Robert E. Lee’s Confederates face significant reductions due to illness, casualties, and desertions while defending Petersburg and Richmond. Fighting erupts outside Richmond as Lee attempts to reclaim Fort Harrison.
Tag: August V. Kautz
The Battle of Chaffin’s Bluff
Benjamin F. Butler, commanding the Federal Army of the James, plans to send 20,000 men north to seize Confederate Forts Harrison and Gilmer, which make up a vital part of the Chaffin’s Bluff defenses southeast of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia.
The Battle of Ream’s Station
Ulysses S. Grant sends two Federal cavalry divisions to destroy Confederate supply lines outside Petersburg, Virginia. The raid does not go as planned.
The Second Battle of Petersburg
Some 10,000 Federal troops advance on just 2,200 Confederates defending the vital transportation center of Petersburg, south of Richmond. This becomes one of the Federals’ greatest opportunities to destroy the Confederates in Virginia and win the war.