The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road (also known as Burgess Mill or First Hatcher's Run), fought on October 27–28, 1864, followed the successful Battle of Peebles' Farm

Battle of Peebles' Farm

The Battle of Peebles' Farm was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, during the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...

 in the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It was an attempt by the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 to seize the Boydton Plank Road and cut the South Side Railroad, a critical supply line to Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

.

Background

At the Battle of Peebles' Farm

Battle of Peebles' Farm

The Battle of Peebles' Farm was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, during the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...

 earlier in October, the Union V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...

 had seized a portion of the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 works around Hatcher's Run. The entire II Corps

II Corps (ACW)

There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...

, under Maj. Gen.

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Winfield S. Hancock, was pulled out of the trenches and moved to operate against the Confederates' Boydton Line in conjunction with a simultaneous operation against the Richmond defenses along the Darbytown Road. The II Corps was reinforced by divisions from the V Corps, IX Corps

IX Corps (ACW)

IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...

, and Brig. Gen.

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 David McM. Gregg's cavalry division already operating in the area.

Battle

On October 27, Hancock marched across Hatcher's Run, brushed aside Confederate pickets and moved around the Confederate flank towards Burgess Mill. The division under Brig. Gen. Gershom Mott

Gershom Mott

Gershom Mott was a United States Army officer and a General in the Union Army, a commander in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-Early life:...

 crossed the Boydton Plank Road and attacked Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's

Wade Hampton III

Wade Hampton III was a Confederate cavalry leader during the American Civil War and afterward a politician from South Carolina, serving as its 77th Governor and as a U.S...

 Confederate cavalry threatening to cut it off from the main Confederate lines. Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill

A. P. Hill

Ambrose Powell Hill, Jr. , was a career U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars and a Confederate general in the American Civil War...

, who commanded the Confederate defenses in the area, reacted quickly to Hancock's threat. However, once his units moved to confront the Federals, Hill, in poor health, proved too sick to continue field command and turned over direction of his corps to Maj. Gen. Henry Heth

Henry Heth

Henry "Harry" Heth was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for inadvertently precipitating the Battle of Gettysburg, when he sent some of his troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to the small Pennsylvania village,...

. Heth put two divisions in Hancock's path, but the Federal commander drove up the Boydton Plank Road and pushed aside the opposing Confederates. At this time both Maj. Gen. George G. Meade and Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 rode out to the battlefield, where Meade immediately noticed a gap between Hancock and the V Corps. With the South Side Railroad still 6 miles (9.7 km) away, Meade realized that continuing the advance would only further isolate the II Corps, and so ordered Hancock to halt. Brig. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford

Samuel W. Crawford

Samuel Wylie Crawford was a United States Army surgeon and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...

's V Corps division was ordered to link with the II Corps but became caught up in the dense woods. General Grant, meanwhile, made a personal reconnaissance of the Confederate works and, after coming under fire, determined that the Confederates were too strong and called off the offensive.

Having never linked up with Crawford's division, Hancock's corps returned to Hatcher's Run crossing but found it blocked by Confederate cavalry. This left the entire II Corps isolated on the north side of Hatcher's Run without support. With the memory of Reams's Station

Second Battle of Ream's Station

The Second Battle of Ream's Station was fought during the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War on August 25, 1864, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock began destroying part of the Weldon Railroad, which was a vital supply line for Gen. Robert...

 infusing them, Heth and Hampton saw a golden opportunity to destroy the whole II Corps. Hancock's only line of retreat was the Dabney Mill Road, for which Heth was now aiming. Late in the afternoon, Brig. Gen. William Mahone

William Mahone

William Mahone was a civil engineer, teacher, soldier, railroad executive, and a member of the Virginia General Assembly and U.S. Congress. Small of stature, he was nicknamed "Little Billy"....

's division attacked through the same woods that had stopped Crawford and seized the Dabney Mill Road, while a Confederate cavalry division under Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee , known as Rooney Lee or W.H.F. Lee, was the second son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Randolph Custis. He was a planter, a Confederate cavalry General in the American Civil War, and later a member of the U.S. Congress.-Early life:Lee was born at Arlington House in...

 moved up behind the Federals. Mahone moved so far around the Federal flank that Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Egan

Thomas W. Egan

Thomas Wilberforce Egan was a Union Army officer who led the Mozart Regiment during most of the American Civil War, later becoming a general.-Early life :...

's II Corps division was forced to completely change fronts. Hancock was now surrounded on 3 sides with no line of retreat. But unlike at Reams's Station, the II Corps did not panic, and Hancock seized the initiative. Mahone had almost been too successful and found his division isolated in turn. Hancock ordered an attack on both Confederate flanks. Hampton failed to hold off the Union cavalry and Gregg was able to move up and aid in routing Mahone. The tables had thus turned and the Confederates, now threatened with encirclement, retreated up the Boydton Plank Road. Hancock retained his hold on the Boydton Plank Road and Grant left to him the decision whether to remain or withdraw to the initial Union lines. Although Hancock had repulsed the Confederate attack, his position was still very unstable. That night Hancock marched his men back to their original position.

Aftermath

With October nearly over, both armies settled into winter quarters. The Confederates maintained their hold on the Boydton Plank Road throughout the winter. Hancock had won a tactical victory over Heth's Confederates, partially erasing the stain of the rout at Reams's Station. No further significant action occurred on any front around Petersburg for the rest of the year.

The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road marked the last battle of two distinguished Union generals in the Army of the Potomac. The following month, Winfield Hancock resigned from field command due to complications with the wound he received at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

. Then in January 1865, David McM. Gregg unexpectedly resigned his command. His letter of resignation alluded to an anxiety of being away from his home. Meade's chief-of-staff, Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys

Andrew A. Humphreys

Andrew Atkinson Humphreys , was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union General in the American Civil War. He served in senior positions in the Army of the Potomac, including division command, chief of staff, and corps command, and was Chief Engineer of the U.S...

, assumed command of the II Corps and would resume the offensive against the Boydton Plank Road

Battle of Hatcher's Run

The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, 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 the Weldon...

in February of the following year.