As Major General George B. McClellan and a large portion of his Army of the Potomac were
landing on the Virginia shoreline in March of 1862, the Lincoln Administration discovered
that the promised troops left for the defense of the capital existed principally on paper.
Lincoln orders Major General Irvin McDowell and his I Corps to remain behind and not join
the main body of the Army of the Potomac, greatly infuriating McClellan.
The General telegraphs Lincoln on April 5th, begging the President to “reconsider the
order,” believing that absence of the I Corps “imperiled…the success of our cause.”
McDowell’s 30,000 men sit on the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg, north of Richmond.
The Confederates, in the meantime, are not idly watching their hopes for a new republic
slip by.
The Confederate field commander, General Joseph E. Johnston, has slowly fallen back toward
Richmond before McClellan’s advance up the swampy peninsula, trying to entice the Federals
as far as possible from their base of supplies and therefore opening their lines of communication
to attack.
The presence of such a large Federal force on the Rappahannock River, only a few days’
march from Richmond’s northern environs, threatens Johnston’s strategy.
President Jefferson Davis and his military adviser, General Robert E. Lee, view McDowell’s
men as seriously as McClellan’s army.
They believe that McDowell is awaiting reinforcements from another Federal contingent under Major
General Nathaniel P. Banks, then stationed in the Shenandoah Valley.
To combat McDowell’s threat, Davis and Lee create a 9,000-man division commanded by Brigadier
General Joseph R. Anderson, and a 4,000-man brigade under Brigadier General Lawrence O’Bryan
Branch.
Anderson’s three brigades are positioned south of the Rappahannock to watch McDowell’s
force.
Branch’s Brigade is positioned to the west at Gordonsville to act as reinforcements for
either Anderson or for the Confederate troops operating in the Shenandoah Valley under Major
Generals Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Richard S. Ewell.
In March, 1862, Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside defeated Branch’s outnumbered
forces at the Battle of New Bern during Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition.
Following the fight, Branch’s Brigade was created from the 7th, 18th, 28th, 33rd and
37th North Carolina Infantry Regiments.
To concentrate the regiments and brigades scattered along the East Coast of the Confederacy
into a cohesive field army, Lee orders Branch’s Brigade north into Virginia.
It arrives there on May 4th, and the brigade is soon caught up in a tug-of-war between
Confederate commanders vying for more troops to support their own operations.
Finally, on May 19th, Johnston orders Branch to take his command to Hanover Court House,
between Richmond and Fredericksburg.
The area in and around Hanover Court House is steeped in history.
The courthouse is one of the oldest in the State of Virginia, and a local tavern was
once owned by Patrick Henry.
Henry Clay had been born there, and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall had married
there.
But to the men of 1862, what mattered was the area’s strategic significance.
For the Confederates, a force there protects transportation and communication lines and
is in a position to both harass McClellan’s right flank and observe McDowell’s I Corps
at Fredericksburg.
On May 24th, General Johnston orders both Branch and Anderson to “draw closer to the
main body” near Richmond.
On May 26th, Branch has moved three miles south of Hanover Court House to Slash Church,
and Anderson’s Division leaves Fredericksburg and is eight miles north of Branch.
Beside his five regiments, Brigadier General Branch has two regiments from Anderson, the
12th North Carolina and the 45th Georgia, plus Latham’s North Carolina Battery and
several companies from the 4th Virginia Cavalry.
Meanwhile on May 24th, the same day that Branch is ordered to move closer to Richmond, McClellan
receives a telegram from Washington stating that McDowell has been ordered to move south
and directing McClellan to extend his lines to the north and establish communications
with the I Corps.
Little Mac is also ordered to “detach a force to the right to cut off the retreat
of the Confederate force in front of Fredericksburg.”
A little later the same day, a second dispatch arrives, informing the Army of the Potomac
commander that McDowell’s movement has been suspended, due to the recent actions of Stonewall
Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, and a portion of that force has been sent to reinforce the
Federal troops in the west.
Believing that McDowell would soon be released to move south, McClellan goes ahead with his
offensive plans against Richmond.
He puts together a conglomeration of troops under Major General Fitz John Porter, recently
promoted and commanding the Army of the Potomac’s newly-organized V Corps, and gives him a threefold
mission: Clear the rumored 17,000 Confederates out of Hanover County and open the way for
McDowell to link up with the Army of the Potomac; destroy the brigades over the Pamunkey River;
and cut the Virginia Central Railroad.
Fitz John Porter is a career Army officer - a Mexican War veteran who was commissioned
Brigadier General on May 17th, 1861, and had begun the Peninsula Campaign commanding the
First Division in Heintzelman’s III Corps.
On May 18th, in the midst of the march on Richmond, McClellan had reorganized his army,
creating the V Corps from two divisions containing more than 17,000 men and placing Porter in
command while promoting him to Major General.
William B. Franklin - another senior lieutenant of McClellan - is also promoted to Major General
and given command of the newly-organized VI Corps.
For the movement toward Hanover Court House, Major General Porter chooses three brigades
from his First Division, under the command of Brigadier General George Morell, the Second
Division’s provisional 3rd Brigade under Colonel Gouverneur K. Warren, several artillery
batteries, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and detachments of the 5th and 6th U.S. Cavalry.
Both Porter and Branch spend the night of May 26th trying to keep out of the elements.
Rain has pelted the soldiers on and off for a week, turning the roads into quagmires.
As the Federal columns move out at 4:00 AM on May 27th, 1862, one soldier writes of “one
broad mass of plastic mud knee deep, while the rain pelted us in torrents.”A Confederate
officer would echo the Federal when he writes that the roads are between “1⁄2 a leg
to knee deep all the way.”
Brigadier General Branch posts strong pickets with his limited cavalry, covering the roads
to the south.
He also dispatches two companies of the 37th North Carolina to Taliaferro’s Mill near
the Pamunkey River.
General Porter’s four infantry brigades take two different roads north.
The three brigades in Morell’s First Division traveled on the New Bridge Road, and Warren’s
3rd Brigade of the Second Division taking the road from Old Church.
Porter still believes that Branch is “camped in strong force near Hanover Court House.”
The Federal battle plan is for Morell’s brigades to engage the Confederates in the
front, and for Colonel Warren to “fall upon him in flank and rear.”
The Federals, pelted by rain, slog through the mud for hours.
Reports arrive early that morning at Confederate headquarters located at Slash Church that
a small marauding party has been spotted advancing up the road to Taliaferro’s Mill.
Branch sends the 28th North Carolina and a section of Latham’s Battery to support his
pickets from the 37th and to “repel any small party.”
At the same time, Branch sends the 45th Georgia to repair the railroad at Ashland and to watch
for troops from the north.
The 28th North Carolina, under the command of Colonel James H. Lane, reaches the mill
when he receives word that the Federals are coming toward him from Hanover Court House.
As Lane attempts to return to the main Confederate force, he comes into contact with the lead
elements of Morell’s First Division - the 25th New York under the command of Colonel
Charles Johnson.
The meeting of the two forces takes both colonels by surprise.
Lane has to face his men to the rear and wheel to the right before coming into contact with
the Federals.
Several well-placed rifle volleys and a charge by the 28th North Carolina, about twice the
size of the 25th New York, sends the Yankees reeling, with many captured by Lane’s men.
As the Confederates press their attack, Porter has time to better prepare his next line of
defense.
Morell’s 3rd Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, composed
of the 16th Michigan, the 12th, 17th, and 44th New York, the 83rd Pennsylvania, Bradley’s
Company of Michigan Sharpshooters, and Battery M, 3rd U.S Artillery, go into formation.
Lane reorganizes his men, sends to Branch for reinforcements and redeploys his artillery.
The Federals launch their attack, driving Lane back across the ground he had just captured
and taking one of his artillery pieces.The Confederates continue to retreat toward Hanover
Court House with the Federals in pursuit, most notably the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
The fight lasts three hours.
General Porter, not wishing to be outflanked and surprised, sends a squadron of cavalry
and a section of artillery down the Ash Cake Road to the west, about the same time the
25th New York becomes engaged to the north.
The Confederate pickets spot the Federal troops and send back reports to Colonel Charles Lee
of the 37th North Carolina, whose camp is located near the Ash Cake Road.
Lee sends two of his companies toward the Federals and another company to increase the
size of the cavalry picket force and then rides off to Slash Church to report to Branch.
As Lee returns from his conference with Branch, more Federal soldiers begin to appear.
Porter sends Brigadier General John H. Martindale’s 1st Brigade to reinforce his cavalry and artillery.
Colonel Lee also commits the rest of his regiment and calls for artillery support.
Martindale only has two of his five regiments with him.
The 25th New York is battling the 28th North Carolina, and the 13th New York and 18th Massachusetts
are on detached service.
He is left with the 2nd Maine and 22nd Massachusetts, a total of 1,150 men.
A section of Captain Henry Benson’s Battery M, 3rd U.S. Artillery, complements his force.
The 22nd Massachusetts is formed in a line of battle, with skirmishers deployed, and
moves up the road.
The 2nd Maine is ordered to the right and commences tearing up the railroad and the
telegraph lines.
An artillery duel soon opens between the Confederates and the Federals.
Colonel Lee orders the 12th North Carolina to work around the flank of the Federals,
as the 37th holds the front.
Martindale calls for reinforcements, but Porter, still believing that the main body of the
Confederates lay to the north near Hanover Court House, orders Martindale to disengage.
Martindale sends a note back to Porter, stating that the Confederates are in his front and
his left, not on his right.
Regardless, the 2nd Maine and 22nd Massachusetts are soon back on the road to Hanover.
The 22nd Massachusetts is dispatched to proceed up the railroad toward Hanover, while the
2nd Maine is covering the artillery and cavalry.
About that time, a cavalry officer informs Martindale that a strong Confederate skirmish
line is approaching their flank.
Brigadier General Branch arrives on the battlefield not long after the two sides disengage.
He orders Colonel Lee to take his own regiment and the 18th North Carolina, and tells the
18th to “proceed to Colonel Lane’s aid.”
Lee posts the 18th North Carolina in front, protected by skirmishers on the front and
flanks, and follows the 18th by the 37th North Carolina.
After covering a short distance on the Ash Cake Road, Lee finds the Federals “strongly
posted on the top of a hill” and he deploys the 37th North Carolian to the left side of
the road, with the 18th on the right.
By now, the 2nd Maine has been redeployed by Brigadier General Martindale, and after
sending out skirmishers, goes into position in some thick woods.
Martindale also recalls the 22nd Massachusetts and discovers another regiment, the 44th New
York, on the road to Hanover.
Colonel Stephen Stryker of the 44th places the regiment under Martindale’s command.
The 44th New York is ordered to the left of the 2nd Maine and placed in a ravine.
A section of Captain Augustus P. Martin’s 3rd Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery,
is also redirected and takes up a position between the two regiments.
The Confederates slow their advance when they come in sight of the Federals.
When the Tar Heels are within 400 yards, the Federal artillery opens fire, causing the
Confederates to hold their position.
Colonel Lee sends back for reinforcements and artillery support.
It is his intention to take the artillery once fresh troops arrived.
Instead of reinforcements, Branch sends back orders.
The 18th North Carolina is to charge the battery from the front while the 37th works through
some woods to take the battery from the flank.
While the Confederates are making their dispositions, more Federals arrive.
Approximately 150 men from the already- battered 25th New York go into position to the left
of the 2nd Maine.
Also,a large group of stragglers and ambulance guards are nearby, and General Martindale
collects them to guard the right flank of his line.
As Lee rides over to the 37th’s position to relay their orders, Colonel Robert Cowan’s
18th North Carolina starts toward the Federal guns.The regiment moves to within 250 yards
of the Federal battery and is greeted with blasts of canister rounds.
With huge gaps blasted through their lines, the 18th North Carolina’s morale quickly
wavers.
Discovering that the 44th New York overlaps his own position, Cowan moves the 18th back
a little and to the right.
The 37th North Carolina also runs into problems.
After advancing through the thick woods to within 60 yards of the battery, it discovers
the 2nd Maine drawn up in a line of battle in the thick undergrowth, and the remnant
of the 25th New York, which is positioned a little ahead of the 2nd Maine, is now on
the 37th’s right flank.
The 37th continues to advance slowly, and before long, the 25th New York falls back,
along with the gunners of the Federal artillery pieces, who are caught in a crossfire.
The 2nd Maine continues to give ground stubbornly.
The entire Federal line stands on the verge of collapse.
The 2nd Maine is nearly out of ammunition, and the 44th New York, seeing the 25th retiring,
also begins to fall back.
General Porter realizes the gravity of the situation and orders the majority of his column
to the fighting.
Morell’s 2nd Brigade, under the command of Colonel James McQuade, arrives and goes
into action.
The 14th New York relieves the 2nd Maine, and the 9th Massachusetts and 62nd Pennsylvania
enter the woods and envelop the Tar Heels’ left flank.
The 37th North Carolina has little choice but to fall back.
Up to this point, Brigadier General Branch has kept the 7th North Carolina as a rear
guard.
They are placed across the road that the Confederate column is retreating on and, as the Federals
advance, delivered several well-placed volleys that halt the pursuit of the enemy.
The Confederate forces continue their retreat to the town of Ashland.
The Federals are content to remain on the battlefield that they have just wrested from
the Confederates.
The Battle of Hanover Court House, or Battle of Slash Church, is effectively over with
the Confederate retreat to Ashland.
The Union has lost between 355 - 397 men killed, wounded, or missing, with the Confederate
casualties listed at about 930 men.
May 28th is spent burying the dead and collecting the wounded and debris of battle, including
two company level flags taken from the Confederate camps and one 12-pounder cannon left by Colonel
Lane’s men.
Groups of Federals, mostly cavalry, scour the area, making reconnaissance forays toward
Ashland and destroying bridges over the Pamunkey and the South Anna rivers.
At least one train and its cars are also captured.
Major General McClellan inspects the battlefield on the 28th and sends his dispatch to Secretary
of War Edwin M. Stanton celebrating Porter’s “glorious victory” from Hanover Court
House.
He writes of “a complete rout” of the Confederates.
But after praising Porter, McClellan falls back to his old self, telling the Secretary
that he would do everything he could to “cut off Jackson” but that it is “doubtful
whether I can.”
He also returns to lobbying for more men: “It is the policy & duty of the Govt to
send me by water all the well drilled troops available….If any regiments of good troops
remain unemployed it will be an irreparable fault committed.”
What the General fails to realize is that a movement that day to the south would have
almost guaranteed him the Confederate capital.
Of this day, McClellan would write on the 28th to his wife, “I am on Fitz field of
battle.
His success yesterday was a glorious victory… the rebels are completely routed.”
He went on to say that “it is a fair presage of the great victory which awaits us at Richmond.”
To Stanton he writes, “I do not think that you at all appreciate the value & magnitude
of Porter’s victory… it was one of the handsomest things of the war.”
Little does General McClellan know that he has already reached the high tide of his Peninsula
Campaign.
In Richmond, General Joseph E. Johnston has been waiting for a moment to seize the initiative
from McClellan and counterattack the Federal forces outside the capital.
With McClellan’s Army of the Potomac divided on a wide front split between the Chickahominy
River to the south and the Pamunkey River to the north, and with Fitz John Porter’s
V Corps still occupied around Hanover Court House, Johnston senses that the opportunity
to strike is at hand.
He begins massing his Army of Northern Virginia for a counterattack against McClellan’s
split forces around the crossroads community of Seven Pines.