Lecture recounts thrilling Civil War campaign

You might have read about the Bermuda Hundred Campaign in history books, but a lecture at Pamplin Historical Park today (Thursday, Feb. 2) will shed light on the events that happened during the two-week Civil War campaign.

The Bermuda Hundred Campaign is a series of battles that happened in May 1864.

During the campaign, Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler commanded the Army of the James to take Richmond, but his offensive was halted by Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard’s troops.

Since 1994, A. Wilson Greene has been the executive director of Pamplin Historical Park’s Education Center.

A professional historian, Greene will present Thursday’s lecture.

“Well, the campaign represents the primary military action that happened in Chesterfield County at the time,” Greene said. “It was the premier event, and fortunately, the county has done quite a bit to preserve the remnants of its physical history that still exist.”

“It intended to capture Richmond and very well could have captured Petersburg, so it’s a campaign of missed opportunities for the Union Army. But the Confederates were outnumbered and outgunned and very fortunate to keep the Union out.”

In short, the series of battles spanned a few weeks. But, as history teaches us, the campaign was ultimately ineffective for the Union Army.

“When Gen. (Ulysses S.) Grant came to Virginia in the spring of 1864, he planned a coordinated offensive that would have gone our way south of Richmond,” Greene said. “The offensive was supposed to cut off supply lines and capture Richmond.”

“Gen. Butler was to take a waterborne force, transport them and disembark in (the town of) Bermuda Hundred and move northward toward Richmond to coordinate with Gen. (George G.) Meade. They wanted to end the war with a combined offensive, and of course, neither Meade nor Butler was able to do it.”

A significant portion of Greene’s lecture will focus on Gen. Butler. As Greene puts it, Gen. Butler is one of the most misunderstood military leaders of his day.

“He’s a fascinating character who is reviled in the South, but I argue that he was not as much of a military buffoon as people have said.” Greene said. “In fact, I would say that he was someone who was perceived in the South as being an agent of social change.”

According to Greene, Gen. Butler didn’t return the runaway slaves who went to Fort Monroe in Hampton during the Civil War, an action that brought about his negative reputation in the South. Public disdain for Butler also grew during the Capture of New Orleans after he was accused of stealing silverware from a family there.

“Gen. Butler’s image was placed at the bottom of chamber pots, and he became known as ‘Spoons’ Butler,” Greene said. “He was hated in the South, but he was also a very smart and savvy political animal who knew how to survive.”

In any event, Greene said today’s lecture won’t present any new findings about the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. Instead, he said he hopes that the speech will spotlight a pivotal Civil War battle that helped to shape Chesterfield County’s past.

“There are several good books on the campaign, so I’m not pretending to present new information, but it is overlooked and overshadowed by larger battles,” Greene said. “But for people in our area, it really is our local history, and it’s something that isn’t talked about that often.”

A. Wilson Greene’s lecture about the Bermuda Hundred Campaign will be presented at 7 p.m. today at Pamplin Historical Park’s Education Center at 6125 Boydton Plank Road in Petersburg.

The event is free of charge.

For more information, call 861-2408 or 1-877-PAMPLIN.