Staunton Bridge Action

On 22 June 1864, more than 5,000 Union cavalrymen under Brig. Gens. James Wilson and August Kautz left Petersburg, newly under siege, to cut Confederate supply lines. Moving along the South Side and Richmond & Danville Railroads, they tore up track and burned stations. On 25 June they tried to destroy the railroad bridge over the Staunton River, about six miles west of here. Confederate troops under Capt. Benjamin Farinholt, aided by local men and boys, repulsed four attacks. The Federals retreated toward Petersburg with the bridge intact. The Confederates repaired the damaged railroad track and supply lines to the city.

Virginia · United States