Oak Grove, Virginia

McClellan decided to resume the offensive after sitting passively for three and a half weeks following the stalemate at the Battle of Seven Pines. He planned to move his siege artillery closer to Richmond by taking the high ground on …

1862-06-25

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McClellan decided to resume the offensive after sitting passively for three and a half weeks following the stalemate at the Battle of Seven Pines. He planned to move his siege artillery closer to Richmond by taking the high ground on Nine Mile Road around Old Tavern, but to do this he would need to attack the Confederate forces at Oak Grove. On June 25, three Union brigades stepped off in orderly line of battle. From right to left, they were commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, Brig. Gen. Cuvier Grover, and Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson. Robinson and Grover made good progress on the left and in the center but Sickles met stiff Confederate Resistance, all of which threw the Union line out of alignment. Confederate Maj. Gen. Huger took advantage of the confusion and launched a counterattack. McClellan, who was attempting to manage the battle by telegraph from three miles away, unaware of most details of the engagement, ordered his men to withdraw, which mystified his subordinates on the scene. The minor battle gained only 600 yards at a cost of over 1,000 casualties on both sides. The next day, Lee seized the initiative by attacking at Beaver Dam Creek, near Mechanicsville, the first major battle of the Seven Days, and the beginning of a strategic retreat by the Union army.

Oak Grove, Virginia

The Battle of Oak Grove, also known as the Battle of French's Field or King's School House, took place on June 25, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, the first of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan advanced his lines with the objective of bringing Richmond within range of his siege guns. Two Union divisions of the III Corps attacked across the headwaters of White Oak Swamp, but were repulsed by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger's Confederate division. McClellan, who was 3 miles (4.8 km) in the rear, initially telegraphed to call off the attack, but ordered another attack over the same ground when he arrived at the front. Darkness halted the fighting. Union troops gained only 600 yards (550 m), at a cost of over a thousand casualties on both sides.

Wikipedia: Battle of Oak Grove

the Confederacy

the Union