May 5, 1862

May 5, 1862:  Eastern Theater – Peninsula Campaign: THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia.  Johnston leaves Gen. Longstreet in command of this rear-guard action at a place where the geography leaves only a 2-mile stretch of open, solid ground over which the Northern troops may advance.  The Confederate line is anchored on the earthworks of Fort Magruder.  McClellan assigns the divisions of Smith and Hooker to make the attack, but since these divisions come from two separate corps, there is some command confusion: Gen. Sumner refuses to let Smith move forward in support of Gen. Hooker’s attack.  McClellan remains at headquarters in Yorktown.  Smith and Hooker approach the Rebel lines from two roads, with a  large swamp in between, thus preventing any effective cooperation.  The roads join under the guns of Ft. Magruder.  Hooker steps off at 7 AM on the left, and drives the Rebels back, but Longstreet sends in three fresh brigades, who push Hooker back.  On the right, Sumner will not send in Smith.  In the nick of time, Philip Kearney arrives with his division to support Hooker, just as Hooker’s line breaks, and they drive back the Rebel counterattack to once again put pressure on Fort Magruder.  On the right, one of Smith’s brigades, under Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, finds a narrow dam over Cub Creek, and crosses over.  Hancock takes up position on the Rebel’s side of the creek, taking position of empty redoubts.  Gen. D.H. Hill and a brigade commander names Jubal Early become aware that their flank is compromised, and rush Early’s troops over to their left to drive back Hancock.  Without recon, Early bursts out of the woods into what he thinks is the Yankee flank, only to find that his 2 regiments are directly in Hancock’s line of fire.  Rounds of canister and infantry musket fire decimate Early’s troops, shooting down 500 of them and wounding Early himself.  Hill arrives, leading another of Early’s regiments, and receives similar treatment.  The attackers suffer over 800 total casualties at this fight, and Hancock only about 100.

Union Victory.

Losses:

                Killed               Wounded           Missing                Total

U.S.        456                      1410                      373                      2239

C.S.                1570                                           133                      1703

--- Eastern Theater – Shenadoah Campaign - Gen. Stonewall Jackson makes a move, finally, marching his men out of the Luray Valley towards the west, where Gen. Robert Milroy deploys with aa brigade of Fremont’s Army of West Virginia.