Polegreen Church
Stalemate at Totopotomoy Creek
Following the cavalry fight at Enon Church on May 28, 1864, Lee moved to block Grant’s advance toward Richmond. He stationed his army along a ridge protected by swampy Totopotomoy Creek. When Union infantry arrived they found Lee’s soldiers solidly dug in. Gen. Winfield Hancock’s Second Corps scouted the position on May 29, then attacked on May 30 and captured a small section of Southern trenches.
Frustrated in his attempts to break Confederate lines at the Totopotomoy, Grant looked for another way to lure Lee into the open. Once again, he tried to maneuver his army between Lee and Richmond. The Union commander ordered a concentration at Cold Harbor.
To screen the Federal movement, Grant launched an assault on June 1 near here that produced a lively artillery duel. Nearby Polegreen Church suffered the misfortune of resting between the lines. Shells fired by the Richmond Howitzers at Union sharpshooters in the church hit the building causing it to catch fire and burn to the ground.
Marker is at the intersection of Rural Point Road (County Route 643) and Heatherwood Drive, on the right when traveling north on Rural Point Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
