Wilson’s orders were to destroy the Richmond and Danville Railroad to the greatest extent possible

Wilson’s orders were to destroy the Richmond and Danville Railroad to the greatest extent possible. . Brigadier General James H. Wilson and his Third Division, as well as Brigadier General August V. Kautz’s small cavalry division of the Army of the James, had participated in Grant’s railroad-breaking expeditions from the beginning. The received word from Grant that they were to lead the raid on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. , Unprepared for the difficult job ahead of them, Wilson and Kautz’s divisions reluctantly began their trek. The days leading to the battle of Staunton River Bridge sirekt trued the Union Cavalry, they had been forced to march in the worst heat in years. They were parched, hot, and exhausted and were being [unreadable]. , From the beginning of the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 to the end of the war a year later at Appomattox, General Ulysses S. Grant’s desire was to destroy the railroads that kept the people of Richmond and Petersburg fed and gave General Robert E. Lee the road and supplies he needed to continue fighting. Grant’s one goal was to destroy Lee’s fighting capacity.