Buried beneath the lengthy conversation about the future of land in Upper York County and how it fits into the county’s vision is a rich legacy of war and loss at a site where hundreds died and at least one nickname was earned.
It was on this land in May 1862 that Union forces under the command of Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock exposed a flank of entrenched Confederate positions at Williamsburg’s Fort Magurder during the Civil War. Hancock was able to situate artillery on the land that compromised the Confederate flank. Confederate Gen. Jubal Early responded with four regiments in an attempt to counteract the Union advantage.
A North Carolina Confederate regiment emerged into a wheat field and began running toward the union artillery positions in what ended up being a blood bath, where a regiment of about 450 men was wholly defeated among the wheat, leaving behind a varying account of survivors at the roll call the following morning, with some saying as few as 75 soldiers reported.
The land is situated around the intersection of Interstate 64 and Route 199, encompassing the Marquis at Williamsburg and large plots of undeveloped land owned by Anheuser Busch and the Egger family. Those groups want to see a mixed-use overlay applied to the land, which would designate the land a good candidate for more kinds of development than are currently allowed under the existing zoning designation. The U.S. Navy and the National Park Service own huge plots of land adjacent to these properties, and they oppose a mixed-use overlay because of how mixed-use development — which often includes a residential component — would affect the land.
The debate between those two groups is front and center in the draft update of York County’s Comprehensive Plan, which, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, would bestow the overlay upon the parcels of land. It would also reaffirm the mixed-use overlay that currently exists on the Egger tract.
The Egger Tract and the Battle of Williamsburg
The Civil War is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about the myriad important historical events that occurred in the Historic Triangle. Williamsburg, James City County and upper York County were, however, an important site in the Peninsula Campaign in the Civil War, according to Drew Gruber, a local historian who has studied the area’s history.
The Battle of Williamsburg was fought May 5, 1862, a day characterized by relentless downpours. The battle was fought on land that stretches from Water Country USA in the southeast to Quarterpath Park in the northwest. Part of that battle took place on the Egger tract, where Union troops pushed the flank of the Confederacy’s entrenched position.
The events on the Egger tract began when a half dozen slaves told Union officials that a collection of earthworks near Jones Mill Pond were unoccupied. Though that land is now littered with trees and foliage, it was at that time the site of some farms, where patchwork buildings popped out of rolling fields of wheat and other crops. That would be the site of the coming battle, which was fought amid heavy rainfall that continued all day.
Union Brig. Gen. Hancock was dispatched to investigate the slaves’ claim. George Custer, whose name was made famous at his last stand when he and more than 200 other U.S. Army cavalry members died in a battle against Indian tribes in Montana, was a lieutenant at the time of the battle. He joined Hancock in going to the earthworks, which were situated on what is now the Egger tract.
The Colonial Parkway borders the Egger tract on one side, arching around the border of the property until it reaches Jones Mill Pond, where the property ends. When Hancock crossed the pond at the site where the Parkway currently runs, he led a brigade of hundreds of men across a mill dam not wider than 7 feet, Gruber said.
Hancock discovered the earthworks had been abandoned the previous day, when the Confederate troops positioned there had pulled back. He realized he had turned the Confederates’ flank, so he set up artillery in barns, farmhouses and slavequarters in the area to begin shelling Fort Magruder.
Confederate Maj. Gens. James Longstreet and D.H. Hill realized the flank and been turned and knew if they didn’t act quickly they would be facing a grave threat. They dispatched Brig. Gen. Early along with four regiments to counteract the Union force. The Confederate regiments had a brutal march ahead of them, through unforgiving brambles and swampy marshlands, where two of the regiments became separated from the other two, effectively halving Early’s combat-ready force before any fighting began.
The two remaining regiments then approached the artillery positions located on the Egger tract. The 24th Virginia emerged from the trees first, where they made a desperate attempt at grabbing the Union artillery from the farm buildings where it was entrenched. Hancock then began pulling his troops back from their positions to reposition.
The other Confederate regiment was the 5th North Carolina, which emerged from the trees several hundred yards away from the 24th Virginia and the Union line. The 5th North Carolina then began moving across the wheat field to reinforce the 24th Virginia, Gruber said.
It was during the 5th North Carolina’s march on the Union line that the fighting swelled. As the 24th Virginia was trickling back into the woods, a pair of orders emerged at almost the same time from the officers of the 5th North Carolina and the Union line: the Confederates were told to pull back to the woods while the Union troops were told to charge.
What followed was a violent fight, where charging Union troops with affixed bayonets killed a few hundred members of the 5th North Carolina. The Union — who significantly outnumbered the Confederates — moved across the field, stopping occasionally to fire volleys into the retreating Confederate soldiers.
At the end of the day, the 5th North Carolina was in tatters, with its battle flag captured by Union troops (marking the first time the Union’s Army of the Potomac had captured a Confederate battle flag). Early suffered a bullet wound immediately after the fighting began, while Hancock picked up the nickname “The Superb” for his leadership during the battle. Shortly after the battle, the Confederate troops in the area continued to pull back toward Richmond.
The Future of the Egger Tract
The Egger family bought the land in the 1950s, when I-64 had not yet been built. The land also offered access to the Colonial Parkway, which was rescinded in the years that followed. Now it’s cut off on all sides, with property owned by Anheuser Busch and the U.S. Navy blocking it in. The Anheuser Busch property is the only access point to the property now, which requires a trek along a dirt road blocked off by a locked gate.
Since the Eggers bought the property, they have watched the construction of I-64, Water Country USA and the Marquis at Williamsburg. They’ve seen residential neighborhoods pop up on the other side of I-64, near Queens Creek Road. Matt Egger, a Maryland resident who grew up in the Historic Triangle and is a member of the family who owns the land, hopes it can one day be developed.
He said in a May interview he thinks the land is an ideal space for a planned community, a mixture of residential and commercial spaces like New Town. The current zoning designation on the land identifies it as economic opportunity, which is intended for commercial and tourism-related sites. That’s a broad designation that allows for even limited industrial projects. The existing mixed-use overlay on the property also labels it as a candidate for the type of development
You can read more about the U.S. Navy’s and National Park Service’s position on development of the Egger tract by clicking here.
One potential avenue for the land would be preservation as an historical site, something Gruber wants to see happen. Aside from maintaining the best possible access to historical sites, preservation offers certain economic benefits, he said.
“Open space preservation even not if for historical value is inexpensive,” Gruber said. “It means no roads, no school buses or power lines. Open space also preserves property values.”
He said from a revenue perspective, there’s no Civil War battlefield in this region and that battlefields have a powerful draw on people. Preservation of the land would also open it up to archaeological projects, where researchers could look not only at the way the war affected the land but at farms and slave quarters on the property.
The Civil War Trust is a national nonprofit organization tasked with preserving endangered Civil War battlefields. as well as promoting educational uses of that land.
“We think there’s a lot of potential for preservation of the Williamsburg battlefield,” said Civil War Trust spokesperson Jim Campi. His comment refers to the entire battlefield, of which the Egger Tract is only one piece. “The Civil War battle at Williamsburg has not been interpreted all that well. Right now there isn’t a lot of Williamsburg battlefield land protected and interpreted. We’re very eager to work with landowners and local entities to try to protect more land at Williamsburg.”
Campi said much of the land associated with the Battle of Williamsburg is in pristine condition. Redoubts that were in place in 1862 on the Egger tract can still be seen today.
“There’s no question that Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown are of huge significance,” Campi said. “We think there’s room to tell the Civil War story, too.”
You can see a map from the Civil War Trust of the Williamsburg battlefield by clicking here.
Related Coverage:
York Property Owners, Federal Entities at Odds Over More Residential Development
Planning Commission Preserves Mixed-Use Plan in Upper York County
Public Discusses Land-Use, York County’s Future at Comp Plan Hearing
York Officials Release Correspondence on Comp Plan Update
