Battle of Saint Mary ' s Church The Battle of Saint Mary ' s Church ( also called Samaria Church in the South , or Nance ' s Shop ) was an American Civil War cavalry battle fought on June 24 , 1864 , as part of Union Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant ' s Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia . As Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan ' s Union cavalry of the Army of the Potomac returned from their unsuccessful raid against the Virginia Central Railroad and the Battle of Trevilian Station , they gathered up supply wagons from the recently abandoned supply depot at White House and proceeded toward the James River . On June 24 , the Confederate cavalry under Maj . Gen . Wade Hampton attacked the column of Brig . Gen . David McM . Gregg ' s division at St . Mary ' s Church . The Confederates outnumbered the Union cavalrymen five brigades to two and were able to drive them from their breastworks , but Gregg ' s men successfully screened the wagon train , which continued to move unmolested to the James . Background . Following the Battle of Trevilian Station ( June 11 – 12 , 1864 ) , Sheridan ' s cavalry began to return on June 13 from their unsuccessful raid against the Virginia Central Railroad . They crossed the North Anna River at Carpenter ' s Ford and then headed on the Catharpin Road in the direction of Spotsylvania Court House . On June 16 the column passed through Bowling Green and , traveling along the north bank of the Mattaponi River , arrived at King and Queen Court House on June 18 . While Sheridan ' s men were off on their raid , Grant ' s army had begun moving from Cold Harbor to cross the James River for an attack against Petersburg . In conjunction with this move , Grant ordered that his principal supply base be moved from White House on the Pamunkey River to City Point on the James . Sheridan learned that the White House depot had not yet been broken up , so he sent his wounded , prisoners , and African - Americans who had been following his column , to White House under escort on June 19 , and then marched back to Dunkirk , where he could cross the Mattaponi . Hampton ' s Confederate cavalry left Trevilian Station and followed Sheridan on roughly parallel roads to the south . His force consisted of Brig . Gen . Matthew C . Butler ' s and Brig . Gen . Thomas L . Rosser ' s brigade s from his own division , Brig . Gen . Williams C . Wickham ' s brigade from Maj . Gen . Fitzhugh Lee ' s division , and Brig . Gen . John R . Chambliss ' s brigade from Maj . Gen . W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee ' s division . He added a newly formed cavalry brigade under Brig . Gen . Martin W . Gary . On June 20 , Fitz Lee attempted to attack the Union supply depot at White House , but Sheridan ' s arrival relieved the garrison there . On June 21 , Sheridan crossed over the Pamunkey River , broke through the Confederate cordon at St . Peter ' s Church , and led 900 wagons toward the James River . They crossed the Chickahominy River on June 22 and June 23 , bypassing stiff opposition south of Jones ' s Bridge on June 23 ; Hampton had been unable to intercept Sheridan prior to this , so crossed the Chickahominy upstream from the Union crossing and hastened south . Sheridan headed toward Deep Bottom on his way to link up with Union infantry at Bermuda Hundred . Near Westover Church , Union Brig . Gen . Alfred T . A . Torbert ' s division was stalled by Confederate resistance . On June 24 , Brig . Gen . David McM . Gregg ' s division occupied a covering position near Samaria Church , on the road to Charles City , while Sheridan ferried Torbert ' s division and the supply train across the James at Douthat ' s Landing . Battle . On June 24 , Torbert ' s division continued to escort the wagons toward Harrison ' s Landing on the James as Gregg ' s division followed a parallel route , protecting the right flank . Torbert encountered Brig . Gen . Lunsford L . Lomax ' s brigade near the Charles City Court House and drove it back . At about 8 a . m . , Gregg ' s brigade under Brig . Gen . Henry E . Davies , Jr . , arrived in the vicinity of Samaria Church , at the intersection of three roads , where they found Confederate pickets . A charge by the 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry pushed the pickets to the north and Davies ' s brigade entrenched to the west of the intersection . Davies took up the right flank of the line and Col . J . Irvin Gregg ( General Gregg ' s cousin ) the left . Hampton ' s force approached and prepared to attack dismounted , while simultaneously entrenching . From 3 to 4 p . m . , Hampton ' s five brigades attacked Gregg ' s two . The pressure was too great on the Union cavalrymen and they began to withdraw down the road to Charles City Court House , which they reached about 8 p . m . Skirmishing lasted until 10 p . m . One of the Confederates wrote , " The enemy position was a strong one . . . . They fought vigorously for a while but as our boys closed in on them they fled and when they broke the mounted cavalry was order [ ed ] to charge which they did driving pell mell for 3 miles capturing quite a number of prisoners , they leaving their dead and wounded in our care . " Aftermath . Except for the men left behind , Gregg ' s division escaped relatively intact . Among the prisoners was Col . Pennock Huey of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry . Casualties were about 350 Union , 250 Confederate . Having been blocked by Hampton ' s cavalry , Sheridan withdrew on June 25 and moved through Charles City Court House to Douthat ' s Landing , where the trains crossed the James on flatboats . His cavalry followed on June 27 and 28 . The Confederate cavalry attempted to position themselves for another attack , but the Union force was too strong and the Southern horsemen were too worn out . Hampton received orders from Robert E . Lee to proceed to Petersburg as quickly as possible to deal with the Wilson - Kautz Raid against railroads south of the city . His men crossed the James on a pontoon bridge at Chaffin ' s Bluff , also on June 27 and 28 . Sheridan ' s raid to Trevilian Station and back to the Army of the Potomac achieved mixed results . He successfully diverted Confederate attention from Grant ' s crossing of the James , but was unsuccessful in his objective of cutting the Virginia Central Railroad , a critical supply line to the Confederate capital and Lee ' s army . He also suffered relatively heavy casualties — particularly in his officer corps — and lost a large number of his horses to battle and heat exhaustion . And yet Sheridan claimed his raid was an undeniable victory . In his 1866 official report on operations he wrote , " The result was constant success and the almost total annihilation of the rebel cavalry . We marched when and where we pleased ; were always the attacking party , and always successful . " The results of Hampton ' s cavalry activities against Sheridan were also mixed , but are usually seen in a more positive light than Sheridan ' s . He had succeeded in protecting the railroads and , indirectly , Richmond . He achieved tactical victories on the second day of Trevilian Station and against Gregg at Samaria Church , but failed to destroy the Union cavalry or its trains . in August , he was named commander of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia , filling the position that had remained open since the death of J . E . B . Stuart .