Fort Hoke: Empty Victory

After capturing Fort Harrison on September 29, 1864, Union General Edward O.C. Ord directed an attack southward down the Confederate line toward Forts Hoke and Maury, whose fall would have opened the direct road to Richmond along the Osborne Turnpike. Ord was wounded almost immediately, but several hours later his men overwhelmed the Confederate defenders and captured Fort Hoke. The Union success was brief. Before dark, a strong Confederate force advanced as Federal troops were already abandoning the fort under orders to withdraw to Fort Harrison. Within days, Fort Hoke became the southern anchor of a new Confederate defensive line stretching north to Fort Johnson.

Virginia · United States