The American Civil War - Chronologically

May 31, 1862 Seven Pines, or Fair Oaks  Henrico, VA McClellan: IV Corps under Gen. Erasmus Keyes and the III Corps led by Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, Gen. Edwin Sumner’s II Corps reinforcements, plus Richardson's II Corps division and Hooker's III Corp division vs. Johnston > Gen. Gustavus W. Smith: Gen. William C. Whiting, D.H. Hill, and Longstreet eventually. * Outside the gates of Richmond, but technically before the official start of The Seven Days * Everybody got that? This is Seven Pines , and although it is virtually in the same place and time as the Seven Days' Battles, it is not actually one of them. Oh and also, the fighting around Fair Oaks station is sometimes known separately as the Battle of Fair Oaks, especially by the North who were more victorious in that corner of the battlefield. That's why there's a Second Battle of Fair Oaks , unless you call this Seven Pines, which is why the Second Battle of Fair Oaks is sometimes known as the battle of ...

May 27, 1862 Hanover Tavern  Hanover, Virginia https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=170041 Hanover Tavern "This Most Unhappy Contest" During the Civil War, Cleavers and Amanda Chisholm's Hanover Tavern "hosted" both armies and refugees who fled the depredations of war. Hard fighting just outside of town on May 27, 1862 resulted in several hundred casualties. Two weeks later, gunshots again rent the air as Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's troopers ran into Union pickets here during their now-famous ride around the Union army. Later that summer, "Nearly 8,000 men, with their grazing horses, white tents, and waving battle-flags" engulfed this tiny village as Confederates recovered from intense fighting around Richmond. Cleavers Chisholm, "a very small and nervous man," was a Unionist. He refused Stuart's request to take charge of Union prisoners and cared for a wounded Union soldier here. After the war, he petitioned the U.S. government for rei...

May 25, 1862 First Winchester Winchester, VA (Frederick County) US- Banks: Colonel George Gordon’s 3rd Brigade vs CSA- Jackson: General Dick Taylor’s Louisiana Brigade, reinforced by the 10th and 23rd Virginia * Following Banks' victory over Jackson at Kernstown... * Confederate victory, though they lost 16,000 to the Union's 6,500, part of Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, following his victories at McDowell and Front Royal  * Banks retreats to Williamsport, MD Opps. Guess I'll be back for 2nd Winchester.... ...which I visited in the summer of 2025. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=241604 Photographed by Craig Swain, August 25, 2007 May 25, 1862 General Stonewall Jackson with 16,000 Confederates defeated General N.P. Banks and 6,000 Federals. On May 24, at Middletown, 12 miles South, Jackson attacked Banks’ army withdrawing toward Winchester, cutting off the rear guard and capturing or destroying a large number of wagons. Jackson launched his attack on Winchester at 5 ...