The Bermuda Hundred Campaign

After the Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant planned to shift the Army of the Potomac to the south side of the James River to capture Petersburg. On June 15th, the 18th Corps of the Army of the James crossed the Appomattox River and attacked the lightly defended Dimmock Line, capturing its eastern portion and prompting a frantic Confederate effort to reinforce Petersburg. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, realizing that Federals were attacking Petersburg in force, made the difficult decision to abandon the Howlett Line and send all available units to Petersburg, and by June 16th the Howlett Line was completely abandoned. On June 16th, pickets from the Army of the James reported that the Howlett Line was undefended, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler ordered the 10th Corps to take the Confederate positions and advance as far as possible. Howell's brigade moved along the Bermuda Hundred Road and turned north on the Stage Road, where it encountered Maj. Gen. George Pickett's Division rushing south from Richmond to Petersburg. After a short engagement, the Federals returned to their defensive earthworks. Late on June 16th, the 15th Virginia of Corse's Brigade recaptured this section of the Howlett Line. With darkness approaching, the 15th was more than a mile from supporting troops at Chester Station and in danger of discovery by an enemy with superior numbers. Forming a line, the regiment rushed out of the brush with a rebel yell and crossed an open field toward the Howlett house. The fight lasted 20 minutes before the startled Federals retreated to their lines at Bermuda Hundred. The men of the 15th then spent a sleepless night spread in a thin line along the earthworks, expecting a counterattack that never came. Early the next morning, the rest of Corse's Brigade and the brigades of Terry, Barton, and Hunton arrived and secured the remainder of the Howlett Line.

Virginia · United States