In late June 1864, as Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia struggled to defend Petersburg, victory depended on a steady flow of supplies brought by rail from the west. To force Lee from Petersburg, Union Geneneral U. S. Grant ordered a cavalry raid to cut Southern supply lines by tearing up track and destroying railroad stations and bridges. On June 22, 1864, Union Generals James H. Wilson and August V. Kautz left Petersburg with more than 5,000 cavalry troops and 16 pieces of artillery to destroy track on the Richmond & Danville Railroad and burn the Staunton River Bridge. A battalion of 296 Confederate reserves under Capt. Benjamin Farinholt was stationed at the bridge, and after learning that a large enemy force was approaching, Farinholt urgently called for volunteers. Within days, his command gained 642 reinforcements, including about 150 Confederate regulars who were home on leave or in transit, among them Col. Henry E. Coleman on wounded furlough in Halifax, while the rest were local citizens either too old or too young for military service. On the oppressively hot afternoon of June 25, 1864, the Union cavalry reached Roanoke Station, where Farinholt’s badly outnumbered and outgunned forces, following Col. Coleman's defense strategy, repulsed four separate Union assaults and saved the bridge. The battle at the bridge became an important part of the heritage of Southside Virginia.