| Hatcher's
Run, Virginia
 The
three-day engagement known as the Battle of Hatcher's
Run took place February 5-7, 1865. Union General U.S.
Grant's two main objectives in his 1865 winter offensive
were, first, to block Robert E. Lee's supply route
on the Boydton Plank Road and, second, to take control
of the last remaining railroad furnishing Petersburg,
the South Side. The Federal forces involved were General
David N. Gregg's cavalry division and Andrew Humphreys'
II Corps.
Confederates opposing them were General Henry Heth's
division and John Gordon's Second Corps (Clement Evans'
and John Pegram's divisions), which had recently returned
from the Shenandoah Valley.
When Lee received word of the movement, he sent
Heth's and Evans' divisions out of their positions
to attack the Federals. General Humphreys entrenched
his ground for the next couple of days. On the 6th,
Gordon - supported by General W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's
cavalry - moved out to stop Warren's V Corps from
moving toward the Boydton Plank Road.
Fighting in wooded terrain, the forces pushed each
other back and forth between Dabney's sawmill and
the Vaughan Road. At some point during the fighting,
John Pegram was killed. Gordon was now reinforced
by William Mahone's division, commanded by General
Joseph Finegan. Grant also sent help to this expedition
in the form of reinforcements from the VI and IX Corps.
That night snow, hail, and sleet fell on the troops
as the men began constructing slight rail breastworks.
The 7th was spent by Warren reconnoitering Gordon's
position, but no major fighting took place on this
day. Confederate General Moxley Sorrel was wounded
in the skirmishing. The Southerners had stopped Grant's
seventh offensive.
Although the Federals did not achieve their goal,
they were now able to extend their entrenchment lines
to the Vaughan Road Crossing of Hatcher's Run. This
would put them three miles closer to the South Side
Railroad.
Grant sent 34,000 men on this expedition and was
stopped by about 14,000 Southerners. The Confederates
lost about 1,000 men, while the Federals lost 171
killed, 1,181 wounded, and 187 missing. This battle
was called by one Confederate soldier, "preliminary
skirmishing on the 5th, a sanguinary on the 6th, followed
up by the enemy feebly on the 7th."
The Civil War Preservation
Trust has given $65,000 towards the preservation of
50 acres at this site, which includes a small granite
monument to Confederate General John Pegram, who was
killed nearby.
To reach the site, from I-85 Southwest
of Petersburg, get off at the Route 1 South exit just
past the Squirrel Level Road exit. Drive approximately
5 miles until you come to Dabney Mill Road (Route
613) on the left (you pass Rt. 613 on the right earlier
which is called White Oak Road), turn. Proceed about
two and a half miles, watching for the state historical
marker on the right side of the road.
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