Tag: Mechanicsville VA

Wikipedia says: Mechanicsville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover County, Virginia, United States.

The area was settled by English colonists starting in the 17th century. Rural Plains, also known as Shelton House, is a structure built in 1670 and lived in by male Sheltons until 2006. Located in the northern part of the Mechanicsville CDP, it is now owned and operated by the National Park Service as one of the sites of the Richmond National Battlefield Park.

In addition to Rural Plains, Clover Lea, Cold Harbor National Cemetery, Cool Well, Hanover Meeting House, Hanover Town, Immanuel Episcopal Church, Laurel Meadow, Locust Hill, Oak Forest, Oakley Hill, Selwyn, and Spring Green are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

American Civil War

Mechanicsville, and the surrounding area, was the site of numerous battles during the American Civil War. The first was the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, which began on June 26, 1862. Confederate General A.P. Hill launched a series of assaults against Union Major General Fitz John Porter’s army positioned along Beaver Dam Creek, just east of Mechanicsville. Union forces repulsed the Confederate attacks and afterward withdrew to a new position along Boatswain Creek near Gaines’ Mill. The Beaver Dam Creek engagement was the second in the series of Civil War battles known as the Seven Days Battles. A small portion of the battlefield in the southeast part of the CDP has been preserved as part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, a park area administered by the National Park Service.

The Battle of Gaines’ Mill was the third of the Seven Days Battles, occurring farther east of Mechanicsville. A portion of the battlefield has been preserved at the “Watt House” as part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, a park area administered by the National Park Service.

Near Gaines’ Mill was the Battle of Cold Harbor, the final battle of Union Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign. This was fought over the same ground as the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. The area identified as part of the battlefield for “Second Cold Harbor” stretches from near the intersection of Walnut Grove Road and Mechanicsville Turnpike to “Turkey Hill” near the Rt. 156 crossing of the Chickahominy River. An area of the battlefield which saw heavy casualties and a nearby post-war National cemetery are preserved as historic monuments.