Also Known As
- Second Battle of Drewry’s Bluff
- Battle of Fort Darling
Date
- May 12–16, 1864
Location
- Chesterfield County, Virginia
Campaign
Principal Union Commanders
- Major General Benjamin F. Butler
- Major General Quincy A. Gillmore
- Major General William F. Smith
Principal Confederate Commanders
- General P. G. T. Beauregard
- Major General Robert Ransom
- Major General Robert F. Hoke
- Major General William H. Whiting
Union Forces Engaged
- Army of the James
Confederate Forces Engaged
- Ransom’s Division
- Petersburg garrison
- Local militia
Number of Union Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 30,000
Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged
- Roughly 18,000
Estimated Union Casualties
- 3,411 (300 killed, 1,721 wounded, and 1,390 captured/missing)
Estimated Confederate Casualties
- 2,194 (364 killed, 1,610 wounded, and 220 captured/missing)
Result
- Confederate victory
Significance
- The Battle of Proctor’s Creek was the deciding engagement of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign.
- Although the Battle of Proctor’s Creek is also known as the Second Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, the fighting did not actually take place on the bluff. It occurred south of the bluff near Proctor’s Creek.
- Ulysses S. Grant noted in his memoirs that after the Battle of Proctor’s Creek, Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James “was as completely shut off from further operations directly against Richmond as if it had been in a bottle strongly corked.”
- Drewry’s Bluff and Fort Darling are preserved as part of Richmond National Battlefield Park.
Timeline of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign
These are the main battles and events of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign in order.
- May 6–7, 1864 – Battle of Port Walthall Junction
- May 9, 1864 – Battle of Swift Creek
- May 10, 1864 – Battle of Chester Station
- May 12–16, 1864 – Battle of Proctor’s Creek (also known as the Second Battle of Drewry’s Bluff and the Battle of Fort Darling)
- May 20, 1864 – Battle of Ware Bottom Church
