The Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia (1862)

I am drawn to this obscure fight also. Don't know why. Enjoy your visit Bruce.

I absolutely adore the obscure ACW battlefields and sites!

Most individuals do not have a clue an ACW battle was fought on this Colonial land. My family and I stayed the night at the Country Inn and Suites which was built on the Bloody Ravine.

Bill
 
If you are in the area hit Beaver Dam. It's between the interstate. When I went it was over grown but you could see across the terrain which I guess is a point.

Do you mean the Beaver Dam site in Richmond (Battle of Mechanicsville)?
 
There remains an obscured series of connected civil war forts connected by old pathways adjacent to the colonial parkway. The series begins where Custer charged across a small natural bridge which is now the parkway.
 
Yes![/QUOTE

This is high on my list of places to visit. As best I can tell, by family ancestor/avatar Lt. Ward had his "baptism of fire" at Beaver Dam Creek.

This is high on my list of places to visit. As best I can tell, by family ancestor/avatar Lt. Ward had his "baptism of fire" at Beaver Dam Creek.
 
* Anniversary Bump!

FB_IMG_1620231102822.jpg
 
Williamsburg is an interesting one partly because of the operational environment and partly because of the command environment.

In the operational environment, it was pretty much the AotP pursuit after the abandonment of Yorktown while the other half of the Union army moved up the York river to Elthams Landing (which would have formed a blocking position if the ANV had moved too slow, but which instead basically just meant the ANV couldn't defend at Williamsburg for long despite it being a prepared defensive line).

In the command environment, it was after this battle that McClellan basically wrote to Lincoln saying "all my corps commanders are awful, can I replace them for it?" and Lincoln replied "no" but gave McClellan permission to temporarily alter the corps structure - he just couldn't fire anyone.
This led to the AotP's five-corps structure on the Peninsula, as McClellan created 5th and 6th Corps so he could put commanders he thought were worth a **** in charge.
 
Back
Top