- Date
- May 5, 1862
- Location
- York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia
- Result
- Inconclusive; Confederate withdrawal to Richmond
- Part of
- American Civil War
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
About the battle
The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal. Following up the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, the Union division of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. Hooker assaulted Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road, but was repulsed. Confederate counterattacks, directed by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, threatened to overwhelm the Union left flank, until Brig. Gen.
From the Wikipedia article “Battle of Williamsburg”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.
