The Federal Armies of the Potomac and the James continued their grueling siege of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Petersburg and Richmond. The Federals had deprived the Confederates of a key supply line when they seized the Weldon Railroad south of Petersburg last year. Now Federal General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant got word that the Confederates were getting supplies from North Carolina via the Boydton Plank Road. Seizing this road would not only cut the Confederates’ supply line, but it would close a potential westward escape route.
Peace talks were taking place at Hampton Roads, but President Abraham Lincoln told Grant not to let them “cause any change, hindrance or delay, of your military plans or operations.” Grant therefore moved forward with plans to capture the Boydton Plank Road. He wrote to Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac in the southwestern sector of the siege line, on February 4:
“I would like to take advantage of the present good weather to destroy or capture as much as possible of the enemy’s wagon train, which it is understood is being used in connection with the Weldon railroad to partially supply the troops about Petersburg. You may get the cavalry ready to do this as soon as possible. I think the cavalry should start at 3 a.m. either tomorrow or the following day, carrying one and a half days’ forage and three days’ rations with them. They should take no wagons and but few ambulances. Let the Second Corps move at the same time, but independent of the cavalry, as far south as Stony Creek Station, to remain there until the cavalry has done the enemy all the harm it can and returns to that point.”
Grant advised Meade to deploy the Fifth Corps along with the Second, moving “it by a road west of the one taken by the latter, and to go but about half way to Stony Creek, unless required to do so to meet movements of the enemy.” Meade suggested leaving a division of the Second Corps to face the Confederates on the siege line while sending the Fifth Corps forward to Stony Creek, with the rest of the Second moving in support. The expedition would involve 35,000 Federals. Grant agreed.
At 3 a.m. on the 5th, Brigadier-General David M. Gregg’s Federal cavalry division headed out in a bitterly cold rain. They rode west to Ream’s Station on the Weldon Railroad, turned south, and then turned west again, sporadically skirmishing with Confederate patrols before arriving at Dinwiddie Court House around noon.
The Second and Fifth corps, commanded by Major-Generals Andrew A. Humphreys and Gouverneur Warren respectively, moved west on parallel roads, with Warren south of Humphreys. Warren’s Federals crossed Rowanty Creek and stopped on the Vaughan Road to cover Gregg’s right flank. Humphreys’ troops moved down the Vaughan Road to Hatcher’s Run and covered Warren’s right flank.
Humphreys deployed his troops about 1,000 yards in front of the Confederate defenses. The defenses were manned by Major-General Henry Heth’s division and part of Major-General John B. Gordon’s Second Corps recently returned from the Shenandoah Valley. The Confederates were caught off guard and offered little resistance at first. The Confederates finally came out of their trenches around 5 p.m. and advanced to drive the Federals off.
General Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederate army, was informed during church services in Petersburg that enemy forces had crossed Hatcher’s Run at the Vaughan Road. Lee took communion and then rode off to his headquarters. He informed the War Department of the fight and told his artillery chief: “The enemy are advancing on the Vaughan Road, cavalry and infantry crossing at Hatcher’s Run. This may be a strong movement. Have the artillery on the whole line on the alert and in readiness for any emergency.”
Lee then warned Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, commanding the northern sector of the siege line, that the Federals might resume their practice of feigning in one sector while attacking another. Longstreet passed this down to his officers and warned that Lee “anticipates a simultaneous move on our left.”
Meanwhile, fighting continued in the southwestern sector. Both sides stood their ground and exchanged fire for about a half-hour, but then the Federal line started wavering. Some men joined to sing “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” which rallied the troops. They formed a new line and withstood three Confederate charges before both sides disengaged for the night.
When Grant received word of this engagement, he saw an opportunity to seize not only the Boydton Plank Road but the vital South Side Railroad beyond. He wrote Meade, “If we can follow the enemy up, although it was not contemplated before, it may lead to getting the South Side road, or a position from which it can be reached.” Meanwhile, Federals from Gregg’s and Warren’s commands reinforced Humphreys during the night, and the Federal line now extended south of Hatcher’s Run.
Warren’s Federals scouted the Confederate positions near Gravelly Run and Dabney’s Mill on the 6th. The Confederates fell back to their main defenses, and Gordon dispatched Brigadier-General John Pegram’s division to probe the Dabney’s Mill area, east of the Boydton Plank Road. Federals and Confederates met during their respective probing actions, and a fierce Confederate attack in a small area of about 500 yards drove the Federals back to their main force.
Gordon sent in Brigadier-General Clement A. Evans’s division on Pegram’s left. Evans’s Confederates drove the Federals back until two brigades came forward to stabilize the line and push the Confederates back. Major-General Joseph Finegan’s Confederate division arrived next and attacked, causing the Federal line to buckle. During this assault, Pegram was killed by a Federal sharpshooter. Pegram had been a promising young officer who was just married last month in Richmond’s society event of the year.
Nevertheless, the Confederate assault began overwhelming the Federals, and many fled the field. Only nightfall and freezing rain prevented a Federal rout. The Confederates halted and took coats from dead soldiers for warmth, and the Federals fell back to the line beside Humphreys’ divisions. The Federals still held the south bank of Hatcher’s Run. Meade reported to Grant:
“Warren’s troops were compelled to retire in considerable confusion. They enemy was, however, checked before reaching the position occupied this morning, Vaughan road was recalled when the others were forced back. The troops are now formed in the lines occupied this morning. The fighting has been determined, principally in dense woods, and the losses considerable, particularly in the column compelled to retire. I am not able at present to give an estimate of them.”
Bibliography
- Bearss, Edwin C. with Suderow, Bryce, The Petersburg Campaign: The Western Front Battles, September 1864-April 1865, Volume II. El Dorado Hills, Calif.: Savas Beattie LLC; Casemate Publishers, Kindle Edition, 2012.
- Civil War Trust: Battle of Hatcher’s Run
- Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Kindle Edition), 2011.
- Freeman, Douglas Southall, Lee. Scribner, (Kindle Edition), 2008.
- Korn, Jerry, Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983.
- Long, E.B. with Long, Barbara, The Civil War Day by Day. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971.
- Pollard, Edward A., Southern History of the War (facsimile of the 1866 edition). New York: Fairfax Press, 1990.
- Wert, Jeffry D. (Patricia L. Faust ed.), Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.
3 comments