Fighting At Reams Station

In the summer of 1864, two battles of the Petersburg Campaign were fought at Reams Station for control of the Petersburg (Weldon) Railroad. Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederates defended Petersburg and its railroad connections to keep vital supplies flowing to his army, while Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces sought to destroy those supply lines. The first battle, fought here on June 29, 1864, ended in a Southern victory as Confederates attempted to intercept Federal cavalry returning to the Union lines. Grant then ordered Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's 2nd Corps to destroy the railroad around the Reams Station depot. On August 25, 1864, Confederates under Gen. A.P. Hill attacked Hancock's troops and won another victory, allowing limited supplies to continue reaching Lee's army. Pvt. Ulysses R. Brooks, CSA, later called it one of the most important engagements of 1864, arguing that if Hancock had secured and fortified a position at Reams Station and blocked communication by the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, Lee might have been forced to extend his already thin lines and possibly abandon his lines in front of Petersburg. During and after the August 25, 1864 battle, Oak Grove United Methodist Church served as a field hospital.

Virginia · United States