Join us for this Civil War educational caravan driving tour covering the Battle of Burgess’ Mill in October 1864 as part of Grant’s Sixth Offensive in the Petersburg Campaign. The Battle was also known as the Battle of Boydton Plank Road and/or The First Battle of Hatcher’s Run. This tour will feature four stops across the hallowed grounds on which the battle was fought. Stops will include public and American Battlefield Trust properties. Water and snacks will be provided during the tour; an optional lunch will follow at Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant, North Dinwiddie (pay for your meal).
The Boydton Plank Road was one of the two remaining supply lines for Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, manning the defenses of Petersburg and Richmond in the Fall of 1864. With the added pressure of the 1864 Presidential Election, Union Lieutenant General Grant’s strategy centered on cutting off the Boydton Plank Road and ultimately reaching and cutting the Southside Railroad. Grant would send elements of three Federal Corps and a cavalry division around Lee’s right flank to cut off this important roadway and reach for the Southside railroad. General Lee, Heth, and Hampton moved swiftly to cut off and isolate the Federal maneuver!
Engraving is “The Army of the Potomac Battle of Hatcher’s Creek, Va., October 27th, 1864–The Second Corps, under Major General Hancock, flanking the Confederate Works at Armstrong’s Mill.” From Frank Leslie’s Scenes and Portraits of the Civil War (1894), available at the Internet Archive.
