Battle of Vaughan Road

Battle of Vaughan's Road
	Part of Petersburg Campaign, American Civil War
Date	October 1, 1864
Location	Dinwiddie County,; near Petersburg, Virginia
Result	Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederacy
Commanders and leaders
David McMurtrie Gregg ; Henry E. Davies	Wade Hampton ; John Dunovant † ; Pierce M. B. Young ; Matthew C. Butler
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties and losses
90	130

Last updated July 12, 2022

The Battle of Vaughan Road, also spelled "Vaughn", was an American Civil War engagement between Confederate States Army and Union Army cavalry forces protecting the flank of the main Union attack on Confederate positions on the western end of the Confederate line on October 1, 1864 during the Battle of Peebles' Farm, part of the Siege of Petersburg. The Union force repulsed Confederate attacks and protected ground just gained at McDowell's Farm and an important road junction on the Vaughan Road at the Wyatt Road. They inflicted about 130 casualties on the Confederates while losing about 90 men, about half of whom were taken prisoner. During the battle, Confederate Brigadier General John Dunovant was killed. Union Army Sergeant James T. Clancy, who was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 3, 1865, was credited with firing the fatal shot.

In the overall actions on September 29, 1864, through October 2, 1864, the Union force suffered about twice as many casualties as the Confederate forces but both sides lost about the same percentage of their forces. The Union forces took some key positions and forced the Confederates to extend their increasingly thinly manned lines of defense at Petersburg, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia. They did not achieve all of their objectives and did not cut the Boydton Plank Road which was a vital Confederate supply line.

Background

During the Siege of Petersburg, in late September 1864, Union Army overall commander Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant planned attacks on both sides of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's works guarding Petersburg, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia, in what would become the Union Army's "Fifth Offensive" during the siege. In heavy fighting on September 30, 1864, Union forces under Major General Gouverneur K. Warren, Major General John G. Parke, Brigadier General Charles Griffin and cavalry corps commander, Brigadier General David McMurtrie Gregg, seized an outer portion of the western end of the Confederate line, including key intersections around Peebles' Farm. They did not reach their objective of cutting the Boydton Plank Road, a key supply line for the besieged Confederate forces. While the Union generals, including Army of the Potomac commander Major General George G. Meade, planned to protect their gains and possibly to renew the attack to some extent, Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill, Major General Henry Heth, cavalry corps commander Major General Wade Hampton and other Confederate commanders planned to hit the right side of the attacking Union force, which they assumed was weaker than the rest of the Union line. Based on Confederate reaction at the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union commanders were wary of just such a counterattack.

Meanwhile, Union Major General Andrew A. Humphreys, Army of the Potomac commander George G. Meade's chief of staff at the time, withdrew the Union cavalry under Brigadier General David M. Gregg from an advanced position on the Harman Road to key intersections along the Vaughan Road, especially the intersection with the Wyatt Road. General Meade and General Humphreys were concerned with protecting the rear of the Union infantry from attack up the Vaughan Road. The cavalry brigade of Union Brigadier General Henry E. Davies continued to operate at night on September 30, 1864, and took ground voluntarily ceded by the Confederates earlier. Confederate Brigadier General John Dunovant, also operating after dark, then moved directly to recover the lost ground, heading directly toward the Union cavalry rather than around them in order to attack from the rear.

Dunovant did not believe there was any danger along the road at night and actually led the advance himself. As Dunovant's and Davies's brigades approached Armstrong's house, they were surprised to encounter other troops. The Union troops began to deploy but Dunovant actually thought he had encountered Confederate pickets and tried to force his way through the pickets. Then he sent an aide to convince the pickets to allow his force through. The Union soldiers identified the aide as a Confederate and took him prisoner. The Union cavalrymen now knew that Confederates were just ahead. In confused attacking and firing in the dark, only a few casualties were suffered by both sides but Dunovant's men pulled back and he was chagrined by being taken by surprise. Davies now suspected that he was outnumbered by the force in front of him and also pulled back from Armstrong's house to General Gregg's position. General Gregg still was preparing to move forward the next day and about 6 a.m. moved most of his force away from the Wyatt and Vaughan Roads toward the presumed further advance around Peebles' Farm. The Union infantry commanders initially were not enthusiastic about continuing the offensive, however, and their defensive posture surrendered the initiative the next day to Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill.

Battle

In the morning, the Confederate cavalry under Brigadier General (later Major General) Pierce M. B. Young moved toward the positions that General Gregg had vacated and threatened to take the Vaughan Road–Wyatt Road intersection, which was held only by the 1st Maine Volunteer Cavalry Regiment as a rear guard. Confederate Brigadier General Matthew C. Butler regained the Vaughan Road positions as the 1st Maine Cavalry retreated in the direction of the remainder of the Union force. Butler decided to fortify the adjacent McDowell's Farm area rather than pursue the Union cavalry. Gregg meanwhile heard about the Confederate cavalry advance and determined to retake the positions since the infantry action at Peebles' Farm proceeded favorably with the Union force repulsing the Confederate attack and holding Peebles' Farm. Gregg then returned to the McDowell's Farm area and at about 10:45 a.m. drove off the surprised Confederate troopers with little effort.

Heavy fighting then occurred through much of the day on McDowell's Farm, Wilkinson's Farm and the intersection of the Vaughan Road and Wyatt Road. After the Confederates attacked the initial Union force that had retaken the area in greater strength, Brigadier General Davies arrived and sent his men to drive the Confederates back. General Young was outraged at the turn of events and directed General Butler to attack the Union right. Butler entrusted this task to Brigadier General Dunovant's brigade. Dunovant advanced with the 4th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment and the 5th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment but a gap developed in Butler's line which the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiment tried to exploit. The Ohioans were unable to get behind Dunovant's men before the 6th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment warned of the Federal movement. Also being pressed by the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, Dunovant retreated back to Wilkinson's Farm. The Union force could advance no further under heavy fire and a stalemate developed for several hours. Gregg decided that recovering the road junction was his main task and he need only hold his current position. Not until 5 p.m. was Gregg able to communicate with senior commanders and return to his men's position to execute an attack, which the situation then precluded.

Confederate cavalry commander Wade Hampton saw an opportunity to drive the Union cavalry from their advanced position and personally led the 9th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and 13th Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment forward as reinforcements but they were slowed by heavy rain. They arrived at Wilkinson's Farm at about 3 p.m. and found that the reported vulnerability of the lightly held Union right flank still existed. General Hampton was to launch an attack on the Union right and ordered General Butler to attack on the front and trap the Union soldiers in a pincer movement. The plans were ruined when the two Confederate columns mistakenly ran into each other and almost precipitated a friendly fire incident. Confederate Colonel James Lucius Davis did get in front of part of the Union force with the Virginia regiments and took 46 prisoners. Butler hesitated to bring a frontal assault against Davies new and stronger line but wondered whether the line could be turned. Major Henry Farley, commanding dismounted troopers without horses, convinced Butler that Davies's position could be outflanked. Brigadier General Dunovant urged that the frontal attack be renewed. Whether Dunovant urged this because he wished to recover the position he had easily given up the previous night, to further redeem his reputation from the alcohol problems he had earlier in the war, or because he simply believed it the best plan can not be known but the plan was rash and Butler only reluctantly agreed.

General Davies was ready for the attack. Brigadier General John Dunovant was struck in the chest by a bullet while leading the charge against the Union position and was probably dead by the time he hit the ground.^[2] Butler's men, who also were in the charge, saw Dunovant fall and were demoralized and pulled back. Hampton sent his medical director, John B. Fontaine, to try to help Dunovant but he was killed by a shell on his way to the general's position. Dunovant's men suffered many casualties in the charge and also soon fell back in good order. Union Sergeant James T. Clancy of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was credited with firing the shot that killed General Dunovant.^[3] Dunovant's death threw the Confederates into confusion and helped gain the Union a victory in this engagement but the Confederates were not quite finished in their efforts to drive off the Union cavalrymen.

The Confederates regrouped for another attack but Hampton waited almost an hour for reinforcements. Then, he attacked without them around 5 p.m. Forces under Colonel Davis and Colonel William Stokes, who succeeded Dunovant in command of the brigade, attacked the Union position three times but were repulsed by the heavy Union fire, including three artillery pieces. Just before nightfall, Hampton sent Brigadier General Pierce Young's men to attack Davies's from the other flank. Young's initial thrust cut off Company C of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry Regiment led by Lieutenant William Hughes. Hughes decided to cut his way back to the main Union force by attacking Young's men from the rear. The Confederates were surprised and retreated from what they thought must be a superior force. General Young, who was out ahead of his men scouting, was nearly taken prisoner. When Young regrouped and attacked again, he faced a force which Davies had removed to higher ground near the McDowell house. Union General Gregg had reinforced the position with additional cavalry and artillery. This force easily turned back the charge of Young's men, who had lost the element of surprise against a weaker part of the Union line, which had been withdrawn and strengthened during the delay in the attack.^{[ citation needed ]}

Aftermath

Overall, during the battles at the end of September and beginning of October 1864, now sometimes called the Union Army's Fifth Offensive against the Confederates at the Siege of Petersburg, the Union forces lost almost twice as many men, but about the same percentage of their entire force, as the Confederates. Union forces had extended their lines but had not achieved their full objectives. They had pushed the Confederate lines back toward Richmond and Petersburg, but they had not pushed the Confederates in as far as planned and had not cut the Boydton Plank Road. Despite this limited success, the Union forces had made some key gains. In the western sector attack, they breached the Confederate Squirrel Level Line of defense and secured another section of line as they moved the siege and trench lines westward.

At the Battle of Vaughan Road specifically, the Union cavalry had secured the Union force's left rear near the Poplar Spring Church and protected the Union infantry from attack by the Confederate cavalry. They lost about 90 men, at least 46 of whom were captured, while the Confederates suffered about 130 casualties in the Vaughan Road and McDowell's Farm part of the overall battle of the Union Fifth Offensive. After the fighting on October 1, Confederate Lt. General A. P. Hill concentrated on preventing further extension of Union lines toward the Boydton Plank Road, not in recapturing lost ground. After further fighting on October 2, 1864, the armies settled into a period of lower activity. The Union siege of Petersburg, where Grant's forces continued to stretch and wear down the decreasing number of Confederate defenders, continued with the Union forces having positions from which to conduct future offensives with safer access to their supply lines. With their limited success in the Fifth Offensive, the Union forces still needed six more months to break the Confederate defense and send the Confederate forces on the Road to Appomattox Court House. General Lee saw the ultimate danger in a letter he wrote to Wade Hampton two days after the Battle of Battle of Peebles' Farm (or Poplar Springs Church) where he said that if the Union Army could not be stopped from extending its left flank, they would reach the Appomattox River and cut Confederate forces off from the south side altogether. That eventually occurred as Lee feared.

President Andrew Johnson awarded the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Clancy on July 3, 1865.

Notes

↑ U.S. National Park Service, Heritage Preservation Services, CWSAC Battle Summaries; Peebles Farm or Vaughan Road Archived September 10, 2005, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved May 8, 2014.
↑ Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. pp. 78–79
↑ Historian Richard J. Sommers concludes that historical perspective raises grave doubts about whether Clancy fired the fatal shot and says it appears the claim was a fabrication by Clancy's regimental commander, Major Myron Beaumont, to glorify himself and his regiment. Sommers, Richard J. Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981. ISBN 0-385-15626-X. p. 563

Related Research Articles

The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The fighting occurred in a wooded area near Locust Grove, Virginia, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Fredericksburg. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, nearly 29,000 in total, a harbinger of a war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.

Siege of Petersburg Battles of the American Civil War

The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.

The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War.

The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House was fought on March 31, 1865, during the American Civil War at the end of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign and in the beginning stage of the Appomattox Campaign. Along with the Battle of White Oak Road which was fought simultaneously on March 31, the battle involved the last offensive action by General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia attempting to stop the progress of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Union Army. Grant's forces were moving to cut the remaining Confederate supply lines and to force the Confederates to extend their defensive lines at Petersburg, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia to the breaking point, if not to force them into a decisive open field battle.

The Battle of Lewis's Farm was fought on March 29, 1865, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia near the end of the American Civil War. In climactic battles at the end of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, usually referred to as the Siege of Petersburg, starting with Lewis's Farm, the Union Army commanded by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant dislodged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E. Lee from defensive lines at Petersburg, Virginia and the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Many historians and the United States National Park Service consider the Battle of Lewis's Farm to be the opening battle of the Appomattox Campaign, which resulted in the surrender of Lee's army on April 9, 1865.

Overland Campaign 1864 series of battles in Virginia during the American Civil War

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.

David McMurtrie Gregg was an American farmer, diplomat, and a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War.

The Battle of Sailor's Creek was fought on April 6, 1865, near Farmville, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, near the end of the American Civil War. It was the last major engagement between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac, under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant.

The Second Battle of Ream's Station was fought during the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War on August 25, 1864, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock began destroying part of the Petersburg Railroad, which was a vital supply line for Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army in Petersburg, Virginia. Lee sent a force under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill to challenge Hancock and the Confederates were able to rout the Union troops from their fortifications at Reams Station. However, they lost a key portion of the railroad, causing further logistical difficulties for the remainder of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.

The Second Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Assault on Petersburg, was fought June 15–18, 1864, at the beginning of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. Union forces under Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and Major General George G. Meade attempted to capture Petersburg, Virginia, before General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia could reinforce the city.

The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Breakthrough at Petersburg or the Fall of Petersburg, was fought on April 2, 1865, south and southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, at the end of the 292-day Richmond–Petersburg Campaign and in the beginning stage of the Appomattox Campaign near the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Union Army under the overall command of General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, launched an assault on General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's Petersburg, Virginia trenches and fortifications after the Union victory at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865. As a result of that battle the Confederate right flank and rear were exposed. The remaining supply lines were cut and the Confederate defenders were reduced by over 10,000 men killed, wounded, taken prisoner or in flight.

The Battle of White Oak Road, also known as The Battle of Hatcher's Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Ridge was fought on March 31, 1865, during the American Civil War at the end of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign and in the beginning stage of the Appomattox Campaign. Along with the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House which was fought simultaneously on March 31, the battle involved the last offensive action by General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to stop the progress of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's Union Army. Grant's forces were moving to cut the remaining Confederate supply lines and to force the Confederates to extend their defensive lines at Petersburg, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia to the breaking point, if not to force them into a decisive open field battle.

Appomattox campaign Series of battles in the American Civil War ending with Confederate surrender (1865)

The Appomattox campaign was a series of American Civil War battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that concluded with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to forces of the Union Army under the overall command of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the effective end of the war.

The Battle of Haw's Shop or Enon Church was fought on May 28, 1864, in Hanover County, Virginia, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.

The Battle of Saint Mary's Church was an American Civil War cavalry battle fought on June 24, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

The Battle of Peebles's Farm was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, during the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.

The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road, fought on October 27–28, 1864, followed the successful Battle of Peebles's Farm in the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. It was an attempt by the Union Army to seize the Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road and cut the South Side Railroad, a critical supply line to Petersburg, Virginia.

Henry Eugene Davies was an American soldier, writer, public official and lawyer. He served in the Union Army as a brigadier general of volunteers in cavalry service during the American Civil War and was promoted to the grade of major general of volunteers at the end of the war. Davies was one of the few nonprofessional soldiers in the Union cavalry in the East to be promoted to the grade of general. He led his brigade in several major battles, especially during the Overland Campaign, the Battle of Trevilian Station, the Siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign at the end of the war.

John Dunovant was a brigadier general with temporary rank in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Dunovant was a native of South Carolina who had been a Mexican–American War veteran and captain in the U.S. Army from March 3, 1855, to December 29, 1860. During the Civil War, he was commander of the 1st South Carolina Regulars and later the 5th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment. He was in command of a cavalry brigade in the later part of the Overland Campaign and the early part of the Siege of Petersburg. He was killed at the Battle of Vaughan Road on October 1, 1864, during the Siege of Petersburg.

James T. Clancy was a Sergeant in the Union Army during the American Civil War who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Vaughan Road.

References

Longacre, Edward G. Lincoln's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8117-1049-1.
Salmon, John S. The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.
Sommers, Richard J. Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981. ISBN 0-385-15626-X.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.
http://thedonovan.com/archives/2009/10/todays_medal_of_131.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-5LVfXjWI - this video shows a picture of Dunovant, and explains that he dies in the battle.

Coordinates: 37°7′54″N77°27′14″W / 37.13167°N 77.45389°W / 37.13167; -77.45389

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] U.S. National Park Service, Heritage Preservation Services, CWSAC Battle Summaries; Peebles Farm or Vaughan Road Archived September 10, 2005, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved May 8, 2014.

[2] Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. pp. 78–79

[3] Historian Richard J. Sommers concludes that historical perspective raises grave doubts about whether Clancy fired the fatal shot and says it appears the claim was a fabrication by Clancy's regimental commander, Major Myron Beaumont, to glorify himself and his regiment. Sommers, Richard J. Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981. ISBN 0-385-15626-X. p. 563

[1]

[2]

[3]