The Struggle Across Poor Creek

After the Union 9th Corps advanced, General John W. Turner's men from the 10th Corps moved into the Poor Creek bottom behind the Union picket line, which came down the hill, crossed upstream, and ran up the ridge. Under fire from North Carolinian troops, some crossed the stream and climbed the ridge in front of the Confederate works, reaching undergrowth from which they kept up a sharp fire on the enemy, as Turner reported. They did so after seeing United States Colored Troops capture Confederate trenches atop the ridge. As Turner's men were about to go up the hill, some of the United States Colored Troops, who had been in close-quarters combat with Confederates, retreated down the ridge, dashing through Turner's men with arms at trail and bayonets fixed. Colonel Louis Bell reported that quite a number of his men were wounded by the bayonets of the retreating troops. Turner's men were then forced back to the picket line where they had started.

Petersburg, Virginia · United States