Second Battle of Deep Bottom

Second Battle of Deep Bottom. Strike at Richmond.

"I had to do something to compel [Gen. Robert E.] Lee to retain his forces about his capital. I therefore gave orders for another move to the north side of the James River, to threaten Richmond" , - Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, USA

, By August of 1864, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union armies and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia were locked in a brutal struggle for the cities of Richmond and Petersburg. Concerned that Lee would detach reinforcements to fight in the Shenandoah Valley, Grant decided to attack north of the James River and chose Gen. Winfield S. Hancock to lead the operation., Hancock's force included infantry and artillery from his II Corps from the Army of the Potomac augmented by soldiers from Gen. David Birney's X Corps of the Army of the James. The Federals would move across at Deep Bottom, about two and a half miles south of you. Hancock planned to attack Gen. Charles W. Field's Confederates at New Market Heights, located along modern Route 5, about a mile and a half to your right rear. As the infantry engaged the Confederates, Hancock hoped Gen. David M. Gregg's cavalry could swing around the Union right, and strike the Virginia Central Railroad, if not Richmond itself., Heavy skirmishing flared along Kingsland Road below New Market Heights on August 14. Through excruciating heat, Birney's infantry probed for an opening in Field's defenses. Meanwhile, Union Gen. Francis Barlow engaged Confederates near Fussell's Mill, about a half mile to your right front. Gregg's cavalry, supported by Union infantry, fought their way forward along the Charles City Road to the north. The two days of inconclusive action compelled both sides to shift troops to the area where you now stand, setting the stage for a major battle., (captions) , West Point graduate Gen. Winfield S. Hancock distinguished himself at Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville before being wounded at Gettysburg during the repulse of Pickett's Charge. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant relied heavily on Hancock's abilities throughout the spring and summer of 1864. The sustained combat took a toll on Hancock; he went to Washington to recuperate in November and never again participated in active operations. Courtesy Library of Congress, The Confederate position at New Market Heights presented a daunting challenge to Federal troops. The terrain influenced Union planning and led directly to the battle here. The American Battlefield Trust has preserved and interpreted land at New Market Heights that you may visit off Kingsland Road. The Trust and the Richmond Battlefields Association have preserved acreage where you stand and across the road to your right front.