official Records of the Rebellion

[p.33]

On the same day I received intelligence that a very considerable force of the enemy was in the vicinity of Hanover Court-House, to the right and rear of our army, thus threatening our communications, and in a position either to re-enforce Jackson or to impede McDowell’s junction, should he finally move to unite with us. On the same day I also received information from General McDowell, through the Secretary of War, that the enemy had fallen back from Fredericksburg toward Richmond, and that General McDowell’s advance was 8 miles south of the Rappahannock. It was thus imperative to dislodge or defeat this force, independently even of the wishes of the President, as expressed in his telegram of the 26th. I intrusted this task to Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter, commanding the Fifth Corps, with orders to move at daybreak on the 27th.

Through a heavy rain and over bad roads that officer moved his command as follows:

Brig. Gen. W. H. Emory led the advance, with the Fifth and Sixth Regiments U. S. Cavalry and Benson’s horse battery of the Second U. S. Artillery, taking the road from New Bridge, via Mechanicsville, to Hanover Court-House.

General Morell’s division, composed of the brigades of Martindale, Butterfield, and McQuade, with Berdan’s regiment of Sharpshooters and three batteries, under Capt. Charles Griffin, Fifth U. S. Artillery, followed on the same road.

Col. G. K. Warren, commanding a provisional brigade, composed of the Fifth and Thirteenth New York, the First Connecticut Artillery, [p.34] acting as infantry, the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and Weeden’s Rhode Island Battery, moved from his station at Old Church by a road running to Hanover Court-House parallel to the Pamunkey.

After a fatiguing march of 14 miles through the mud and rain General Emory at noon reached a point about 2 miles from Hanover Court-House where the road forks to Ashland, and found a portion of the enemy formed in line across the Hanover Court-House road.

General Emory had before this been joined by the Twenty-fifth New York (of Martindale’s brigade) and Berdan’s Sharpshooters. These regiments were deployed, with a section of Benson’s battery, and advanced slowly toward the enemy until re-enforced by General Butterfield with four regiments of his brigade, when the enemy was charged and quickly routed, one of his guns being captured by the Seventeenth New York, uder Colonel Lansing, after having been disabled by the fire of Benson’s battery. The firing here lasted about an hour. The cavalry and Benson’s battery were immediately ordered in pursuit, followed by Morell’s infantry and artillery, with the exception of Martindale’s brigade. Warren’s brigade having been delayed by repairing bridges, &c., now arrived, too late to participate in this affair. A portion of this command was sent to the Pamunkey to destroy bridges, and captured quite a number of prisoners. The remainder followed Morell’s division. In the mean time General Martindale, with the few remaining regiments of his brigade and a section of artillery, advanced on the Ashland road, and found a force of the enemy’s infantry, cavalry, and artillery in position near Peake’s Station, on the Virginia Central Railroad. He soon forced them to retire toward Ashland.

The Twenty-fifth New York having been ordered to rejoin him, General Martindale was directed to form his brigade and move up the railroad to rejoin the rest of the command at Hanover Court-House. He sent one regiment up the railroad, but remained with the Second Maine, afterward joined by the Twenty-fifth New York, to guard the rear of the main column.

The enemy soon returned to attack General Martindale, who at once formed the Second Maine, Twenty-fifth New York, and a portion of the Forty-fourth New York, with one section of Martin’s battery, on the New Bridge road, facing his own position of the morning, and then held his ground for an hour against large odds until re-enforced.

General Porter was at Hanover Court-House, near the head of his column, when he learned that the rear had been attacked by a large force. He at once faced the whole column about, recalled the cavalry sent in pursuit toward Ashland, moved the Thirteenth and Fourteenth New York and Griffin’s battery direct to Martindale’s assistance, pushed the Ninth Massachusetts and Sixty-second Pennsylvania, of MeQuade’s brigade, through the woods on the right (our original left), and attacked the flank of the enemy, while Butterfield, with the Eighty-third Pennsylvania and Sixteenth Michigan, hastened toward the scene of action by the railroad and through the woods farther to the right., and completed the rout of the enemy. During the remainder of this and the following day our cavalry was active in the pursuit, taking a number of prisoners. Captain Harrison, of the Fifth U. S. Cavalry, with a single company, brought in as prisoners two entire companies of infantry, with their arms and ammunition. A part of Rush’s Lancers also captured an entire company, with their arms.

The immediate results of these affairs were some 200 of the enemy’s dead buried by our troops, 730 prisoners sent to the rear, one 12- pounder howitzer, one caisson, a large number of small-arms, and two [p.35] railroad trains captured. Our loss amounted to 53 killed, 344 wounded and missing.

The force encountered and defeated was General Branch’s division of North Carolina and Georgia troops, supposed to have been some 9,000 strong. Their camp at Hanover Court-House was taken and destroyed.