Battle of Glendale

Battle of Glendale
Part of the American Civil War

Contest around McCall's Cannons
DateJune 30, 1862 (1862-06-30)
Location37°26′16″N 77°14′17″W / 37.43791°N 77.23812°W / 37.43791; -77.23812
Result Inconclusive[1]
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George B. McClellan[2] Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
40,000[3] 45,000[4]
Casualties and losses
3,797 total
(297 killed
1,696 wounded
1,804 missing or captured)[5]
3,673 total
(638 killed
2,814 wounded
221 missing)[5]

The Battle of Glendale, also known as the Battle of Frayser's Farm, Frazier's Farm, Nelson's Farm, Charles City Crossroads, New Market Road, or Riddell's Shop, took place on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the sixth day of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War.[6]

Following the Battle of Gaines' Mill, Union Major General George B. McClellan ordered his Army of the Potomac to withdraw from its positions along the Chickahominy River and redeploy to a new base along the James River, under the protective fire of Union gunboats.

After the enemy disappeared in his front, Confederate General Robert E. Lee reasoned that McClellan was most likely retreating toward the James River and devised a plan to catch the Army of the Potomac in transit and destroy it. Gambling that the Federal force would be slowed and spread out while traversing the boggy White Oak Swamp, Lee ordered his divisions of the Army of Northern Virginia, under the field command of Major Generals Benjamin Huger, James Longstreet, and A.P. Hill, to move up quickly and simultaneously converge upon the Federal troops and supply train where they would likely emerge from the swamp and turn southward toward Malvern Hill, bisecting the front and rear of the column in the vicinity of White Oak Swamp Bridge and Glendale (or Frayser's Farm), respectively, and attempting to execute a double envelopment in the fashion of the Battle of Cannae to destroy McClellan in detail.

The coordinated assault envisioned by Lee failed to materialize due to difficulties encountered by Huger and lackluster efforts made by Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, but successful attacks made by Longstreet and Hill near the Glendale crossroad penetrated the Union defenses near Willis Church and temporarily breached the line. Union counterattacks sealed the breach and turned the Confederates back, repulsing their attack upon the line of retreat along the Willis Church/Quaker Road through brutal close-quarters hand-to-hand fighting. North of Glendale, Huger's advance was stopped on the Charles City Road. Near the White Oak Swamp Bridge, the divisions led by Jackson were simultaneously delayed by Union Brigadier General William B. Franklin's corps at White Oak Swamp. South of Glendale near Malvern Hill, Confederate Major General Theophilus H. Holmes made a feeble attempt to attack the Union left flank at Turkey Bridge but was driven back.

The battle was Lee's best chance to cut off the Union Army from the safety of the James River, and his efforts to bisect the Federal line failed. The Army of the Potomac successfully retreated to the James, and that night, the Union army established a strong position on Malvern Hill.[7]

  1. ^ (Union successfully withdrew to Malvern Hill)
  2. ^ Rafuse, p. 227; Sears, Gates of Richmond, pp. 280–81; Burton, pp. 241–42. Army of the Potomac commander McClellan was not present during the battle and named no second-in-command. The highest-ranking corps commander present was Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner. Sears, Young Napoleon, p. 219, quotes Samuel P. Heintzelman as saying that McClellan's generals fought their troops "entirely according to their own ideas".
  3. ^ Kennedy, p. 100.
  4. ^ Salmon, p. 113.
  5. ^ a b Eicher, p. 293.
  6. ^ The NPS battle summary Archived February 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine lists the alternative names for the battle, although most other sources do not mention Riddell's Shop. Riddell's blacksmith shop was located at the Glendale crossroads (Sears, Gates of Richmond, p. 278) and was an alternative name for the Glendale Cross Roads (Welcher, p. 825). Another engagement took place in this area on June 13, 1864, during the Overland Campaign, and the name Riddell's Shop is usually used for that.
  7. ^ NPS Archived February 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.