BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Petersburg -- Hatcher's Run

VA -- Petersburg -- Hatcher's Run:

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[1] HATCHR_091227_01.JPG	[2] HATCHR_091227_05.JPG	[3] HATCHR_091227_09.JPG
[4] HATCHR_091227_12.JPG	[5] HATCHR_091227_20.JPG	[6] HATCHR_091227_23.JPG
[7] HATCHR_091227_28.JPG	[8] HATCHR_091227_36.JPG	[9] HATCHR_091227_40.JPG
[10] HATCHR_091227_43.JPG	[11] HATCHR_091227_47.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HATCHR_091227_01.JPG: (State Historical Marker) S-63 Battle of Hatcher's Run 5-7 February 1865 Hoping to cut Lee's supply route into Petersburg, in February 1865 Grant ordered two army corps led by Major Generals Gouverneur K. Warren and Andrew A. Humphreys to seize the Boydton Plank Road. The Confederate corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon successfully blocked Warren's attacks at nearby Dabney's Mill on 6-7 February, and Warren's corps withdrew to its previous position. The brief Union campaign enabled Grant to extend his lines, and cost the Confederates the life of Brig. Gen. John Pegram on 6 February.
2. HATCHR_091227_12.JPG: (Civil War Preservation Trust sign) The Battle of Hatcher's Run Fighting Around Dabney's Sawmill, February 6-7, 1865 On February 6, the Union forces pressed onward towards the South Side Railroad. Around 1 p.m., Major General Gouverneur K. Warren's Fifth Corps sent out two divisions under the leadership of Major General Samuel Crawford and Major General Romeyn Ayres to reconnoiter south of Hatcher's Run. Their left was to be protected by David M. Gregg's cavalry along the Vaughan Road at its crossing of Gravelly Run. Confronting the Federals this day were two divisions of Gordon's Corps led by generals John Pegram and Clement Evans. Confederate cavalry under command of Major General William H.F. "Rooney" Lee supported them. As fighting began around the sawdust pile left by Dabney's steam sawmill, the two forces grappled, each gaining then losing ground. The Federals fatally wounded General Pegram who had to be carried from the field. The left flank of Crawford's line collapsed and his Confederates were forced back. Only the arrival of Ayres' forces on the battlefield prevented a rout. The Southerners were preparing a counter-attack when Warren's line finally gave way and the Federal Fifth Corps fell back to the Vaughan Road. The dark of nightfall and foul weather ended the fighting on February 6. After a miserable night in the freezing woods, Warren sent troops out to reconnoiter the battlefield and found the Southerners entrenched across the area in front of you. The armies skirmished, and another Confederate general, Gilbert Moxley Sorrel, was wounded, but a major attack never developed. Ultimately, the Federals withdrew from the field. The Confederates had successfully defended their lifelines to Petersburg from yet another Union offensive and the supply routes remained safe for the time being. (Sidebar): The Death of General John Pegram. During the battle on February 6 and somewhere near the sawdust pile, Confederate General John Pegram gave his life. The 33-year-old was "riding immediately with his troops" when shot through the body near his heart. John was a native son of Petersburg and the brother of the famed artillerist Colonel William "Willie" R.J. Pegram who also would be mortally wounded less than two months later on April 1 at nearby Five Forks. John had just married Hettie Cary the lovely "belle of Richmond" on January 19. The marriage was the talk of the Confederate capital as he was considered "one of the handsomest and most lovable men" ever to wed "the handsomest woman in the Southland – with her classic face, her pure complexion, her auburn hair, her perfect figure and carriage…" She was staying with her mother when his body arrived from the battlefield and she was told of the general's demise. Kyd Douglas, its original bearer, sadly noted "a fiancée of three years, a bride of three weeks, now a widow!" Even this happy occasion and brief respite from the war weariness felt by Southern civilians came quickly to a fateful end at Hatcher's Run.
3. HATCHR_091227_20.JPG: The Death of General John Pegram. During the battle on February 6 and somewhere near the sawdust pile, Confederate General John Pegram gave his life. The 33-year-old was "riding immediately with his troops" when shot through the body near his heart. John was a native son of Petersburg and the brother of the famed artillerist Colonel William "Willie" R.J. Pegram who also would be mortally wounded less than two months later on April 1 at nearby Five Forks. John had just married Hettie Cary the lovely "belle of Richmond" on January 19. The marriage was the talk of the Confederate capital as he was considered "one of the handsomest and most lovable men" ever to wed "the handsomest woman in the Southland – with her classic face, her pure complexion, her auburn hair, her perfect figure and carriage…" She was staying with her mother when his body arrived from the battlefield and she was told of the general's demise. Kyd Douglas, its original bearer, sadly noted "a fiancée of three years, a bride of three weeks, now a widow!" Even this happy occasion and brief respite from the war weariness felt by Southern civilians came quickly to a fateful end at Hatcher's Run.
4. HATCHR_091227_23.JPG: Near this spot Brigadier General John Pegram was killed in the Battle of Hatcher's Run on February 6, 1865
5. HATCHR_091227_28.JPG: (Civil War Preservation Trust sign) The Battle of Hatcher's Run To Cut the Remaining Supply Lines, February 5-7, 1865 By early 1865 the Federal army's two remaining objectives along the Petersburg front were the Boydton Plank Road, an intermediate wagon supply route into the city, and the South Side Railroad, a major transportation artery from Lynchburg and the Shenandoah Valley. Union forces had already cut the Weldon Railroad as far south as Hicksford (now Emporia), forcing the Confederates to unload supplies at the station there, load them on wagons, and haul them cross-country through the Meherrin River valley to the plank road. This route took them through Dinwiddie Court House on their way to Petersburg. On February 5, in the seventh offensive movement of the Union siege of Petersburg, Federal commander Ulysses S. Grant sent Brigadier General David McMurtrie Gregg's cavalry division, supported by Major General Andrew A. Humphreys' Second Corps and Major General Gouverneur K. Warren's Fifth Corps, toward Dinwiddie Court House to cut the Confederate supply line. Upon reaching the Hatcher's Run area, Humphreys took position north of the stream at the Vaughan Road crossing and Armstrong's Mill. His corps would guard the rest of the army from this location. Humphreys' men began entrenching across a small creek known as Rocky Branch. Meanwhile, Confederate Brigadier General Henry Heth's division, supported on the right by Brigadier General Clement Evans' division of Major General John B. Gordon's Second Corps, prepared to attack. Beginning about 3:45 p.m. and lasting more than an hour, the Confederates made three unsuccessful assaults on Humphrey's line. Though unable to break the Federals, the Southerners continued with sporadic artillery fire until dark. With Humphrey's corps hold the Southerners at Hatcher's Run, Gregg's cavalry was able to reach the Boydton Plank Road. The Federal horsemen captured fewer than two-dozen wagons before being ordered back to the Vaughan Road with Warren's troops. The plank road having been scouted, Grant now gave the order to push on for the South Side Railroad. He also sent reinforcements from the Sixth and Ninth Corps to strengthen Humphreys' position.
Wikipedia Description: Battle of Hatcher's Run
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Hatcher's Run (February 5 – February 7, 1865) (also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road) was one in a series of Union offensives during the Siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate supply traffic on Boydton Plank Road and Weldon Railroad west of Petersburg, Virginia.

The Union plan was to send Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry out to the Boydton Plank Road to destroy as many Confederate supply wagons as they could find while the V Corps and II Corps provided support and kept the Confederates occupied to the north and east.

On February 5, Gregg's cavalry division rode west to Dinwiddie Court House and the Boydton Plank Road via the Malone Road two miles south of Ream's Station. The V Corps, under the command of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, rode southwest towards Dinwiddie Courthouse via Rowanty Post Office/Billup's Post Office (Old Stage Road) one mile north of Ream's Station. The V Corps crossed Rowanty Creek at Monk's Neck Bridge and took up a blocking position on the Vaughan Road between Gravelly and Little Cattail Runs to protect Gregg's right flank and prevent interference with the operations. Two divisions of the II Corps under Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys moved from the Halifax Road down the Vaughn Road to Hatcher's Run and shifted west to Armstrong's Mill north of the Run to cover Warren’s right flank. Late in the day, Confederate Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon attacked the II Corps from the north and attempted to turn Humphreys' right flank near the mill, but was repulsed. During the night, the II Corps was reinforced by both the V Corps and Gregg's cavalry, which had returned to the Vaughan Road after finding little supply wagon traffic on the Boydton Plank Road. This extended the Union line south of Hatcher's Run.

On February 6, the V Corps lines were attacked by elements of Confederate Brig. Gen. John Pegram's Division. The Confederates were driven back, but a counterattack by Confederate Brig. Gen. Clement A. Evans stopped the Union advance. Later in the day Pegram's and Maj. Gen. William Mahone's divisions attacked the Union center near Dabney's Mill south of Hatcher's Run. The Union line collapsed under the attack, but reformed the the north of the mill, parallel to Hatcher's Run. Pegram was killed in the action.

On February 7, Warren launched an offensive and drove back the Confederates, recapturing most of the Union lines around Dabney's Mill that had been lost the day before.

Although the Union advance was stopped, the Federals extended their siegeworks to the Vaughan Road crossing of Hatcher's Run. The Confederates kept the Boydton Plank Road open, but were forced to extend their thinning lines.
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