May 16, 1864---The Battle of Drewry's Bluff; The Battle of Proctor's Creek

MAY 16, 1864: 

The Battle of Drewry’s Bluff (The Battle of Fort Darling):

The ironclads U.S.S. MONITOR and U.S.S. GALENA sail up the James River toward Richmond, testing the outer defenses of the city. The river is chock-full of obstructions, and Fort Darling overlooks the river bank about five miles from the city. After exchanging fire with the fort, the two ships turn about. 

 

The Battle of Proctor’s Creek:

As the MONITOR and the GALENA steam upriver on the James, General Benjamin Butler U.S.A. leads some 30,000 men from his base in The Bermuda Hundred against 18,000 Confederates in the region, testing Richmond’s defenses by land. In fact, Drewry's Bluff and Proctor's Creek are sometimes counted as a single action. 

Butler is overcautious, and this allows General P.G.T. Beauregard C.S.A. to concentrate his forces on Butler’s right flank, which begins to cave in. Lost in a heavy fog, Butler decides he cannot risk his men, and withdraws back to The Bermuda Hundred. There were 6,600 casualties overall, mostly Union men. 

Like Sigel in the west, Butler has proven himself timid in the east. Grant, who is battling toe-to-toe with Lee in the center, cannot count on any distraction of Confederate forces from the flanks.

May 15, 1864---The Battle of New Market

MAY 15, 1864: 

The Battle of New Market: 

On the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Spotsylvania Court House, the Shenandoah Valley erupts into battle. 

A Union army of 10,000 led by General Franz Sigel attempts to take Staunton, Virginia. 

Among the barely 4,000 Confederates facing Sigel are 250 cadets of the Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.). Some are 15 year old boys, but the Confederacy is that pressed for manpower. 

Daringly, the Confederate Commander, former U.S. Vice-President and Presidential hopeful John C. Breckinridge decides to attack Sigel’s force which is strung out along the New Market Road. His daring almost costs him the day, as his men are mown down. 

With no reserves left, he throws the V.M.I. cadets into the battle line. The boys charge across the open ground which is soaked due to the recent heavy rains. Many of the boys lose their shoes in the muck, but whether it is a function of their brazenness and bravery, or whether the Union troops are reluctant to shoot at boys, or are simply amazed at being attacked by children, the cadets manage to storm the Union line. 

Sigel loses 96 killed, 520 wounded, and 225 missing in the battle, and withdraws from the Valley, leaving it in Rebel hands and frustrating part of Grant’s grand strategy for this point in the war. Breckenridge loses 43 killed, 474 wounded, and 3 missing, including ten cadets killed. 

"The Bonnie Blue Flag" from THE HORSE SOLDIERS (1959)

May 14, 1864---The Battle of Resaca, Georgia

MAY 14, 1864: 

While the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse rages in its seventh day and some men are spared as a hard rain falls in Virginia, General William Tecumseh Sherman initiates the Campaign for Atlanta with an attack on Resaca, Georgia. 

Resaca is an important telegraph hub, and Sherman has determined that it will be the pivot around which he turns his army south. The Union suffers 4,000 casualties out of a total force of almost 100,000. The Confederacy suffers 3,000 casualties out of a total of 60,000, and is unable to halt Sherman’s maneuver. 

May 13, 1864---Arlington National Cemetery

MAY 13, 1864: 

The first interment takes place on the grounds of Robert E. Lee’s estate, Arlington House, now Arlington National Cemetery. The body is that of a Confederate soldier. 

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (Day Six): 

Fighting continues around Spotsylvania Court House, but inclement weather has considerably slowed the pace of the killing for the day. 

The Battle of Meadow Bridge: 

Before returning to the main body, Sheridan’s cavalry destroys the Virginia Central Railroad’s Meadow Bridge near Mechanicsville in order to disrupt Confederate supply lines. It is the closest the Yankees have been to Richmond since 1862.