Seven Days Campaign: Destroying a train

[Dave G]

During the Seven Days, the Union army burned up tons of supplies and sent a train burning and full of ammunition up the Richmond and York Railway to a destroyed trestle at the Pamunkey River. When the troops near White House Landing saw it hurtling toward them, they ran for cover because it looked like the train might make it all the way over.
I found this photo of the trestle and scanned it -- can't find a good copy at the LoC -- so the quality is not great but it's sort of interesting.
There seems to be a dispute among authors about whether the train went into the Chickahominy River or the Pamunkey. The photo above would seem to be the Pamunkey, because it is not swampy. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Private Watkins]

Not the same train, but similar situation...

This photograph shows what happens when an ammunition train goes BOOM! George Bernard saw the results when he photographed the remains of CSA General Hood's 28-car ammunition train, which Hood's retreating army burned after loosing Atlanta to Sherman, September 1864.

 

[BillO]

During the Seven Days, the Union army burned up tons of supplies and sent a train burning and full of ammunition up the Richmond and York Railway to a destroyed trestle at the Pamunkey River. When the troops near White House Landing saw it hurtling toward them, they ran for cover because it looked like the train might make it all the way over.
I found this photo of the trestle and scanned it -- can't find a good copy at the LoC -- so the quality is not great but it's sort of interesting.
There seems to be a dispute among authors about whether the train went into the Chickahominy River or the Pamunkey. The photo above would seem to be the Pamunkey, because it is not swampy. Anyone know for sure?

View attachment 80018

I'm pretty sure it was the Pamunkey river.

 

[Aussie Billy Sherman]

Is this the same White House landing grant used as hq during the Petersburg siege?

 

[Dave G]

There seems to be a dispute among authors about whether the train went into the Chickahominy River or the Pamunkey.

According to Sears, a burning ammo train was sent over the destroyed Chickahominy River bridge on the far side of which were Ewell's troops guarding the river. Ewell's aide thought the train might jump the stream and told his men to run for it. However, the picture above was obviously taken at the Pamunkey River as stated in the book it came from (A Photographic History of the Civil War). The caption says "Railroad cars loaded with tons of food and ammunition were run deliberately at full speed off the embankment shown in the left foreground. They plunged headlong into the waters of the Pamunkey."
The picture was apparently taken near co-ordinates 37.579706, -77.023322

Maybe McC ran several trains into both rivers??? I wonder if any dredging or archeology has turned up any trace of any train...