Location of Battle in relation to Richmond |
Battle of Haw's Shop
(Enon Church or Hawes' Shop)
28 May, 1864
Prelude to the battle of Cold Harbor
Location of Battle in relation to Richmond |
Marker in corner of Enon Church yard. |
Inscription reads:
ENON CHURCH
RAPIDAN – JAMES CAMPAIGN
Here on May 28, 1864 The Confederate Cavalry under Major General Fitzugh Lee in a severe engagement withstood for five hours the Federal advance, thereby allowing the Army of Northern Virginia to take a position beyond the Totopotmy. Near this marker were buried many unknown dead of both armies.
Site of battle marker and monument to unknown Confederate dead buried nearby. (View is from Enon Church yard facing toward Union position ) |
Inscription on monument at Enon Church |
Map showing location of troops during battle. The 2nd Virginia was positioned along the road on Wickham's right during the last half of the battle. |
Chain of command for Company E, 2nd Virginia Cavalry
Confederate Cavalry Corp, General Wade Hampton commanding
Fitzhugh Lee's Division, Major General Fitzhugh Lee commanding
Wickham's Brigade, Brigadier General Williams C. Wickham commanding
2nd Virginia Cavalry, Colonel Thomas T. Munford commanding.
Company E, 2nd Virginia Cavalry, 1st Lieutenant James L. Jones commanding
Enon Church |
"At point blank range the contending parties fought for seven hours, neither able to carry the other’s position, but each determined to hold its own. So rapid and constant was the firing that during this time the regiment though scarcely two hundred of it having engaged. Expended upwards of eighteen thousand rounds of ammunition." – William P. Lloyd, Adjutant, First Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Cavalry
Studley's General Store now stands approximately where Haw's Shop once did |
During the fight, Haw's shop and it's out buildings were used by the Union as an Hospital to house Union wounded and one unidentified wounded trooper from the 2nd Virginia. When incoming artillery fire made it to "hot", the Union wounded were moved to safety at nearby Salem Church but the Confederate trooper was not.
Salem Church as it is today |
"Among the 344 Union causalities was the mortally wounded John Huff, who 17 days earlier had fatally shot Confederate cavalry Chief J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern. Hampton’s casualties in the nearly seven-hour action numbered about 230." - from battle info sign
Sergent J. Thompson Brown, of Company E wrote:
Our position, (fighting on foot) on the edge of a dense body of pines, an open field behind, so that the enemy could see our every movement, while we could not see them until they approached within a very few yards of us. After some hour or so of incessant firing on both sides, finding out [our] ammunition almost given out. Capt. Whitehead sent David Foster to the rear to have more ammunition sent us. When he reached the field behind us, he was amazed to find the Federal forces marching in columns on either side of that field, having passed around us on both sides, while were in the edge of dense pines. Foster came back and reported, and after a brief council between Capt. Whitehead and an officer of a South Carolina Squadron, which had been sent to reinforce us. Capt. Whitehead announced that he and his men were going out. As soon as we came out in the field the Federals on both sides of us saw us and opened fire, and while we ran the guantlet [sic] across that field, they wounded a good many of our men, but, as I now recall, killed only one, Pitt Higginbothom. We learned afterwards, that the Federals in firing at us, fired into each other and killed and wounded more of each other than us.
From pages 122-123 2nd Virginia Cavalry by Robert Driver; Virginia Regimental Histories Series 1995
Causalities from Company E
FALLS, J., wounded
HIGGENBOTHOM, PITT, killed
HIGGENBOTHOM, THOS., wounded
RUCKER, I. H., wounded
RUCKER, PAUL., wounded
WALLER, S. M., wounded
WATTS, SAML., wounded
WHITE, CHAS., wounded
