Battle of Hanover Court House The Battle of Hanover Court House , also known as the Battle of Slash Church , took place on May 27 , 1862 , in Hanover County , Virginia , as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War . On May 27 , elements of Brig . Gen . Fitz John Porter ' s V Corps extended north to protect the right flank of Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan ' s Union Army of the Potomac . Porter ' s objective was to deal with a Confederate force near Hanover Court House , which threatened the avenue of approach for Union reinforcements that were marching south from Fredericksburg . The smaller Confederate force , under Colonel Lawrence O ' Bryan Branch , was defeated at Peake ' s Crossing after a disorganized fight . The Union victory was moot , however , for the Union reinforcements were recalled to Fredericksburg upon word of Maj . Gen . Nathaniel P . Banks ' s rout in the Shenandoah Valley at First Winchester . Background . Confederate General Joseph E . Johnston withdrew his 60 , 000 - man army from the Virginia Peninsula as McClellan ' s army pursued him and approached the Confederate capital of Richmond . Johnston ' s defensive line began at the James River at Drewry ' s Bluff , site of the recent Confederate naval victory , and extended counterclockwise so that his center and left were behind the Chickahominy River , a natural barrier in the spring when it turned the broad plains to the east of Richmond into swamps . Johnston ' s men burned most of the bridges over the Chickahominy and settled into strong defensive positions north and east of the city . McClellan positioned his 105 , 000 - man army to focus on the northeast sector , for two reasons . First , the Pamunkey River , which ran roughly parallel to the Chickahominy , offered a line of communication that could enable McClellan to get around Johnston ' s left flank . Second , McClellan anticipated the arrival of the I Corps under Maj . Gen . Irwin McDowell , scheduled to march south from Fredericksburg to reinforce his army , and thus needed to protect their avenue of approach . The Army of the Potomac pushed slowly up the Pamunkey , establishing supply bases at Eltham ' s Landing , Cumberland Landing , and White House Landing . White House , the plantation of W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee , son of General Robert E . Lee , became McClellan ' s base of operations . Using the Richmond and York River Railroad , McClellan could bring his heavy siege artillery to the outskirts of Richmond . He moved slowly and deliberately , reacting to faulty intelligence that led him to believe the Confederates outnumbered him significantly . By the end of May , the army had built bridges across the Chickahominy and was facing Richmond , straddling the river , with one third of the Army south of the river , two thirds north . ( This disposition , which made it difficult for one part of the army to reinforce the other quickly , would prove to be a significant problem in the upcoming Battle of Seven Pines ) . While skirmishing occurred all along the line between the armies , McClellan heard a rumor from a Virginia civilian that a Confederate force of 17 , 000 was moving to Hanover Court House , north of Mechanicsville . If this were true , it would threaten the army ' s right flank and complicate the arrival of McDowell ' s reinforcements . A Union cavalry reconnaissance adjusted the estimate of the enemy strength to be 6 , 000 , but it was still cause for concern . McClellan ordered his close friend , Maj . Gen . Fitz John Porter , commander of the newly formed V Corps , to deal with the threat . Porter departed on his mission at 4 a . m . on May 27 with his 1st Division , under Brig . Gen . George W . Morell , the 3rd Brigade of Brig . Gen . George Sykes ' s 2nd Division , under Colonel Gouverneur K . Warren , and a composite brigade of cavalry and artillery led by Brig . Gen . William H . Emory , altogether about 12 , 000 men . The Confederate force , which actually numbered about 4 , 000 men , was led by Col . Lawrence O ' Bryan Branch , and included the 18th , 28th , and 37th North Carolina Infantry regiments , and the 45th Georgia Infantry . They had departed from Gordonsville to guard the Virginia Central Railroad , taking up position at Peake ' s Crossing , southwest of the courthouse , near Slash Church . Another Confederate brigade was stationed north at Hanover Junction . Battle . Porter ' s men approached Peake ' s Crossing in a driving rain . At about noon on May 27 , his lead element , the 25th New York Infantry , encountered Col . James H . Lane ' s 28th North Carolina on a reconnaissance patrol at the farm owned by Dr . Thomas H . Kinney . The New Yorkers , along with the 1st U . S . Sharpshooters , skirmished briskly with the Confederates until Porter ' s main body arrived , driving the outnumbered Rebels up the road in the direction of the courthouse . Porter set out in pursuit with most of his force , leaving three regiments ( the 2nd Maine , the 44th New York , and the damaged 25th New York ) , under the command of Brig . Gen . John H . Martindale , to guard the New Bridge and Hanover Court House Roads intersection , a mile to the west of Kinney ' s farm . This movement exposed the rear of Porter ' s command to attack by the bulk of Branch ' s force , which Porter had mistakenly assumed was at Hanover Court House . Branch also made a poor assumption — that Porter ' s force was significantly smaller than it turned out to be — and attacked . Col . Charles C . Lee led his own regiment , the 37th North Carolina , along with the 18th North Carolina and two cannons from Latham ' s Battery . An initial assault by the 18th was repulsed , but when the 37th joined in , Martindale ' s force was almost destroyed by the heavy fire . The 44th New York suffered 25 % casualties and its battle flag received 44 bullet holes . When messengers reached Porter with news of the engagement , he quickly dispatched the 9th Massachusetts and 62nd Pennsylvania regiments back to the Kinney Farm . The Confederate line broke under the weight of thousands of new troops and they retreated back through Peake ' s Crossing to Ashland . Aftermath . General McClellan claimed that Hanover Court House was yet another " glorious victory over superior numbers " and judged that it was " one of the handsomest things of the war . " However , the reality of the outcome was that superior ( Union ) numbers won the day in a disorganized fight , characterized by misjudgments on both sides . The right flank of the Union army remained secure , although technically the Confederates at Peake ' s Crossing had not intended to threaten it . And McDowell ' s Corps did not need its roads kept clear because it never arrived — the defeat of Union forces at the First Battle of Winchester by Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley caused the Lincoln administration to recall McDowell to Fredericksburg . The estimates of Union casualties vary , from 355 ( 62 killed , 233 wounded , 70 captured ) to 397 . The Confederates left 200 dead and wounded on the field and 730 were captured by Porter ' s cavalry . A greater impact than the actual casualties , according to historian Stephen W . Sears , was the effect on McClellan ' s preparedness for the next major battle , at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks four days later . During the absence of Porter , McClellan was reluctant to move more of his troops south of the Chickahominy , making his left flank a more attractive target for Johnston .