Engagement at Oak Grove  "First of the Seven Days"  June 25, 1862

For three months after landing his 105,000-man Union Army of the Potomac on the tip of the Virginia peninsula, Gen. George B. McClellan had moved slowly but resolutely toward Richmond, the capital of the Confederate States. By June 24, 1862, with his army occupying a 10-mile long line that was but six miles from Richmond, McClellan had devised a three-stage plan to move forward and deliver the final thrust that would capture the city. The first stage was to be the capture and occupation of a boggy, heavily wooded stretch of land south of Williamsburg Road that was known as Oak Grove. The general ordered that the effort begin at dawn on Wednesday, June 25.

Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commander Gen. Robert E. Lee realized that if McClellan were allowed to continue the slow, methodical advance with his huge Union army, Richmond would surely fall. By the 24th, Lee had decided to take the offensive and make a preemptive strike on the part of the Union army that was north of the Chickahominy River. He issued orders for two-thirds of his army to march north toward the river crossings on the evening of the 25th and to begin the attack on the 26th. Fearing that his planned offensive was coming too late, Lee became concerned on the morning of the 25th when he heard a torrent of rifle fire coming from Williamsburg Road.

In the predawn darkness of June 25, Gen. Joseph Hooker's division of the Union army's III Corps moved eastward through the dense forest south of Williamsburg Road and immediately drew fire from the Rebel pickets concealed in the tangled thicket. More Confederate troops rushed forward to confront the Union advance, and the smoke of gunpowder soon filled the woods. A Union newspaper correspondent recorded that "nothing could be seen for the heavy cloud, rising up and twisting itself amongst the trees, hanging over the forrest as a pall; and then streams of fire, like angry lightnings, would flash out."

Fascinating Fact: The fighting that took place on June 25 was the first of a week-long series of battles that would become known as the Seven Days' campaign.


Back to index page