While the Battle of Williamsburg raged around Fort Magruder on May 5,
1862, McClellan simultaneously embarked Brigadier General William B.
Franklin’s division onto transports. This amphibious strike force was
sent up the York River to cut off the Confederate retreat toward
Richmond.
As Confederate army commander Joseph E. Johnston moved his army
further up the Peninsula, Franklin landed his troops at Eltham’s
Landing on May 6.
Johnston had meanwhile wisely positioned Major General Gustavus W.
Smith’s wing north of Barhamsville to guard the vulnerable Confederate
left flank on May 6. There, Smith awaited the anticipated Union attack
that was never launched. Franklin seemed content to entrench under the
protection of his gunboats. Once Johnston’s main force passed through
Barhamsville on the morning of May 7, Smith sent Brigadier General
William H. C. Whiting’s division to contest the Federal position at
Eltham’s Landing. Brigadier General John Bell Hood distinguished
himself in the heavy, two hour skirmish that effectively blocked this
Federal effort to intercept Johnston’s retreat. The Confederates
suffered 48 casualties and the Union lost 186 men.
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