Bermuda Hundred – Chester, VA - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Bermuda Hundred was the landing site and headquarters for the Army of the James. Led by Gen. Benjamin Butler, the army temporarily cut communication and transportation lines near Swift Creek between Richmond and Petersburg, but failed to capitalize on their efforts. Once Butler fell back, the Confederates kept him bottled up at Bermuda Hundred. Later, after Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant replaced Butler with Maj. Gen. Edward Ord, the Army of the James was present at the fall of Petersburg & Richmond and at Appomattox Court House for the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

The inscription on the marker reads as follows:

Union Gen. Benjamin Butler’s 30,000-man Army of the James landed here without opposition on May 5, 1864. Despite his surprise arrival, Butler proved unable to take advantage of the unprepared Confederate defenders below Richmond.

He pushed west toward Port Walthall Junction, then Drewry’s Bluff, but a cautious command style combined with concern for a long supply line that led back to this landing paralyzed Butler. He threatened Richmond briefly from the south before retiring to the safety of the Bermuda Hundred peninsula, where his army remained for the last year of the war.

Type of site: Other Military Site Address: 4701 Bermuda Hundred Road Chester, VA USA 23836 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/05/2023 Don.Morfe visited it