While only minor skirmishes occur this day, in Virginia Union General Ulysses S. Grant orders Major General Phil Sheridan‘s force of some 10,000 cavalry to move south of Winchester on a mission to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad and James River Canal. In addition, Sheridan is tasked with capturing Lynchburg, if possible. Indeed, with Sherman…
The three-day Battle of Hatcher’s Run, fought in and around the trenches of Petersburg, is over. Despite having briefly broken through the Union lines, the Confederates lose the battle, gaining no ground in their defeat. Today Confederate General Robert E. Lee offers a stark assessment of the battle. His men having fought in severe winter…
In the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia that begins this day, Union forces fail to cut off several Confederate supply routes during the Siege of Petersburg. The fighting goes on for three days in a pitched battle, after which the two sides settle back down into their former positions. The Federals, however, do manage to…