New member from the UK

[5fish]

The closing of the battle of Hatchers Run, and I did not see your @KepiBrit name on it...

The Battle of Hatcher’s Run Ends

The fighting in the southwestern sector of the Petersburg lines ends inconclusively, which by this time means Federal victory because the dwindling Confederate Army of Northern Virginia can no long…

civilwarmonths.com

Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Potomac army, wrote to General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant at 10:15 a.m. He told Grant about the bitterly cold, wet weather, and “the ignorance I am under of the exact moral condition of Warren’s corps, and his losses from stragglers, has restrained me from giving him positive orders to attack; but I have directed him to push out strong reconnaissances,” and Warren would decide “whether to attack or not.”

Like all Federal offensives during the Petersburg campaign thus far, this ended with a repulse. But this battle exposed weakness among the Confederates. In fighting on the 5th, they were unable to launch a counterattack until 5 p.m., too late to do any substantial damage to the enemy. Even worse, word spread that several Confederate units refused to charge, which Lee reportedly “wept like a child” when he heard it. On the 6th, Major-General John B. Gordon’s Confederates buckled the Federal line but failed to break it. And the Confederate cavalry was out foraging far away from Petersburg and was unable to get back in time to contribute to the fight.

 

[5fish]

General William MacRae was on leave during Hatcher Run... Col. John Lane or Lt. Col. James Adams led his brigade at Hatcher Run...

 

[KepiBrit]

The closing of the battle of Hatchers Run, and I did not see your @KepiBrit name on it...

The Battle of Hatcher’s Run Ends

The fighting in the southwestern sector of the Petersburg lines ends inconclusively, which by this time means Federal victory because the dwindling Confederate Army of Northern Virginia can no long…

civilwarmonths.com

Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Potomac army, wrote to General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant at 10:15 a.m. He told Grant about the bitterly cold, wet weather, and “the ignorance I am under of the exact moral condition of Warren’s corps, and his losses from stragglers, has restrained me from giving him positive orders to attack; but I have directed him to push out strong reconnaissances,” and Warren would decide “whether to attack or not.”

Like all Federal offensives during the Petersburg campaign thus far, this ended with a repulse. But this battle exposed weakness among the Confederates. In fighting on the 5th, they were unable to launch a counterattack until 5 p.m., too late to do any substantial damage to the enemy. Even worse, word spread that several Confederate units refused to charge, which Lee reportedly “wept like a child” when he heard it. On the 6th, Major-General John B. Gordon’s Confederates buckled the Federal line but failed to break it. And the Confederate cavalry was out foraging far away from Petersburg and was unable to get back in time to contribute to the fight.

The closing of the battle of Hatchers Run, and I did not see your @KepiBrit name on it...

The Battle of Hatcher’s Run Ends

The fighting in the southwestern sector of the Petersburg lines ends inconclusively, which by this time means Federal victory because the dwindling Confederate Army of Northern Virginia can no long…

civilwarmonths.com

Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Potomac army, wrote to General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant at 10:15 a.m. He told Grant about the bitterly cold, wet weather, and “the ignorance I am under of the exact moral condition of Warren’s corps, and his losses from stragglers, has restrained me from giving him positive orders to attack; but I have directed him to push out strong reconnaissances,” and Warren would decide “whether to attack or not.”

Like all Federal offensives during the Petersburg campaign thus far, this ended with a repulse. But this battle exposed weakness among the Confederates. In fighting on the 5th, they were unable to launch a counterattack until 5 p.m., too late to do any substantial damage to the enemy. Even worse, word spread that several Confederate units refused to charge, which Lee reportedly “wept like a child” when he heard it. On the 6th, Major-General John B. Gordon’s Confederates buckled the Federal line but failed to break it. And the Confederate cavalry was out foraging far away from Petersburg and was unable to get back in time to contribute to the fight.

A good find, thanks for this, I wasn’t aware of this article at all. I wrote a couple of ECW articles for the 160th anniversary in Feb, including one on Crawford’s final assault. It’s mostly accurate and well written. I’ll see if I can contact the author and see what motivated them.

 

[KepiBrit]

General William MacRae was on leave during Hatcher Run... Col. John Lane or Lt. Col. James Adams led his brigade at Hatcher Run...

That’s correct, we even know who he went on leave with. The problem researchers had was that for the end of Jan 1865 Inspection Reports MacRae was present. If one’s writing a book on ALL the Petersburg Campaign or like Hawkes compiling organisational data for 4 years, you don’t have the time to drill down into minutiae. I had the luxury of researching a window of about 2 weeks with the help of many experts. This is what informed my beyondthecrater crater articles. I also avoided the temptation of having ”a stab” at who commanded that brigade. I consulted many senior historians who had written about that brigade and we couldn’t reach a definitive conclusion, no sources to date are categoric. My “guess” would be Lane, but he was quite ill and if present may not have been well enough to fully command. Many authors and the site board next to Pegram’s memorial, imply MacRae was present. As you have probably discovered my btc articles are full of such stories, hopefully you find them well argued and supported by evidence. A key conundrum is whether David Weisiger’s was present or not. One eyewitness source says he wasn’t, but other (I’d argue more reliable) sources don’t mention him being absent. I leave the matter open and in my writings usually cite the uncertainty. I’d love to find more info on that issue, some of Weisiger’s papers in a dusty archive perhaps. Living in the Uk, this is where I’m somewhat limited.

 

[O' Be Joyful]

Welcome @KepiBrit .

 

[5fish]

Here, 'another' implies that the road the Confederates were defending had become useless.

Battle of Hatcher's Run, 1864 Civil War battle outside Petersburg, VA.

Battle of Hatcher's Run, an 1864 Civil War battle near Petersburg, Virginia, with photos, background info and map locations of monuments and markers

stonesentinels.com

The two sides fought back and forth for three days, ending in a tactical draw. The Union advance was stopped, but would not be forced back. The Federals dug in, having moved three miles closer to the vital railroad that kept Petersburg and Richmond alive. Grant was unable to permanently cut the Boydton Plank Road but found that the Confederates were already barely using it due to the threat of being raided. There had been almost no traffic on the road to sweep up.

 

[KepiBrit]

Here, 'another' implies that the road the Confederates were defending had become useless.

Battle of Hatcher's Run, 1864 Civil War battle outside Petersburg, VA.

Battle of Hatcher's Run, an 1864 Civil War battle near Petersburg, Virginia, with photos, background info and map locations of monuments and markers

stonesentinels.com

The two sides fought back and forth for three days, ending in a tactical draw. The Union advance was stopped, but would not be forced back. The Federals dug in, having moved three miles closer to the vital railroad that kept Petersburg and Richmond alive. Grant was unable to permanently cut the Boydton Plank Road but found that the Confederates were already barely using it due to the threat of being raided. There had been almost no traffic on the road to sweep up.

This is the site board on the battlefield. I’ve been lobbying to get them updated for a couple of years now. The ones next to Pegram’s monument are virtually illegible, which is probably a good thing as what they say has many errors. The contentious points in the above are 1) a tactical draw? Folks love to ascribe winners and losers to battles. I would argue that the Union gained more than the Confederates. I wrote an ECW article on this matter recently and discuss it in my ebook in the conclusions chapter.
2) It was never Grant’s intention for the cavalry raid to “permanently” cut the Boydton plank road. This I think is implied in the notion of a “raid”. This myth started soon after the battle and one sees it today all over the place.

 

[5fish]

Here is a Yankee viewpoint...

Mair Pointon of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Recalls the Battle of Hatcher’s Run February 1865 – Iron Brigader

ironbrigader.com

In his History of the Sauk County Riflemen, Lieutenant Mair Pointon of Company A of the 6th Wisconsin recalled the fighting at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run

 

[5fish]

It was never Grant’s intention for the cavalry raid to “permanently” cut the Boydton plank road. This I think is implied in the notion of a “raid”

Can I argue would not lee have built other roads from the Rail line if Boydton Plank road was impossible to protect ... I bet there were other rail line the Confederates used to move supplies. The rail line is what Lee had to protect ... A plank roads means timbers were used in making it .. I want to remind everything General Anderson build a road to Spotsylvania or was it to Cold Harbor through the woods ... My bet was Boydton Plank road was abandoned for other routes... It is the rail line Lee could not move.... I bet if someone did lidar radar scans they find alternate routes the Confederates used to the rail line...

 

[5fish]

@KepiBrit ...

I see you set up a Hatcher's Run post I will move any future ones there...

 

[diane]

@KepiBrit ...

I see you set up a Hatcher's Run post I will move any future ones there...

I'm merely an observer here but perhaps the site gods may be petitioned to move the relevant conversation there. Continuity!

 

[5fish]

I'm merely an observer here but perhaps the site gods may be petitioned to move the relevant conversation there. Continuity!

I believe the site gods are watching @rittmeister , @jgoodguy and will hear you plea...

 

[KepiBrit]

I'm merely an observer here but perhaps the site gods may be petitioned to move the relevant conversation there. Continuity!

Makes sense to me

 

[KepiBrit]

Here is a Yankee viewpoint...

Mair Pointon of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Recalls the Battle of Hatcher’s Run February 1865 – Iron Brigader

ironbrigader.com

In his History of the Sauk County Riflemen, Lieutenant Mair Pointon of Company A of the 6th Wisconsin recalled the fighting at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run

Indeed, I use this source in my ebook. I’m actually researching the 6th Wis at the moment. They lost more men than any other Union regiment.