Battle of Totopotomoy Creek (Battle of Bethesda Church) | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Union troops behind log breastworks near Bethesda Church | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade |
Robert E. Lee Richard S. Ewell | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
731 total (679 killed and wounded, 52 captured)[1] | 1,593 total (263 killed, 961 wounded, 369 missing/captured)[1] |
The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek locally /tɪˈpɒtoʊmiː/ ⓘ, also called the Battle of Bethesda Church, Crumps Creek, Shady Grove Road, and Hanovertown,[2] was fought in Hanover County, Virginia on May 28–30, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
As Grant continued his attempts to maneuver around Lee's right flank and lure him into a general battle in the open, Lee saw an opportunity to attack the advancing V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren with the Second Corps of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early. Early's divisions under Maj. Gens. Robert E. Rodes and Stephen Dodson Ramseur drove the Union troops back to Shady Grove Road, but Ramseur's advance was stopped by a fierce stand of infantry and artillery fire. Grant ordered his other corps commanders to conduct a supporting attack along the entire Confederate line, which was entrenched behind Totopotomoy Creek, but only the II Corps of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock crossed the stream; they were quickly repulsed. After the battle, the Union army resumed its moves to the southeast and the Battle of Cold Harbor.