Fort Stevens
Butler’s Campaign Ends
“Neither army, however, manifested any disposition either to advance or retire. It was a case of stand and fire, each endeavoring to cripple the other the most, and gain, if it could, some advantage here or there. The enemy’s one battery was handled with rapidity and accuracy, and they sent us quite a number of dangerous missiles, that exploded very near to our guns and did considerable damage.” - Private Benjamin W. Jones, Surry Light Artillery, describing the action on May 14 inside Fort Stevens.
Built in 1862 as part of Richmond’s defenses, Fort Stevens went unchallenged for two years. Its first action came on May 14, 1864, when Union Gen. Benjamin Butler marched the Army of the James within a few hundred yards of here. Inside the fort, cannoneers of the Surry Light Artillery under Capt. James Hankins, supported by infantrymen of Gen. Johnson Hagood’s brigade, exchanged fire with Butler’s batteries. After twelve hours of dueling neither side had gained any advantage.
After a day of limited activity, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard seized the initiative by ordering a counterattack on the morning of May 16. Hankins’ battery and Hagood’s brigade joined in the pursuit which succeeded in driving Butler’s army back several miles into entrenched positions at Bermuda Hundred. With the defeat of Butler, Fort Stevens remained securely within Southern lines until April 1865.
Marker is at the intersection of Pams Avenue and Norcliff Avenue, on the left when traveling north on Pams Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
