Glendale in Henrico County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Battle of Glendale
Charge of the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry
—1862 Peninsula Campaign —
In April 1862, Union forces under Gen. George B. McClellan began a major campaign to capture Richmond, marching west from Fort Monroe up the Peninsula between the York and James rivers toward the Confederate capital. A Confederate army half their size opposed them. Slowly but inevitably, the Federal juggernaut overcame three Southern defensive lines and was soon camped in Richmond’s eastern suburbs. New commander Robert E. Lee, however, led a Confederate offensive that drove the Union army away during the Seven Days’ Battles, June 25-July 1.
This is the ground at the Whitlock farm where Confederate Gen. James Longstreet’s division attacked Union Gen. George A. McCall’s Pennsylvania division on June 30, 1862. The Union line was in jeopardy.
Gen. Joseph Hooker, desperately seeking to plug the widening gap here, turned to Gen. Edwin V. Sumner. Sumner told Hooker, “I will give you one of my best regiments, the 69th Pennsylvania.” Soon, the regiment fixed bayonets and marched toward the sound of the guns. A wet ravine stalled the men momentarily, but they quickly surged up the slope and charged into Longstreet’s division. In a brief, violent engagement here, near the Whitlock house, the regiment recaptured several abandoned Union cannons. The Confederates retreated into the nearby woods.
The 69th Pennsylvania suffered 7 killed and 34 wounded in its charge but endured far more in the years to come. Of the 1,007 men who joined in 1861, only 56 were present at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.
“Gen. Hooker personally complimented the regiment on the field for having made this … successful bayonet charge.” – Adjutant Anthony W. McDermott, 69th Pennsylvania Infantry.
Erected 2010 by 69th Pennsylvania Irish Volunteers Re-Enacting Organization.
Marker series. This marker is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails marker series.
Location. 37° 26.346′ N, 77° 14.751′ W. Marker is in Glendale, Virginia, in Henrico County. Marker can be reached from Longbridge Road 0.4 miles south of Darbytown Road, on the left when traveling south. Click for map. This marker is located near the Whitlock House site on land preserved by CWPT. Marker is in this post office area: Henrico VA 23231, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Frazier's Farm (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pvt. Benjamin B. Levy Frazier's Farm (approx. half a mile away); Gravel Hill (approx. 0.6 miles away); Seven Days Battles (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Seven Days Battles (approx. 0.6 miles away); Willis' Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); a different marker also named Seven Days Battles (approx. ¾ mile away). Click for a list of all markers in Glendale.
More about this marker. On the top center is a drawing with the caption, “Charge of the 69th Pa. Inf., from Anthony W. McDermott, A Brief History of the 69th Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers (1889)”
On the right are portraits of “Gen. George A. McCall Courtesy Library of Congress” and “Gen. James Longstreet Courtesy U.S. Army Military History Institute”
Also see . . .
1. Glendale. CWSAC Battle Summary (Submitted on June 26, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)
2. The Battle of Glendale. Civil War Preservation (Submitted on June 26, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)
3. The 69th Pa Irish Volunteers. Civil War Reenactors (Submitted on June 26, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)
4. Ceremony Will Dedicate Marker on Glendale Battlefield. “On Saturday June 26, 2010 — almost precisely 148 years after the battle fought there — living historians and preservationists will dedicate ahistorical marker on the Glendale Battlefield in Henrico County, Va. The property, recently acquired by Civil War Preservation Trust, is located along Long Bridge Road. The historical marker was constructed by Civil War Trails of Richmond, Va. and financed by the 69th Pennsylvania “Irish Volunteer” Civil War Reenactors Organization.” (Submitted on July 8, 2010.)
Categories. • War, US Civil •
Credits. This page originally submitted on , by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,210 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on , by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016.