The siege outside Richmond and Petersburg continued through the second half of October. Federal General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant hosted Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in mid-month and believed that a successful attack on General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate defenses could aid President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection chances. But Grant’s chief engineer told him that the only chance of success would be on Lee’s right flank, below Petersburg, and it would require at least 40,000 men.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet returned to duty as Lee’s top corps commander in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Longstreet had been severely wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness, which partially paralyzed his right arm and forced him to learn to write with his left hand. Longstreet’s corps had since been commanded by Lieutenant-General Richard H. Anderson and defended the siege lines north of the James River. Lee gave Anderson command of a new, unofficial fourth corps, which consisted of two divisions. Its duty was to guard Petersburg against a direct assault should the siege lines be broken.
The siege lines now stretched from north of the James (southeast of Richmond), southward around the east and south of Petersburg, and then curled to the southwest below the city. The Federals had not been able to cut either the Boydton Plank Road or the South Side Railroad, which entered Petersburg from the southwest and west to supply Lee’s Confederates.
On October 23, Grant met with Major-Generals George G. Meade and Benjamin F. Butler, commanding the Armies of the Potomac and the James respectively. For the first time, Grant planned to attack both ends of the Confederate line at the same time, with Butler attacking Lee’s left in front of Richmond and Meade attacking Lee’s right outside Petersburg.
Meade suggested using three of his corps against the vulnerable Boydton Plank Road. And if the road was captured, the Federals could continue pushing forward and seize the South Side Railroad, Lee’s last rail line for supplies. Grant thought it over and issued orders to Meade the next day:
- Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Second Corps on the left would cross Hatcher’s Run on the Vaughan Road and then move north to seize the Boydton Plank Road.
- Major-General John G. Parke’s Ninth Corps on the right would attack the Confederates defending the road north of Hatcher’s Run.
- Major-General Gouverneur Warren’s Fifth Corps and a cavalry division under Brigadier-General David M. Gregg would join Parke should his corps break through; otherwise they would join Hancock.
The attack force consisted of 43,000 Federals, while the Confederate defenders numbered no more than 12,000. Grant directed Meade, “Make your preparations to march out at an early hour on the 27th to gain possession of the South Side Railroad, and to hold it and fortify back to your present left…” On the 26th, Grant ordered Butler to lead elements of his Tenth and Eighteenth corps to the Darbytown Road and Fair Oaks, east of Richmond.
The Federals moved out southeast of Richmond and southwest of Petersburg on the 27th. Lee reported to Secretary of War James A. Seddon, “There… appears to be simultaneous movement on both flanks.” Confederate officials hurriedly put their last reserves in the defense lines. Longstreet’s troops held Lee’s left as Butler’s Federals moved along the Darbytown Road and north toward Fair Oaks.
Confederates under Major-Generals Charles W. Field and Robert F. Hoke repelled the Federal attackers and neutralized Fort Harrison in just a few hours. This was the easiest Confederate victory in this sector of the siege line to date. Butler lost 1,103 men, including about 600 taken prisoner, and 11 battle flags. Longstreet lost just 451.
Meanwhile, the Federal force southwest of Petersburg moved out at 7:30 a.m. in heavy rain. Hancock advanced as planned and seized the road near Burgess’ Mill by noon. Per his orders, Hancock waited there until Parke and Warren joined him. But Parke met strong resistance from Major-General Cadmus M. Wilcox’s Confederates, and Warren’s men struggled over the rough terrain before being repulsed by Wilcox south of Hatcher’s Run.
The failure of Parke and Warren to achieve a breakthrough left Hancock isolated. Lieutenant-General A.P. Hill, commanding the Confederates in this sector, directed a counterattack led by the infantry divisions of Major-Generals Henry Heth and William Mahone, along with Major-General Wade Hampton’s cavalry. They came upon Hancock’s flank, which Warren had not come up to protect. Hancock managed to fend off the assaults, and Meade let him decide whether to fall back or hold firm until Warren and Parke reinforced him.
Hancock consulted with Gregg, who “did not think it practicable to get ammunition up and issued to the men during the night.” Hancock also had no faith in either Warren or Parke to support an assault. Therefore, based on the opinion of an officer “so reliable and trustworthy as General Gregg,” Hancock decided “to order a withdrawal rather than risk disaster by awaiting an attack in the morning only partly prepared.”
The Federals sustained 1,758 casualties (166 killed, 1,028 wounded and 564 missing). Grant informed Stanton that he “had intended for more” with what he called a reconnaissance in force. Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman of Meade’s staff wrote that “it would be more fair to call it an ‘attempt,’ whose success depended on the enemy not having certain advantages of position. But they were found to have those advantages, and so here we are back again, nobody having fought much but Hancock… this attempt may be called a well-conducted fizzle…”
The Confederates lost about 1,000 men, a much greater proportion of those engaged (8 percent versus the Federals’ 4 percent). Confederate losses included two of Hampton’s sons, Lieutenants Wade (wounded) and Preston (killed).
On the morning of the 28th, the Confederates discovered that Hancock was gone and took back the Boydton Plank Road. This ended combat operations on the Richmond-Petersburg lines for the year. It ended in Confederate victory, but it came with losses that Lee could not afford to sustain. In addition, the works now stretched nearly 35 miles, from the Williamsburg road east of the Richmond down to Hatcher’s Run southwest of Petersburg. Both sides spent the fall and winter patrolling, picketing, sharpshooting, and continually strengthening defenses.
Bibliography
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