The Battle of Meadow Bridge (also known as the Battle of Richmond Heights) was an engagement on May 12, 1864, in Henrico County, Virginia, during the Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Retreating Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan forced a crossing of a railroad bridge over the rain-swollen Chickahominy River and enabled pioneers and engineers to quickly rebuild the bridge, enabling the troopers to escape to safety. Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee The Overland Campaign, or Grants Overland Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June, 1864, in the American Civil War. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 101,895 61,025 Casualties 18,400 11,400 The Battle of the Wilderness was the first battle of Lieut. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 100,000 52,000 Casualties 18,000 12,000 The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania, was the second battle in Lieut. ... On May 11th, 1864, Confederate General Jeb Stuart was shot at Yellow Tavern by a Union sharpshooter at a distance of 30 feet (10 m). ... Battle of Totopotomoy Creek Conflict American Civil War Date May 24, 1864 Place Charles City, Virginia Result Union victory The Battle of Wilson’s Wharf (also called Fort Pocahontas) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. ... Battle of Totopotomoy Creek Conflict American Civil War Date May 23–26, 1864 Place Caroline County and Hanover County, Virginia Result Inconclusive The Battle of North Anna (also called Telegraph Road Bridge, Jericho Mill ( May 23), and Ox Ford, Quarles Mill, Hanover Junction ( May 24)) was a battle in... Battle of Totopotomoy Creek Conflict American Civil War Date May 28, 1864 Place Hanover County, Virginia Result Inconclusive The Battle of Haws Shop (also called Enon Church) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. ... Battle of Totopotomoy Creek Conflict American Civil War Date May 28–30, 1864 Place Hanover County, Virginia Result Inconclusive The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek (also called Bethesda Church, Crumps Creek, Matadequin Creek, Shady Grove Road, and Hanovertown) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against... Battle of Old Church Conflict American Civil War Date May 30, 1864 Place Hanover County, Virginia Result Union victory The Battle of Old Church (also called Matadequin Creek) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 108,000 62,000 Casualties 13,000 2,500 The Battle of Cold Harbor, the final battle of Union Lt. ... The Battle of Trevilian Station (also called Trevilians) was fought June 11–12, 1864, in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. ... Battle of Totopotomoy Creek Conflict American Civil War Date June 24, 1864 Place Charles City, Virginia Result Inconclusive The Battle of Saint Marys Church (also called Nances Shop) was a battle in Union General Ulysses Grants Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Location in the state of Virginia Formed 1634 Seat Richmond Area  - Total  - Water 634 km² (245 mi²) 17 km² (7 mi²) 2. ... Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee The Overland Campaign, or Grants Overland Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June, 1864, in the American Civil War. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888), a military man and one of the great generals in the American Civil War. ... Chickahominy also known as the Chick is a river in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia, near which several battles of the United States Civil War were fought in 1862 and 1864. ...

Background

On May 11, 1864, Sheridan and his Union cavalry force, on the second day of a daring raid against the Confederacy's capital of Richmond, Virginia, defeated Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, mortally wounding the storied Confederate cavalier. Flushed with victory, Sheridan led his troops southward towards Richmond, carefully feeling his way through the abandoned outer defensive works under threatening overcast skies. As darkness fell, a severe thunderstorm drenched the column, but Sheridan kept up his movement down the Brook Pike, not realizing that he was boxing himself into a potential trap. Confederates had left torpedoes (mines) in the road—many exploded during the passage, killing several horses but not delaying the column further.^[1] As dawn broke and the storm subsided, Sheridan found himself only two and half miles from his objective. However, to his dismay, the intermediate defenses in his front swarmed with enemy troops. His left flank was against the swollen Chickahominy, and Confederate cavalry threatened his rear, hoping to capture the Union force. May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: With God As Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (April 3–April 10, 1865) Largest city New Orleans... Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Area    - City 62. ... James Ewell Brown Stuart (February 6, 1833 – May 12, 1864) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. ... On May 11th, 1864, Confederate General Jeb Stuart was shot at Yellow Tavern by a Union sharpshooter at a distance of 30 feet (10 m). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Battle

Sheridan quickly evaluated the situation and decided to force a crossing of the river at Meadow Bridge, where the Virginia Central Railroad crossed the river. Confederates had earlier dismantled the flooring on the road part of the bridge, rendering it temporarily useless, although the rest of the bridge was intact. Sheridan assigned the First Division under Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt to seize the span and the high bluffs beyond. The Third Division, under Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson, would follow as soon as the bridgehead was secure, while Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's Second Division formed between Richmond and the river to protect the planned crossing. Virginia Central Railroad was chartered as the Louisa Railroad in 1836 by the Virginia Board of Public Works and had its name changed to Virginia Central Railroad in 1850. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... Wesley Merritt (June 16, 1834 – December 3, 1910) was a general in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. ... Portrait of James Wilson during the Civil War General James Wilson graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1860. ... David McM. Gregg David McMurtrie Gregg (April 10, 1833 – August 7, 1916) was a farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War. ...

The rearguard of the Second Division was assailed on three sides as soon as it was light enough for a brigade of Confederate infantry to sally forth from the fortifications and attack. Soon, other Confederates, including Richmond citizens hastily pressed into military service, joined in the efforts to break through the rear lines. According to the regimental historian of the veteran 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry,

Every effort was made by the enemy to break the lines of our division and push us back into the river and swamp. But as often as he came up, he was driven back with heavy loss. The fighting continued thus, the enemy charging, time after time, only to be hurled back, until about eleven A.M., when, apparently completely disheartened by his repeated repulses, he withdrew… ^[2]

Wilson's men were initially pushed back in some confusion, but Gregg had concealed a heavy line of skirmishers armed with repeating carbines in a brushy ravine. His men poured forth a destructive fire, halting the final Confederate advances, assisted by some of Wilson's men who turned the flank of the attacking column. Federal horse artillery made sure that the Confederate infantry no longer was a threat, and three mounted cavalry regiments skirmished with approaching enemy cavalry, turning them aside and protecting the rear. James B. Gordon, a Confederate brigadier general commanding a North Carolina cavalry brigade, was mortally wounded in the fighting and died on May 18. May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ...

In the meantime, the 6th New York Cavalry, under Colonel Alfred Gibbs, carefully had crossed the railroad bridge and charged down a narrow causeway beyond, scattering the resistance and opening the way despite persistent enemy artillery fire. Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s dismounted troopers of Merritt's Division then succeeded in the early afternoon in clearing the north bank of the Chickahominy and gaining a foothold on the Confederate side of the river. Custer’s men pinned down remaining threatening enemy units and captured two artillery pieces, while pioneers energetically planked the bridge to provide safe passage for large numbers of men and horses. By mid-afternoon, Merritt's entire division had crossed and engaged the Confederate hasty works on Richmond Heights, driving the defenders back to Gaines' Mill. By 4:00 p.m., the rest of Sheridan's cavalry had crossed the river. Sheridan destroyed the Virginia Central Bridge in his wake to prevent further pursuit. For the balance of the day, Sheridan's men collected their wounded, buried their dead, grazed their horses in the pastures, and eagerly read Richmond newspapers, which two enterprising small boys had brought across the lines and sold to the Union soldiers.^[3] George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. ...

Aftermath

After his men had rested, Sheridan brushed aside the remaining Confederate resistance in the area and marched his column to Mechanicsville, out of harm’s way. On May 14, he led his men to the safety of the James River, ending his raid. Mechanicsville is the name of four places in the State of Virginia in the United States of America: Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia Mechanicsville, Loudoun County, Virginia Mechanicsville, Rockbridge County, Virginia Mechanicsville, Rockingham County, Virginia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... The James River at Cartersville The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is 547. ...

Sheridan reported 425 casualties in the march from Yellow Tavern.^[4] Confederate losses are not recorded.

References

• Civil War Trails, Henrico County
• History of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, pp. 93-94.
• U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

The Official Records of the American Civil War or often more simply the Official Records or ORs, constitute a unique, authentic, and comprehensive collection of first-hand accounts, orders, reports, and correspondence drawn from War and Navy Department records of both Confederate and Union governments during the American Civil War. ...

Notes

1. ^ Official Records, Vol. 36, Part 1, page 791.
2. ^ History of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, pp. 93-94.
3. ^ Official Records, Vol. 36, Part 1, page 791.
4. ^ Official Records. Vol. 36, Part 1, page 792.