Village View

The original Petersburg and Weldon Railroad just west of Village View was a major supply line to the Confederate army in Petersburg and Richmond, and its importance led the Union army to attack it at Hicksford, now Emporia, in an operation that became known as the Apple Jack Raid. On December 7, 1864, Union Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren left Petersburg with 26,200 infantry and cavalry to destroy the rail line, striking it below Stony Creek, while Confederate forces under Gen. Wade Hampton organized resistance and established their main defense along the Meherrin River at the railroad crossing and around Belfield on the north bank and Hicksford on the south bank. Southern officers, including Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, met in Village View to discuss their plans. At midday on December 9, Union cavalry appeared at Belfield and tried to reach the railroad bridge, but entrenched Confederate cavalry stopped them and burned the nearby wagon bridge to prevent a crossing. Warren ended the attack that evening, and early the next morning Union forces began retreating to Petersburg while Confederate cavalry pursued them from a distance. As the Union troops withdrew through Sussex County, they committed depredations against local people, often under the influence of apple brandy known locally as apple jack, and suffered deadly consequences for these acts. About 16 miles of track were destroyed in the raid, creating an initial serious blow to Lee's supply line, but by early March 1865 the line had been reopened as far as Stony Creek, where supplies could be moved into Confederate lines by wagon.

Emporia, Virginia · United States