Battles For The Weldon Railroad

After Union General Ulysses S. Grant's Third Petersburg Offensive failed at the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864, his Fourth Petersburg Offensive in August again focused on capturing the Weldon Railroad. On August 18, Union General Gouverneur Warren's Fifth Corps occupied the tracks, but the next day Warren tried to connect his corps with the permanent Union line near Jerusalem Plank Road, stretching his troops too far and leaving a large gap between his far-right flank, manned by the Iron Brigade, and the rest of his corps. Confederate General William Mahone exploited this weakness with a makeshift division of three brigades, barely 4,000 men, moving by way of Lieutenant Run ravine to the woods east of Johnson Road. His afternoon assault scattered the Iron Brigade and rolled up Warren's corps almost to the railroad, but Warren called on the Ninth Corps to counterattack and Mahone's men withdrew. On August 19, Warren lost some 2,900 men, including more than 2,500 prisoners. Two days later, Mahone attacked Warren again from points west of the railroad with five brigades, but this attack failed. Grant's Fourth Petersburg Offensive gave the Union permanent control of the Weldon Railroad, an important turning point in the Petersburg Campaign.

Petersburg, Virginia · United States