Hatcher's Run Battlefields

Hatcher's Run Battlefields. Boydton Plank Road and South Side Railroad. "Time is passing and Richmond is still not ours. I think it cannot be long now before the tug will come which, if it does not secure the prize, will put us where the end will be in sight." , , Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, USA, "The only question for us now is, whether we shall call forth all the energies and resources of our country, all the courage and manhood of our race, to drive back the foul invaders." , , Richmond Examiner, The campaign for Petersburg had lasted more than four months by late October 1864. Having failed to punch through to the city in June and July, the Union army group under the overall command of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant focused on severing Petersburg's supply arteries to the south and west. Doing so would strangle Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and the Old Dominion's two largest and most important cities, Richmond and Petersburg. By late in August, only two such lines remained open to Lee: the South Side Railroad and, for wagons, the Boydton Plank Road (also, today's U.S. Route 1)., Late in September and early in October, the Federals launched their fifth Petersburg offensive aimed at capturing those two vital transportation routes. Although the Union army extended its lines several miles to the west, the attack at the Battle of Peebles' Farm failed to achieve these objectives. Grant tried again on October 27, in what is known as the sixth Petersburg offensive, and renewed the effort early in February 1865 in his seventh offensive. The ground around you lies at the heart of both of those engagements. Follow this trail to learn about these battles and see some of the best-preserved field fortifications in the country., (Captions) , Gen-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant commanded all Union armies, but at Petersburg he relied on the Army of the James under Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the Potomac commanded by Gen. George G. Meade. , Courtesy Library of Congress, Gen. Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia but in early February 1865 received a promotion to general-in-chief of all Confederate armies, a gesture too late to have much practical effect on the conduct of the war. , Courtesy Library of Congress, This loop trail is roughly 3/4 mile. Allow about 45 minutes for a leisurely walk over level terrain.