 The battle was part of the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862, when the Union Army left Fort Monroe and marched its way up the Virginia Peninsula in an attempt to capture Richmond. On April 16th, the Union troops found the Confederates entrenched behind earthworks on the other side of the Warwick River. Holding their guns, ammunition, and gunpowder above their heads to keep them dry, they waded into the water and marched slowly across to attack the men in gray.