Battle Detail

Beaver Dam Creek

Other Name:
Mechanicsville, Ellerson's Mill
Campaign:
Peninsula Campaign
Date(s):
March-July 1862
Principal Commanders:
Major General Fitz Porter [US] Major General Robert Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged:
31987 total (US 15631; CS 16356;)
Estimated Casualties:
1845 total (US 361; CS 1484;)
Description:
Second of the Seven Days' Battles. Gen. Robert E. Lee initiated his offensive against McClellan's right flank north of the Chickahominy River. A.P. Hill threw his division, reinforced by one of D.H. Hill's brigades, into a series of futile assaults against Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps, which was drawn up behind Beaver Dam Creek. Confederate attacks were driven back with heavy casualties. Jackson's Shenandoah Valley divisions, however, were approaching from the northwest, forcing Porter to withdraw the next morning to a position behind Boatswain Creek just beyond Gaines' Mill.
Results:
Union Victory
CWSAC Reference #:
VA016
Preservation Priority: