The "Bottle"

The "Bottle" is a Virginia historical marker in Chester, Chesterfield County, dedicated 2001.

14705 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Chester

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Here in 1864 on the Bermuda Hundred peninsula between the James and Appomattox Rivers, the Union Army of the James, commanded by Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, was "bottled up" by Confederate Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, defender of Petersburg. The cautious Butler had begun constructing earthworks across the peninsula about a mile east in May, shortly after he occupied the peninsula, to protect against attack from the west. The Confederates built parallel earthworks (the Howlett Line) about half a mile east of here to "bottle up" the Federals. In Sept., however, Butler's army easily crossed the James River to attack the Richmond fortifications.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1859 · Virginia (Herman Boye, 1859) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Map of the battle ground near Richmond, showing plainly, every point of interest of the… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1864 · Hughes Military Map Of Richmond & Petersburgh, Va. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1865 · Central Virginia showing Lieut Gen'l U.S. Grant's Campaign and Marches. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1894 · Bermuda Hundred, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, 1894, covering the location of The "Bottle", with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, 1894, covering this location. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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