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- Jul 29, 2013
The Battle of Williamsburg (Battle of Fort Magruder) took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal. Following up the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, the Union division of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. Hooker assaulted Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road, but was repulsed. Confederate counterattacks, directed by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, threatened to overwhelm the Union left flank, until Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny's division arrived to stabilize the Federal position. Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's brigade then moved to threaten the Confederate left flank, occupying two abandoned redoubts. The Confederates counterattacked unsuccessfully. Hancock's localized success was not exploited. The Confederate army continued its withdrawal during the night in the direction of Richmond, Virginia.
* Civil War Trust Map "Battle of Williamsburg, Va."
* Civil War Trails Marker near Redoubt Park
* Fort Magruder
* Fort Magruder Monument
* Civil War Trails Marker "Fort Magruder"
* Fort Magruder Earthworks
* Virginia State Marker on US 60
* Civil War Trails Marker "The Bloody Ravine"
* The Bloody Ravine
* Civil War Trails Marker "Redoubt #1" off Quarter Path Road (Redoubt Park)
* Redoubt #1 Earthworks
* Civil War Trails Marker "Redoubt #2" with Earthworks
* Civil War Trails Marker "Quarter Path Road"
* The Wren Building at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg (Used as a Confederate Hospital)
* Photos courtesy of William Bechmann (2013)
* Civil War Trust Map "Battle of Williamsburg, Va."
* Civil War Trails Marker near Redoubt Park
* Fort Magruder
* Fort Magruder Monument
* Civil War Trails Marker "Fort Magruder"
* Fort Magruder Earthworks
* Virginia State Marker on US 60
* Civil War Trails Marker "The Bloody Ravine"
* The Bloody Ravine
* Civil War Trails Marker "Redoubt #1" off Quarter Path Road (Redoubt Park)
* Redoubt #1 Earthworks
* Civil War Trails Marker "Redoubt #2" with Earthworks
* Civil War Trails Marker "Quarter Path Road"
* The Wren Building at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg (Used as a Confederate Hospital)
* Photos courtesy of William Bechmann (2013)
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