Battle of Port Walthall Junction

The Battle of Port Walthall Junction was fought May 6–7, 1864, between Union and Confederate forces during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign of the American Civil War. Although initially successful, the Confederates were eventually defeated, allowing Union forces to cut a railroad. The Port Walthall Junction on the Richmond-Petersburg Railroad connected with the spur to Port Walthall.

Battle

File:Port Walthall Battlefield Virginia.jpg

Map of Port Walthall Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

In conjunction with the opening of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's Army of the James, 33,000 strong, disembarked from transports at Bermuda Hundred on May 5, threatening the Richmond-Petersburg Railroad. On May 6, Confederate Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood's brigade stopped initial Federal probes at Port Walthall Junction. On May 7, a Union division drove Hagood's and Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson's brigades from the depot and cut the railroad at Port Walthall Junction. Confederate defenders retired behind Swift Run Creek and awaited reinforcements.

Aftermath

Union casualties were more than 300, Confederates fewer than 200, primarily from Hagood's brigade.

Notes

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.

References

• National Park Service battle description
• CWSAC Report Update
• Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. .

External links

• Battle animation, Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia.