Chickahominy River
| Chickahominy River | ||
 Map of the James River, the Chickahominy River is highlighted |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 1478374 | |
| location | Virginia , USA | |
| River system | James River | |
| Drain over | James River → Chesapeake Bay → Atlantic Ocean | |
| source | in Hanover County 37 ° 42 ′ 1 ″ N , 77 ° 37 ′ 33 ″ W |
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| muzzle | in Charles City County in the James River Coordinates: 37 ° 14 ′ 1 ″ N , 76 ° 53 ′ 23 ″ W 37 ° 14 ′ 1 ″ N , 76 ° 53 ′ 23 ″ W
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The Chickahominy River (pronounced Tschicke-) is a tributary of the James River in Virginia ( USA ). It rises about 20 kilometers northwest of Richmond , the capital of Virginia.
The Chickahominy is best known from multiple skirmishes and battles during the American Civil War . In May and June 1862 , the Union General McClellan had gone to the north bank with part of the Union Army after taking Yorktown and Williamsburg . When the river was badly swollen and the bridges behind it had badly damaged, it was attacked by the Confederates under Johnston on May 31st and June 1st and saved from complete annihilation only by the rapid deployment of fresh troops ( Battle of Seven Pines ). After much hesitation, McClellan decided to vacate the position on Chickahominy, but Confederate General Lee had three of his divisions crossed to the north bank and, with General Jackson , who had joined him, threw several corps of the Union Army with 9,000 men on June 27 Loss back. McClellan continued to retreat to the James River with constant fighting in the following days . The Confederate Army was unable to take advantage of the success because of its heavy losses.