ORDER OF BATTLE // June 10, 1861
Battle of Big Bethel
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 4,900 estimated
United States
3,500
Medium-confidence figure
CSA (Confederacy)
1,400
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land engagements of the American Civil War, fought on the Virginia Peninsula near Newport News in June 1861. Coming only weeks after the war's outbreak, it marked an early test of Union land operations in Virginia under Benjamin F. Butler. The Union force of roughly 3,500 men faced a Confederate force of approximately 1,400 under John B. Magruder and Daniel H. Hill. As one of the first organized land clashes of the conflict, the engagement carried symbolic weight in establishing the character of early Civil War operations in the Peninsula region, which would become a significant theater of war in subsequent campaigns.
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