Battle of Beaver Dam Creek 1862
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 June 1862 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1862 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.5985, -77.3599 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, also known as the Battle of Mechanicsville or Ellerson's Mill, took place on June 26, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia. It was the first major engagement of the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War and the start of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's counter-offensive against the Union Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, which threatened the Confederate capital of Richmond.
Lee attempted to turn the Union right flank, north of the Chickahominy River, with troops under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, but Jackson failed to arrive on time. Instead, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill threw his division, reinforced by one of Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill's brigades, into a series of futile assaults against Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps, which occupied defensive works behind Beaver Dam Creek. Confederate attacks were driven back with heavy casualties. Porter withdrew his corps safely to Gaines' Mill, with the exception of Company F ("The Hopewell Rifles") of the 8th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment who did not receive the orders to retreat.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (revision 1377991877), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Meadow Bridge 1864 · 4 km
- Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farms 1862 · 6 km
- Battle of Cold Harbor 1864 · 7 km
- Battle of Totopotomoy Creek 1864 · 7 km
- Battle of Gaines' Mill 1862 · 7 km
- Battle of Haw's Shop 1864 · 10 km
Other battles of the American Civil War
- Battle of the Head of Passes 1861
- Bog Wallow Ambush 1861
- First Battle of Mesilla 1861
- Siege of Tubac 1861
- Skirmish at Blackwater Creek 1861
- Battle of Albuquerque 1862
- Battle of Antietam 1862
- Battle of Apache Pass 1862
- Battle of Augusta (1862) 1862
- Battle of Baton Rouge (1862) 1862
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles