On 8 May 1864, Jarratt's Station, a nearby depot on the Petersburg Railroad, was attacked in a Union cavalry raid. Brig. Gen. August V. Kautz led his division on a series of raids in early May to cut the railroad from Petersburg to Weldon, North Carolina. Kautz's cavalry tore up the road in several locations, destroyed bridges, and burned the depot at Jarratt's Station on 8 May. The raids slowed the flow of supplies to Lee's army in Richmond and Petersburg.