A Confederate plot to surprise Union troops ended in chaos, confusion, and the tragic death of Lt. Col. Charles Dreux, the first field-grade Confederate officer killed in the Civil War.
Following the Battle of Big Bethel, Union and Confederate forces on the Virginia Peninsula settled into a stalemate behind their fortifications. Both armies occasionally sent patrols into no man’s land to forage for supplies or scout for enemy activity, but neither was strong enough to dislodge the other.
Newly promoted Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder, commanding the Hampton Division, assigned the 1st Louisiana Infantry Battalion to guard Young’s Mill, supported by a section of artillery from the 3rd Company, Richmond Howitzers, and cavalry from the Catawba Troop of Halifax County. Twenty-nine-year-old Lt. Col. Charles D. Dreux of the 1st Louisiana took command of the camp.
On July 4th, Independence Day, Dreux hosted a barbecue for his men, providing a generous supply of whiskey. He also welcomed Colonel Lafayette McLaws, the commander of Confederate forces at Yorktown, as a guest. Dreux gave a rousing speech, making it clear he did not intend to wait passively at Young’s Mill for the enemy. “This is our day, and we will have it,” he was said to have remarked.
Later that evening, during a meeting with his captains, Capt. William Collins of the Catawba Troop informed Dreux that Union troops were frequently seen at the home of Nelson Smith, located along the James River, about four miles to the south. Capt. Robert C. Stanard of the Richmond Howitzers suggested they take a detachment and set up an ambush, a plan Dreux wholeheartedly endorsed. Some sources claim that the idea for the ambush originated with Dreux himself. Regardless, the plan was set: after midnight, they departed with 100 infantry, 20 cavalry, and one howitzer.
As they neared a wooded lane running perpendicular to the main Warwick Road, near Smith’s Farm, Dreux positioned the howitzer down the lane, with the cavalry behind it and the infantry deployed on either side. They were ordered not to attack until the Union troops had passed. However, as sunrise approached with no sign of the enemy, Dreux grew impatient and sent scouts down the Warwick Road to determine their location.
Meanwhile, Capt. William W. Hammell and 25 men of Company F, 9th New York Infantry, had bivouacked a few miles outside their camp at Newport News Point. Shortly before dawn, they resumed their march northward. After about two miles, they were alerted to the Confederate presence when a Confederate private fired prematurely—some say at a snake—prompting Hammell’s men to spread out and return fire.
Capt. Collins reported, “The first information I received of the approach of the enemy, a gun was fired to our left, on the main road, and was immediately followed by another, and, with a short pause, the firing was again commenced about the same point, which was kept up regularly, the balls cutting around very near myself and men.”
According to Union accounts, at that moment, Lt. Col. Dreux stepped into the road and shouted, “Stop, stop for God’s sake stop—you’re shooting your own men!” If true (though Confederate accounts do not mention this), Dreux may have mistaken Hammell’s men for his own scouts, as they were far fewer in number than the large force he had expected. Hammell hesitated briefly, as the Louisianians’ uniforms resembled those of the 1st Vermont Regiment, but he then ordered his men to resume firing. Sgt. Peter J. Martin took aim with his rifle and fatally shot Dreux in the side.
The dense woods made visibility poor, and it seemed to the Confederates that fire was coming from all directions. In the chaos, Capt. Stanard ordered the howitzer to be limbered up and moved to cover the main road. The cavalry, misinterpreting this as a signal to retreat, surged forward, spooking the horses pulling the howitzer. The inexperienced driver lost control of the team, and the horses only stopped after the short skirmish had ended.
Realizing they were outnumbered, Hammell ordered Company F to retreat. Despite Confederate claims to the contrary, no Union soldiers were wounded in the fight. For the 1st Louisiana, however, the loss of their beloved “Charlie” Dreux was devastating. Dreux became the first field-grade Confederate officer killed during the Civil War, and thousands attended his funeral procession in New Orleans.
Sources
Graham, Matthew John. The Ninth Regiment, New York Volunteers (Hawkins’ Zouaves): Being a History of the Regiment and Veteran Association from 1860 to 1900. New York: E.P. Cody & Co., 1900.
Jones, Terry L. Lee’s Tigers: the Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987.
Lafayette Weekly Courier (Lafayette, IN) 16 July 1861.
Lowe, R.G. “The Dreux Battalion.” The Confederate Veteran V, No.2 (1897): 54-56.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. II. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.
Wallace, Lee A., Jr. The Richmond Howitzers. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1993.
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