In the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged. Following up the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, Hooker's division 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 Kearny's division arrived to stabilize the Federal position. 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.
Result(s): Inconclusive
Location: York County and Williamsburg
Campaign: Peninsula Campaign (March-September 1862)
Date(s): May 5, 1862
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan [US]; Maj. Gen. James Longstreet [CS]
Forces Engaged: 72,591 total (US 40,768;CS 31,823)
Estimated Casualties: 3,843 total (US 2,283; CS 1,560)
Source:
When Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston withdrew from the line across the tip of Virginia peninsula May 3, 1862 he did so in order to find more favorable circumstances in which to confront Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's massive Federal army. McClellan, in turn, sent troops in pursuit to press his advantage, and his vanguard overtook Johnston's rear guard near Williamsburg.
Months earlier, Confederate Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder had established a crude line of field works about 2 miles east of Williamsburg. In the center of this line was Fort Magruder; smaller redoubts flanked the fort and extended for about 4 miles. Maj. Gen. James Longstreet's division took up positions in Fort Magruder and some of the redoubts on the night of May 4. The next morning 2 full Union Divisions, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's and Brig. Gen. William F. Smith's challenged the Confederates. The Southerners repulsed an attack by hooker's troops and counterattacked with limited success. Near noon Johnston arrived to survey the situation and recalled Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill's division to support Longstreet.
Meanwhaile, a brigade of Smith's division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, was making a long flank march. The Federals arrived behind the Southern left and seized 2 unoccupied redoubts from Magruder's line. When Hill's Confederates reached the field, Hancock's men were pouring artillery fire into Longstreet's flank and rear.
Leading Hill's division into the fighting was the brigade commanded by Bri. Gen. Jubal A. Early Which arrived in position to outflank Hancock. Hill and Early planned to attack. Because they prepared in haste, the Confederate units reached the Union position at different times and from different directions. Thus the attack was a ragged failure. Hancock reported, "No man..left the ground unhurt who had advanced within five hundred yards of our line." The Confederates were gallant but their Gallantry was costly: some regiments lost as many as half their numbers, and no accurate count survived because most of the officers responsible for it did not survive. Throughout the confused day, Federals lost about 2,200 men; the Confederates lost around 1,700, probably many more. In the darkness the Confederates quit the field and continued their withdrawal.
Source:
Last Updated 26 April 2002
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