MECHANICSVILLE, Battle of (also called battle of Beaver Dam Creek). After the battle of Oak Grove (q.v.), 25 June 1862, the Army of the Potomac was thrown upon the defensive by the sudden appearance of °Stone wall* Jackson on its right. North of the Chick ahominy McClellan had but one corps in posi tion, that of Fitz-John Porter, temporarily strengthened by McCall's division of Pennsyl vania reserves. McCall held the extreme right of the line at Mechanicsville and Beaver Dam Creek, with three brigades and five batteries of 26 guns. His main position was along the east bank of the creek, a tributary of the Chicka hominy, and was very strong, his left resting on the Chickahominy, his right and advance extending to a body of woods near and over looking Mechanicsville, held by a regiment and a battery. Rifle-pits had been constructed for the infantry, epaulments had been thrown up to cover the guns and a strong picket-line was in front from Mechanicsville Bridge to Meadow Bridge along the Chickahominy. A. P. Hill's Confederate division and Cobb's Legion were in plain view from the left, intrenched on the opposite side of the Chickahominy. About noon of the 26th Hill's men were seen in mo tion. At 12.30 the Union pickets at Meadow Bridge were driven in, and McCall formed line; Reynolds' brigade on the right, covering the crossing of the road from Mechanicsville to Bethesda Church; Seymour on the left, cover ing at Ellerson's Mill the crossing of the road from Mechanicsville to Gaines' Mill; and Meade's brigade, with two batteries, in reserve. A. P. Hill had 14,000 men in his division, which he had concentrated near Meadow Bridge, un der orders from General Lee to co-operate with Jackson, who was marching from Ashland to turn McClellan's right. Hill sent Branch's brigade and a battery to cross the Chickahom iny seven miles above Meadow Bridge and communicate with Jackson's advance, and when Jackson had crossed the Virginia Central Rail road, Branch was to cross the Chickahominy, push down the river and uncover Meadow Bridge, which Hill was to cross at once and then sweep down to Mechanicsville, uncovering in turn the Mechanicsville Bridge, which Longstreet's and D. H. Hill's divisions were to cross, when all were to push down the left hank of the Chickahominy and cut off Mc Clellan's communications with his base at White House on the Pamunkey, and thus force him to abandon his operations against Richmond and retreat down the Peninsula. Jackson was be hind his appointed time, and it was 10 o'clock before Branch opened communication with him. Hill grew impatient as the hours went by and nothing was heard from Branch or Jackson, and at 3 P.M. put his five brigades and six bat
teries in motion. Field's brigade seized Meadow Bridge and crossed, closely followed by the brigades of J. It Anderson and Archer. The brigades of Gregg and Pender then crossed and marched across the country to support the right of the attacking column. Field's advance was met by a severe artillery fire; but, form ing line, with Pegram's battery in the centre, it forced the Union advance of a regiment and battery from Mechanicsville back to the main line beyond Beaver Dam Creek. It had not been General Lee's intention to attack McCall in position, but to have Jackson turn it. Jack son was not up in time; McClellan would doubtless penetrate his design and make a counter-attack against Richmond; time was everything; the day was declining, and Lee ordered A. P. Hill to attack. The brigades of Field, Archer and Anderson were ordered to advance on the Mechanicsville road against Reynolds. They were met by a withering fire of artillery and musketry and were bloodily re pulsed, though one of Anderson's regiments on the left succeeded in making.a temporary lodg ment beyond the creek. Parts of Porter's corps now came up and strengthened Reynolds' right. Following the repulse on the left, Pender's brigade and Ripley's of D. H. Hill's division made a most determined attack upon Seymour at Ellerson's Mill, but a mill-race, swampy ground and other obstacles were in their way, and Seymour's direct and Reynolds' flank fire checked and then repulsed them with great loss. The attack was renewed, and a still more bloody repulse was the result, some of the regi ments losing all their field officers and half their men. It was now sunset, and no further effort was made to assault the position, but the firing was kept up until 9 P.M. On the next morning McCall was ordered to fall back to Gaines' Mill (q.v.). The Union loss was 49 killed, 207 wounded and 105 missing. The Con federate loss, killed and wounded, was over 1,500; Longstreet says between 3,000 and 4,000 killed, wounded and missing, which is probably excessive. Longstreet further says: ((Next to Malvern Hill, the [Confederate] sacrifice at Beaver Dam was unequaled in demoralization during the entire summer.x' Consult Alexander, 'Memoirs of a Confederate' (New York 1907) ; Ropes, of the Civil (ib. 1907) ; Steele, 'American Campaigns' (Wash ington 1909); (Official (Vol. XI); 'McClellan's Own Webb, 'The Penin sula' ; Allan, 'History of the Army of North ern The Century Company's tles and Leaders of the Civil War' (Vol. II).