page_title: Battle of Big Bethel
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Big Bethel / Battle
caption_attribution_description: Engagement at Big Bethel Church, June 10, 1861, North Carolina Museum of History
context_page_description: The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861.
  Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vote on May 23, and Confederate Col. John B. Magruder was sent down the peninsula to deter any advance on the state capital Richmond by Union troops based at the well-defended post of Fort Monroe. This garrison was commanded by Maj Gen. Benjamin Butler, a former Massachusetts lawyer and politician, who established a new camp at nearby Hampton and another at Newport News. Magruder had also established two camps, within range of the Union lines, at Big Bethel and Little Bethel, as a lure to draw his opponent into a premature action.
  Butler took the bait, when he and an aide, Maj. Theodore Winthrop, devised a plan for a dawn attack on June 10, after a night march to drive the Confederates back from their bases. Butler chose not to lead the force in person, for which he was later criticized. The plan proved too complex for his poorly-trained subordinates to carry out, especially at night, and his staff had also omitted to communicate the passwords.
caption: Engagement at Big Bethel Church, June 10, 1861, a historic map
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