalry under Gen. Wade Hampton arrived here May 28, 1864, hoping to locate the whereabouts of the Federal army. Hampton's leading column collided with Gen. David Gregg's Union cavalry division near the Haw's Shop crossroads, one mile in front of you. After a brief fight on horseback, Confederate cavalry fell back, dismounted, and hastily built a line of protective works on both sides of the road behind the church.

The two sides battled indecisively for several hours before the arrival of Gen. George Custer's Michigan brigade turned stalemate into victory for the Federals. Charging on foot straight down the road toward this church, Custer's troopers scattered the Southern defenders. Among the 365 Union casualties was the mortally wounded John Huff, credited by some with fatally shooting Confederate cavalry chief J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern. Hampton's casualties in the nearly seven-hour action numbered about 380.

Today, the battlefield closely resembles its wartime appearance. Visible in the distance is the home of John Haw, Oak Grove, which served as a field hospital.

"At point blank range the contending parties fought for seven hours, neither able to carry the other's position, but each determined to hold its own. So rapid and constant was the firing that during this time the regiment, though scarcely two hundred of it being engaged, expended upward of eighteen thousand rounds of ammunition."
- William P. Lloyd, Adjutant, First Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Cavalry

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Show me all markers in:  Mechanicsville, VA  |  Hanover County  |  23116  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Enon Church
Early Airmail Service
Studley
Salem Church/Haw's Shop
Studley
Newmarket
Fighting at the Totopotomoy
Pine Slash
Totopotomoi
Totopotomoy Creek

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