Diascund Bridge W24
As part of British Maj. Gen. William Phillips Apr. 1781 campaign in Virginia by the 21st he sent Lt. Col. Robert Abercrombie’s Light Infantry from Barrett’s Ferry, where it enters the James River, to destroy the state’s naval docks, ships, warehouses, and numerous military stores along the Chickahominy River. Luckily for the Americans, most of Virginia’s ships had been anchored in temporary safety up the James River at Osborne’s in Chesterfield County. Abercrombie’s troops accomplished the remainder of their mission including destroying naval stores held at Diascund Bridge during the night of 22 Apr. before meeting up with Phillips.

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Fort James W23
A mile and a half south of here on the Chickahominy River stood Moysonec, an Indian village. Some of the Chickahominy Indians residing there captured Captain John Smith in 1607. In the wake of the 1644 Indian uprising, the colonists sought to control Native American access to the lower Peninsula. Thomas Rolfe, son of Pochahantas and John Rolfe, constructed Fort James at Moysonec in exchange fo the land on which it stood. The colonists manned the fort for only three years.

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Forge Bridge W19
The site of Forge Bridge over the Chickahominy River is located about a mile south of here. On 14 June 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. Because the bridge had been burned in May, Stuart’s men first built a makeshift bridge of barn timbers to replace it. On 13-14 June 1864, the VI and IX Corps of Lt. Gen Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Potomac crossed the river there en route to Petersburg after the Battle of Cold Harbor.

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Long Bridge W18
One mile south is Long Bridge over the Chickahominy River. Benedict Arnold sent Simcoe there in the British Invasion of 1781. Longstreet crossed there in the peninsular campaign, May 1862. Grant’s fifth and second corps crossed there, in June, 1864, on the way to Petersburg.

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Bottom's Bridge W15
On 20 May 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Union army crossed the Chickahominy River over Bottom’s Bridge into Henrico County. Here Maj. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes’s Federal corps advanced over the bridge unopposed. As McClellan’s army advanced on Richmond, the bridge served as a link between units deployed on both sides of the Chickahominy. When McClellan abandoned his supply base at White House on the Pamunkey River on 27-28 June 1862, a herd of cattle as well as some 4,000 wagons loaded with supplies and ammunition moved across Bottom’s Bridge in his change of base to the James River.

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Capt. John Smith Captured E12
In Dec. 1607, while exploring the headwaters of the nearby Chickahominy River, Capt. John Smith and his party were captured by a hunting party consisting of members of the Paspaheghs, Chickahominies, Youghtanunds, Pamunkeys, Mattaponis, and Chiskiacks. Smith was taken to Rasaweck, a hunting camp and became friendly with Chief Powhatan’s brother Opechancanough. During this time, Smith first met Chief Powhatan, the leader of the Virginia Indians of this region, at Werowocomoco, on the York River. A formal alliance was made between them. Smith returned to Jamestown early in Jan. 1608.

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The Chickahominy River & Seven Days' Battles E11
During the Civil War’s Seven Days’ Battles from 25 June to 1 July 1862, many engagements occurred along and near the Chickahominy River. Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellen led the Army of the Potomac. His goal was to capture the Confederate capital city of Richmond, defended by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Battles fought near the river include Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) on 26 June, Gaines’s Mill on 27 June, and Savage’s Station on 29 June. These and other battles encouraged McClellan to retreat to Harrison’s Landing and ended the immediate threat to the capital city.

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State Shipyard W31
On this road five miles west was the State shipyard on Chickahominy River, burned by the British General Phillips on April 21-22, 1781.

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Sheridan's Raid O8
Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan from 9 to 14 May 1864 led three cavalry divisions on a raid around Richmond. His forces severed vital confederate communication lines, destroyed railroad tracks, and captured stores and supplies. On 11 May Sheridan’s troops defeated Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry forces at Yellow Tavern, and mortally wounded Stuart. The next day Sheridan’s men fought Confederate forces while crossing the Chickahominy River at the Meadown Bridges, north of here. Once the Federals made it to the Hanover County side of the river, they passed by here to Mechanicsville and bivouacked at Gaines’s Mill to the east.

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