Battle of Gaines's Mill, Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia

Significance: 1) Federal troops secured a victory on June 26 at Beaver Dam Creek, but army commander, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, was concerned about reports that a large army under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was marching to disrupt the York River Railroad, his main line of supply. McClellan ordered Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter to withdraw from the battlefield of Beaver Dam Creek and take up a new position farther to his right behind Boatswain's Swamp, which he did about 3 A.M., June 27.

2) At dawn, expecting to renew the previous day's fighting, Maj. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill pressed skirmishers forward to discover that the Federals had withdrawn during the night. A. P. Hill pushed his division up the Old Cold Harbor Road and about mid-morning encountered the Union rear guard near Gaines Mill.

3) Closest to the river, Maj. Gen. James Longstreet repaired a bridge to cross Beaver Dam Creek and advance along the farm road that connected "Meadow Farm" with "Fairfield," the home of William Gaines.

4) Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill marched with his division out the Old Church Road bound for Old Cold Harbor. Together with the command of "Stonewall" Jackson, Gen. Robert E. Lee sought to unite these columns against Porter's isolated command and destroy it.

5) About noon, Generals Lee, Jackson, and A.P. Hill conferred at Walnut Grove Church. It was the first meeting between Lee and Jackson of the campaign.

6) A.P. Hill continued to push back skirmishers until unmasking the main Federal line on the bluff overlooking Boatswain's Swamp. Hill began an attack on the Union center near New Cold Harbor about 2:30 P.M. He was repulsed.

7) Meanwhile Jackson's divisions continued east aiming for Old Cold Harbor, but being misdirected, Jackson found himself stymied by the impassable Gaines' Mill Pond. Jackson countermarched, delaying his march a further two hours.

8) About mid-afternoon, as the battle heated up, McClellan dispatched the division of Brig. Gen. Henry Slocum across the river to Porter's assistance.

9) D.H. Hill reached Old Cold Harbor and deployed to confront the Federal right flank.

10) Maj. Gen. Longstreet maneuvered three brigades into position to the right of A. P. Hill's division and attacked about 4 P.M. in the area of the Watt House. Maj. Gen. Whiting's division of Jackson's command arrived to throw weight behind Longstreet's attacks.

11) On A.P. Hill's left, Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, also of Jackson's command, threw his brigades into the fight as each reached the field. Porter's embattled Federals continued to repulse every attack.

12) At dusk, Gen. Lee was able finally to get his generals to work together. Confederate attackers surged forward all along the line. Supported by Brig. Gen. Charles S. Winder's division of Jackson's command, D.H. Hill's troops broke the Union right flank at McGhee's. Longstreet's soldiers broke through at the Watt House. Federals abandoned their defenses and began streaming to the rear.

13) Responding at last to pleas for reinforcements, Maj. Gen. McClellan sent forward two brigades of Brig. Gen. Israel B. Richardson's division that arrived in time to cover Porter's retreat to the south bank of the Chickahominy. Darkness and exhaustion ended the fighting. Lee had won a costly victory. Of 56,000 Confederate soldiers engaged, 8,750 were casualties. Federals lost 6,840 of some 39,000 soldiers engaged.
Survey number: HALS VA-32