Second Battle of Ream's Station

Last updated
Second Battle of Ream's Station
Part of the American Civil War
Frank Leslie's - 2nd Reams Station.jpg
Contemporary engraving showing the final repulse of the Confederate assault
DateAugust 25, 1864 (1864-08-25)
Location
Dinwiddie County, Virginia
Result See aftermath
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1863-1865).svg United States (Union) Flag of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svg CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Winfield S. Hancock A. P. Hill
Henry Heth
Strength
9,000 [1] 8,000–10,000 [2]
Casualties and losses
2,747
(Killed 140
Wounded 529
Captured 2073) [3] 		814 [3]
National Park Service marker at Fort Wadsworth NPS marker at Fort Wadsworth.jpg
National Park Service marker at Fort Wadsworth

The Second Battle of Ream's Station (also Reams or Reams's) 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.

Contents

Background

As the siege of Petersburg began to take hold, Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant continued to look for ways to sever the railroad links supplying the city of Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, and the Confederate capital of Richmond. One of these critical supply lines was the Petersburg Railroad, also called the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, which led south to Weldon, North Carolina, and connected to the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad which led to the Confederacy's only remaining major port, Wilmington, North Carolina. In the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road (June 21–23, 1864), Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps was able to destroy a short segment of the Weldon before being driven off by the Third Corps of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. [4]

In the Battle of Globe Tavern (August 18–21), Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps with reinforcements from the IX Corps destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. This Union victory forced the Confederates to carry their supplies 30 miles (48 km) by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west. However, this was not yet a critical problem for the Confederates. A member of Lee's staff wrote, "Whilst we are inconvenienced, no material harm is done us." [5]

General Grant wanted the Petersburg Railroad closed permanently, destroying 14 miles (23 km) of track from Warren's position near Globe Tavern as far south as Rowanty Creek (about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the town of Stony Creek). He assigned the operation to Hancock's II Corps, which was in the process of moving south from their operation north of the James River at the Second Battle of Deep Bottom. He chose Hancock's corps because Warren was busy extending the fortifications at Globe Tavern, although his selection was of troops exhausted from their efforts north of the James and their forced march south without rest; Hancock himself continued to suffer lingering effects from his wounds at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Grant augmented Hancock's corps with the cavalry division of Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg. [6]

Gregg's division departed on August 22 and, after driving off Confederate pickets, they and the II Corps infantry division commanded by Brig. Gen. Nelson A. Miles (replacing Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow, who was on leave) destroyed the railroad tracks to within 2 miles (3.2 km) of Reams Station. [7] Early on August 23, Hancock's other division, commanded by Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, occupied Reams Station, taking up positions in earthworks that had been constructed by the Union cavalry during the Wilson-Kautz Raid in June. The earthworks were constructed in a partial ellipse with an opening facing to the east, and although they had degraded and were partially filled with water, Hancock's men made little effort to improve them. [8]

Robert E. Lee considered that the Union troops at Reams Station represented not only a threat to his supply line, but also to the county seat of Dinwiddie County; if Dinwiddie Court House were to fall, the Confederates would be forced to evacuate both Petersburg and Richmond because it represented a key point on the army's potential retreat route. He also saw an opportunity—that he could impose a stinging defeat on the Union Army not long before the presidential election in November. Lee ordered Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill to take the overall command of an expedition that included two cavalry divisions of Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry, Maj. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox's division, part of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth's division, and part of Maj. Gen. William Mahone's division, about 8–10,000 men in all. Hill, who was suffering from one of his periodic bouts of illness, assigned Heth to tactical command, telling him he "must carry the position." [9]

Hancock arrived personally at Reams Station on August 24 and by that evening the Union troops had destroyed track for 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the station. On the morning of August 25 they left their earthworks to start working on the remaining 5 miles (8.0 km) of track, but Hancock recalled them when he heard that Confederate cavalry was approaching. [10]

Opposing forces

Union

Confederate

Battle

After the Confederate cavalry pushed back Gregg's cavalry, Hill's column advanced down the Dinwiddie Stage Road. Wilcox's three infantry brigades assaulted the Union position at about 2 p.m. on August 25. Despite launching two attacks, Wilcox was driven back by Miles's division, which was manning the northern part of the earthworks. To the south, Gibbon's division was blocking the advance of Hampton's cavalry, which had swept around the Union line. [11]

While these two attacks were going on, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac and in temporary overall command while Grant was ill, became concerned that Lee was attempting to turn the left flank of the Union army. Historian John Horn wrote that if Grant had been on the scene, he might have very well ordered an attack on Petersburg at this point, similar to the tactic he would use in April 1865 that caused the fall of the city, taking advantage of the weakly defended lines vacated by the heavy force that Lee had sent to Reams Station. Meade, however, cautiously assumed a defensive stance and rushed reinforcements to his flank, thinning his own lines. The only point that Meade did not reinforce was the sector commanded by his trusty subordinate Hancock, assuming that Hancock would hold the line with his existing resources. [12]

Confederate reinforcements from Heth's and Mahone's divisions arrived while the Confederate artillery under Col. William Pegram softened up the Union position. The final attack began around 5:30 p.m. by six brigades against Miles's position and it broke through the northwest corner of the Union fortifications; although the Union defensive fire was fierce enough to keep the Confederates at bay, suddenly two Union regiments panicked and bolted for the rear, opening a gap. Miles ordered his reserve brigade under Col. Horace Rugg to close the gap, but to his astonishment, Rugg's men fell prone and refused to open fire. Heth personally led the charge through the earthworks, tussling with Sgt. Thomas Minton of the 26th North Carolina about who would carry the colors forward. [13]

Hancock desperately galloped from one threatened point to the next, attempting to rally his men. At one point his horse dropped from under him and, assuming that it had been killed, Hancock proceeded on foot. The horse later jumped to its feet, having been temporarily paralyzed by a glancing blow to the spine, and Hancock remounted. He shouted, "We can beat them yet. Don't leave me, for God's sake!" As he witnessed the men of his once proud corps reluctant to retake their positions from the enemy, he remarked to a colonel, "I do not care to die, but I pray God I may never leave this field." [14]

By this time, Hampton's cavalry was making progress against Gibbon's infantry to the south, launching a surprise dismounted attack that caused many of Gibbon's men to flee or surrender. This allowed Hampton to flank Miles. Hancock ordered a counterattack, which provided time to allow for an orderly Union withdrawal to Petersburg after dark. [15]

Aftermath

The agony of that day never died from that proud soldier [Hancock], who, for the first time, saw his lines broken and his guns taken.

Col. Charles H. Morgan, Hancock's chief of staff [16]

Union casualties were 2,747 (the II Corps lost 117 killed, 439 wounded, 2,046 missing/captured; the cavalry lost 145); Confederate casualties were 814 (Hampton's cavalry lost 16 killed, 75 wounded, 3 missing; Hill's infantry 720 total). [3] Although the Confederates had won a clear victory, they had lost a vital piece of the Petersburg Railroad and from this point on they would be able to transport supplies by rail only as far north as Stony Creek Depot, 16 miles (26 km) south of Petersburg. From that point, supplies had to be unloaded and wagon trains would have to travel through Dinwiddie Court House and then on the Boydton Plank Road to get the supplies into Petersburg. The South Side Railroad was the only railroad left to supply Petersburg and Lee's army. [17]

Grant and Meade were generally satisfied with the results of their operations against the Petersburg Railroad, despite the tactical setback suffered by Hancock. [18] Meade wrote,

These frequent affairs are gradually thinning both armies, and if we can only manage to make the enemy lose more than we do, we will win in the long run, but unfortunately, the offensive being forced on us, causes us to seek battle on the enemy's terms, and our losses are accordingly the greatest, except when they come out and attack, as recently, when they always get the worst of it. [19]

The siege of Petersburg and its trench warfare continued. The next major combat would be seen in late September as two Union attacks proceeded in parallel: at New Market Heights, north of the James (the Battle of Chaffin's Farm), and south at the Battle of Peebles' Farm, against the South Side Railroad. [20]

Battlefield preservation

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 293 acres (1.19 km2) of the battlegrounds at Ream's Station through late November 2021. [21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Kennedy, p. 360: 7,000 II Corps, 2,000 Gregg's cavalry division.
  2. ↑ Kennedy, p. 360.
  3. 1 2 3 Trudeau, p. 189 cites for the Union, 117 killed, 439 wounded, 2,046 missing/captured for II Corps and 145 casualties total for the cavalry, and for the Confederates, 16 killed, 75 wounded, 3 missing in Hampton's cavalry and 720 casualties in Hill's infantry. Kennedy, p. 362, cites 2,742 Union casualties, 814 Confederate. Salmon, p. 428, cites 2,700 Union casualties, about 2,000 of which were captured, and "about 800" Confederate. Eicher, p. 725, cites Union casualties of 2,372 (with "many" prisoners), Confederate 720. Horn, p. 151, cites "more than 2,700" Union, 720 Confederate. Davis, p. 109, cites 2,400 Union casualties, 2,150 of which were prisoners.
  4. ↑ Trudeau, pp. 160–64; Salmon, p. 424.
  5. ↑ Davis, p. 104.
  6. ↑ Trudeau, pp. 176–77; Horn, p. 141; Salmon, p. 426; Davis, p. 104.
  7. ↑ Located at the currently unincorporated community of Reams, Virginia, 7 miles (11 km) south of Petersburg, this railroad station is referred to variously as Reams, Ream's, and Reams's Station.
  8. ↑ Horn, p. 141; Trudeau, pp. 178–79, 182; Kennedy, p. 360; Salmon, p. 427; Davis, pp. 105–07, describes the earthworks as three sides of a square, each side roughly 1,000 yards (910 m) long.
  9. ↑ Trudeau, pp. 179, 181–86; Salmon, p. 428; Davis, p. x; Horn, p. 141.
  10. ↑ Salmon, p. 428; Trudeau, pp. 181–82.
  11. ↑ Horn, pp. 141–42; Trudeau, pp. 183–85; Calkins, np.; Kennedy, p. 360-62; Davis, pp. 105–07.
  12. ↑ Horn, pp. 142–44; Trudeau, pp. 185–86.
  13. ↑ Trudeau, pp. 186–88; Davis, p. 108; Salmon, p. 428; Calkins, np.; Kennedy, p. 360-62.
  14. ↑ Davis, p. 108; Trudeau, p. 188.
  15. ↑ Salmon, p. 428; Horn, pp. 148–50; Calkins, np.; Kennedy, p. 360-62; Trudeau, p. 188; Davis, p. 109.
  16. ↑ Davis, p. 1102.
  17. ↑ Trudeau, p. 190; Calkins, np.; Kennedy, p. 362.
  18. ↑ Davis, p. 110.
  19. ↑ Trudeau, p. 190.
  20. ↑ Salmon, pp. 429–36.
  21. ↑ American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed November 29, 2021.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Spotsylvania Court House</span> 1864 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania, was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged from Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army and moved to the southeast, attempting to lure Lee into battle under more favorable conditions. Elements of Lee's army beat the Union army to the critical crossroads of the Spotsylvania Court House in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and began entrenching. Fighting occurred on and off from May 8 through May 21, 1864, as Grant tried various schemes to break the Confederate line. In the end, the battle was tactically inconclusive, but both sides declared victory. The Confederacy declared victory because they were able to hold their defenses. The United States declared victory because the Federal offensive continued and Lee's army suffered losses that could not be replaced. With almost 32,000 casualties on both sides, Spotsylvania was the costliest battle of the campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cold Harbor</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign, and is remembered as one of American history's most lopsided battles. Thousands of Union soldiers were killed or wounded in the frontal assault of June 3 against the fortified positions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, an event that compounded the image of Grant's apparent disregard for high casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Petersburg</span> Battle 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 encircled with fortifications blocking all routes of ingress and egress, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lieutenant General 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 General 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Five Forks</span> 1865 battle during the American Civil War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Fort Stedman</span> 1865 battle of the American Civil War in Petersburg, Virginia

The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon. The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon's men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overland Campaign</span> 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, towards the end of 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Chaffin's Farm</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought in Virginia on September 29–30, 1864, as part of the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Petersburg</span> 1864 battle of the American Civil War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Battle of Petersburg</span> Battle of the American Civil War

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 Virginia in the area 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appomattox campaign</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Totopotomoy Creek</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, also called the Battle of Bethesda Church, Crumps Creek, Shady Grove Road, and Hanovertown, was fought in Hanover County, Virginia on May 28–30, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of North Anna</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the North Anna River in central Virginia rather than a general engagement between the armies. The individual actions are sometimes separately known as: Telegraph Road Bridge and Jericho Mills ; Ox Ford, Quarles Mill, and Hanover Junction.

The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, also known as the First Battle of the Weldon Railroad, took place during the American Civil War fought June 21–23, 1864, near Petersburg, Virginia. It was the first of a series of battles during the Siege of Petersburg aimed at extending the Union siege lines to the west and cutting the rail lines supplying Petersburg. Two infantry corps of the Union Army of the Potomac attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad, but were attacked and driven off by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's Third Corps, principally the division of Brig. Gen. William Mahone. The inconclusive battle left the Weldon Railroad temporarily in Confederate hands, but the Union Army began to extend its fortifications to the west, starting to increase the pressure of the siege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Globe Tavern</span> 1864 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under Major General Gouverneur K. Warren destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under General P.G.T. Beauregard and Lieutenant General A.P. Hill. It was the first Union victory in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. It forced the Confederates to carry their supplies 30 miles (48 km) by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Namozine Church</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Namozine Church was an engagement in Amelia County, Virginia, between Union Army and Confederate States Army forces that occurred on April 3, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was the first engagement between units of General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia after that army's evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, and units of the Union Army under the immediate command of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, who was still acting independently as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, and under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The forces immediately engaged in the battle were brigades of the cavalry division of Union Brig. Gen. and Brevet Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, especially the brigade of Colonel and Brevet Brig. Gen. William Wells, and the Confederate rear guard cavalry brigades of Brig. Gen. William P. Roberts and Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer and later in the engagement, Confederate infantry from the division of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bristoe Station</span> 1863 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Bristoe Station was fought on October 14, 1863, at Bristoe Station, Virginia, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill during the Bristoe Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union II Corps under Warren was able to surprise and repel the Confederate attack by Hill on the Union rearguard, resulting in a Union victory.

The Second Battle of Deep Bottom, also known as Fussell's Mill, New Market Road, Bailey's Creek, Charles City Road, or White's Tavern, was fought August 14–20, 1864, at Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Virginia, during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

The Battle of Amelia Springs, Virginia was an engagement between the Union Army and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia that occurred on April 5, 1865 during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. It was followed by a second rear guard action near the same location on the night of April 5, 1865 and morning of April 6, 1865 during the Union Army pursuit of the Confederate forces which were fleeing westward after the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia at the Third Battle of Petersburg on April 2, 1865. The actions took place just prior to the Battle of Sailor's Creek on April 6, 1865. That battle would be the last major engagement between the Union Army under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before that Confederate army's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Deep Bottom</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The First Battle of Deep Bottom, also known as Darbytown, Strawberry Plains, New Market Road, or Gravel Hill, was fought July 27–29, 1864, at Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under Maj. Gens. Winfield S. Hancock and Philip H. Sheridan was sent on an expedition threatening Richmond, Virginia, and its railroads, intending to attract Confederate troops away from the Petersburg defensive line, in anticipation of the upcoming Battle of the Crater. The Union infantry and cavalry force was unable to break through the Confederate fortifications at Bailey's Creek and Fussell's Mill and was withdrawn, but it achieved its desired effect of momentarily reducing Confederate strength at Petersburg.

References

37°05′45″N77°25′21″W / 37.0959°N 77.4226°W / 37.0959; -77.4226

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.