Pelham & Stuart at Evelington Heights
The morning of July 3, 1862 broke bright and sunny. For several days prior the rains had not ceased. The night before, Captain John Pelham had reported back to his cavalry commander, J.E.B. Stuart, that the entire Union Army under McClellan was camped at Harrison's Landing on the James River. Pelham stated that Evelington Heights, a plateau over-looking the landing, was unoccupied. This news immediately caught the attention of the famed cavalier.
Evelington Heights offered a commanding view of Westover Plain, the location of the landing, and of Westover, William Byrd's mansion. Starting with a gradual slope from the north, the Heights formed a plateau where the Charles City Road ran east to west. Further south throuqh fields and woods, stood the the slope sharply descended to a flat land with the James River about a mile and a half in the distance.
Riding through dew-covered fields Stuart led Pelham with one 12-pounder howitzer and William Martin's Jeff Davis Legion up the north side of Evelington Heights at daybreak. The plumed commander yearned for action as his cavalry had only played a minor role in the previous Seven Days' battles. The cavalry's main role had been to guard the lower Chickahominy River crossings. General Robert E. Lee, now in command of the Confederate forces in the Virginia fields, had driven the Grand Army of the Potomac across the Chickahominy after the battles of Beaver Dam Creek and Gaines' Mill. Now, after Malvern Hill and McClellan's continued move southward to the James River, Stuart had the Union's forces to himself. The Confederate infantry was simply too disorganized and worn out to pursue the enemy.
What a sight greeted Stuart when he reached the dominant ridge. Below, the wet, cramped Union forces milled around smokey fires. Some men had been forced to lie down in the mud the night before since the ground was so wet that their tent pins would not hold. Receiving word from General Lee a few miles away that Longstreet and Jackson were on their way, Stuart ordered Pelham into position near the Westover Church. Martin's squadron dismounted and moved into support position. Pelham at once sent whistling cannon shots across the plain into the miserable troopers below. The effect was instantaneous. Horses broke and ran. Men scattered and fled to save their lives. The officers attempted to get the terrified troops summoned to arms. Stuart wrote of Pelham's ruthless bombardment: "Judging from the great commotion and excitement caused below, it must have had considerable effect." After the Union cavalry had been repulsed trying to advance on Stuart, General Franklin, whose division was on the plain, moved his men against Evelington Heights. Nevertheless, Stuart, believing that the Confederate infantry would arrive, any moment, held his ground. For the next several hours lively skirmishing took pl ace. Finally, around 2 o'clock with Pelham's howitzer out of shells and Franklin's brigades advancing on his right, Stuart moved down the northside of the Heights. He found Longstreet had advanced east instead of south to Nance's Shop. Not until dark did Longstreet, followed by Jackson, reach the north side of Evelington Heights. Stuart strongly suggested an attack, but Jackson hesitated, preferring Lee to make the decision.
During the night Franklin received support of artillery and infantry, and by morning the Heights were strongly held by the Union forces. Lee arrived early on the 4th and after reconnoitering agreed with Jackson that the Heights were impregnable. Surely Malvern Hill was on his mind. The Seven Days Battles were over.
Historians have criticized Stuart's rash actions at Evelington Heights. In their opinion he caused the Confederates to lose an excellent opportunity to destroy the whole Union Army. They feel Stuart should have better understood the Southern soldiers' weary state and waited another day before attacking. Other students of the Civil War argue that it was unlikely the Union forces would have remained inactive on July 3rd and not realized their precarious position with Evelington Heights unprotected. Be that as it may, all historians agree that John Pelham performed brilliantly. It was Pelham who first located the Heights, and it was Pelham who, with only the one 12-pounder howitzer, held off the entire Union army from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 3, 1862.
This article first appeared in Volume 1, No. 4 of The Cannoneer.
Sources:
Shelby Foote, The Civil War (New York, 1958).
Philip Mercer, The Gallant Pelham (Macon, Ga., 1929).
John W.Thomason, Jeb Stuart (New York, 1930).
