Battle of Totopotomoy Creek

Battle of Totopotomoy Creek; (Battle of Bethesda Church)
	Part of the American Civil War
	; Union troops behind log breastworks near Bethesda Church
Date	May 28–30, 1864
Location	Hanover County, Virginia
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant; George G. Meade	Robert E. Lee; Richard S. Ewell
Units involved
Army of the Potomac V Corps; ;	Army of Northern Virginia Second Corps; ;
Casualties and losses
731 total (679 killed and wounded, 52 captured)	1,593 total (263 killed, 961 wounded, 369 missing/captured)

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.

^ ^a ^b Trudeau, p. 259. Kennedy, p. 290, cites 751 Union, 1,159 Confederate. Rhea, Battle of Cold Harbor, p. 31, cites about 750 Union, 1,200 Confederate. Salmon, p. 292, and the NPS battle summary Archived April 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine cite 1,100 on each side. Specific Confederate casualties are from Young, p. 239.
^ The National Park Service's campaign classification Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine lists two battles on May 30—Totopotomoy Creek and Old Church—and provides the alternative battle names shown here. Welcher, p. 983, refers to these collectively as Operations on the Totopotomoy River, with the primary engagement at Bethesda Church. All of the other references to this article refer to the Battle of Bethesda Church.

[casualties-1] Trudeau, p. 259. Kennedy, p. 290, cites 751 Union, 1,159 Confederate. Rhea, Battle of Cold Harbor, p. 31, cites about 750 Union, 1,200 Confederate. Salmon, p. 292, and the NPS battle summary Archived April 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine cite 1,100 on each side. Specific Confederate casualties are from Young, p. 239.

[2] The National Park Service's campaign classification Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine lists two battles on May 30—Totopotomoy Creek and Old Church—and provides the alternative battle names shown here. Welcher, p. 983, refers to these collectively as Operations on the Totopotomoy River, with the primary engagement at Bethesda Church. All of the other references to this article refer to the Battle of Bethesda Church.

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