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Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Battle of Harmon Road

The Breakthrough Trail

— Pamplin Historical Park —

 
 
The Battle of Harmon Road Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, April 23, 2007
1. The Battle of Harmon Road Marker
Inscription. On the final day of the Battle of Peebles’ Farm, October 2, 1864, Union troops of Brigadier General Gershom Mott’s Third Division, Second Army Corps, moved against the Confederate breastworks at the Hart Farm. Mott had orders to determine if the trenches were vulnerable to an attack. The Federals met light resistance from Confederate cavalrymen as they marched up Duncan Road (which they called Harmon Road, after a home located near its intersection with Boydton Plank Road, today’s U.S. 1). Major General Henry Heth began rushing infantry units to the area to meet this threat.

Just as Mott’s soldiers advanced from the low ground across this field, North Carolinians of Brigadier General William MacRae’s Brigade filed into the works. Musketry and artillery fire repulsed the Union attack. About mid-afternoon, four Federal regiments under Lieutenant Colonel George Zinn moved forward again to test the strength of the Confederate defenses. Two more infantry brigades of Heth’s division had reinforced MacRae’s and easily halted this assault. Zinn received a severe leg wound, but his men removed him from the field. Fewer than 70 Union soldiers became casualties in what was dubbed the Battle of Harmon Road. Confederate losses are unknown but probably were light. Mott’s division withdrew to the area of Peebles’ Farm and entrenched. The two
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armies would occupy these lines until April 2, 1865.

“… we were called off to try to drive the enemy from a redoubt in course of construction on another part of the line. Withdrawn from this attempt, we were just going into bivouac again when we were double-quicked to meet the enemy, who was, as usual extending his left. Then occurred the unique incident of two opposing forces running to reach the same point, the point being in this instance the very works we had recently built. The brigade reached them first and just in time to drive back the enemy, who had approached through an extended open field instead of through a wood in front, which would have concealed his movement …. The attack was repelled and the extension of Grant’s left delayed for many days.
- Captain Louis G. Young, Assistant Adjutant General, MacRae’s [North Carolina] Brigade
 
Erected by Pamplin Historical Park.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 2, 1992.
 
Location. 37° 10.635′ N, 77° 28.593′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County. Marker can be reached from Duncan Road (Virginia Route 670), on the left when traveling south. Marker is in Pamplin Historical Park, on the Hart Farm spur off the Breakthrough
Marker on the Hart Farm image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, April 23, 2007
2. Marker on the Hart Farm
Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Breakthrough at Hart Farm (within shouting distance of this marker); “The Cannons’ Flashes Lit Up the Terrible Scene” (within shouting distance of this marker); The Hart House (within shouting distance of this marker); Sixth Maryland Infantry Monument (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); “The Strongest Line of Works Ever Constructed” (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Hart Farm (approx. 0.2 miles away); McGowan’s South Carolina Brigade (approx. 0.2 miles away); Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.
 
More about this marker. The left side of the marker contains photographs of Confederate Major General Henry Heth and Lieutenant Colonel George Zinn, 84th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. The center of the map features a battle map of the Harmon Road Battle, showing Union troop movements, Confederate fortification and troop locations and the location of the marker.
 
Also see . . .
1. Breakthrough at Petersburg. The American Civil War website. (Submitted on January 18, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)
Battle Map from Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, April 23, 2007
3. Battle Map from Marker
 

2. The Hart Farm. Pamplin Historical Park website. (Submitted on January 18, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.) 

3. The Final Assault. The Civil War Siege of Petersburg. (Submitted on January 18, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 1,432 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on January 17, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.

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Mar. 28, 2024