May 10, 1864

On May 5, 1864, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler's Union Army of the James landed at Bermuda Hundred to sever direct communication between Richmond and Petersburg. Five days later, desperate to keep the connection open, 2,000 Confederates under Gen. Robert Ransom advanced south from Drewry's Bluff along the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (present-day U.S. Rte. 1). Three Federal infantry regiments and artillery formed a defensive line here that extended from the Winfree House east to the turnpike.

In grueling 100 degree heat, the Confederates tried twice to break the line. To your left, the 9th and 38th Virginia Infantry charged down the turnpike, and part of the 169th New York Infantry gave way, abandoning that portion of the line and one cannon. The 14th, 53rd, and 57th Virginia Infantry converged from three directions to make the second assault on the Federals around the Winfree House. As the defenders' ammunition dwindled, desperately needed Union infantry and artillery reenforcements arrived just in time, deploying directly into the Winfree House lane and along the turnpike and checking the Virginians' advance. Outnumbered, the beleaguered Southerners began to give ground.

Adding to the confusion, Federal artillery shells ignited the woods behind you. Wounded soldiers on both sides were in danger of burning to death. As the fighting dwindled, a flag of truce was agreed on to rescue them. When night fell, both sides had had enough. The Confederates retired to Drewry's Bluff, and the Federals withdrew east to Bermuda Hundred, leaving the smoldering battlefield behind. They had failed to cut Confederate communications and remained for months on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula.

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Show me all markers in:  Chester, VA  |  Chesterfield County  |  23831  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

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