Half-Way House
Butler’s Headquarters
As Grant grappled with Lee in the Wilderness and near Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864, Union Gen. Benjamin Butler landed with 30,000 troops at Bermuda Hundred, eight miles east of here. Butler’s objective was to open another front and to threaten Richmond from the south.
This building dates from 1760 and was a prominent landmark during the campaign’s battle of Drewry’s Bluff on May 16. The Half-Way (between Petersburg and Richmond) House was used by Butler during the fighting.
Early in the battle, Confederate artillery located north of here found the range. Shells shattered brick dependencies and plowed up the grounds around the building. Before the battle soldiers had helped themselves to the contents of the house, leaving the place “pretty well rummaged.”
Butler’s defeated Army of the James rallied around the Half-Way House on the afternoon of the 16th. Eventually order emerged from the chaos. The strong Union position here halted the Confederate attack and ended the battle.
The fighting at Drewry’s Bluff marked the end of Butler’s offensive operations against Richmond.
Marker is at the intersection of Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1) and Wonderview Drive, on the right when traveling north on Jefferson Davis Highway.
Courtesy hmdb.org
