The Battle of Dabney's Mill (Hatcher's Run)

Buckeye Bill

Captain
Forum Host
Annual Winner
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
On this day in 1865, at the Battle of Dabney’s Mill (also known as Hatcher’s Run), Federal and Confederate forces around Petersburg, Virginia, begin a three-day battle that produces 3,000 casualties but ends with no significant advantage for either side.

Dabney’s Mill was another attempt by Federal Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant to break the siege of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. In 1864, Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee pounded each other as they wheeled south around the cities. After a month of heavy battling that produced the highest casualty rates of the war, Grant and Lee settled into trenches around Petersburg. These lines eventually stretched 25 miles to Richmond, and the stalemate continued for 10 months. Periodically, Grant mounted offensives either to break through Lee’s lines or envelope the ends. In June, August, and October, these moves failed to extricate the Confederates from their trenches.

Now, Grant sent cavalry under General David Gregg to capture a road that carried supplies from Hicksford, Virginia, into Petersburg. On February 5, Gregg moved and captured a few wagons along his objective, the Boydton Plank Road. He found little else, so he pulled back toward the rest of the Union Army. Yankee infantry under General Gouverneur K. Warren also moved forward and probed the area at the end of the Confederate’s Petersburg line. The Rebels responded by moving troops into the area. Skirmishes erupted that evening and the fighting continued for two more days as each side maneuvered for an advantage. The fighting surged back and forth around Dabney’s Mill, but the Yankees were never able to penetrate the Confederate lines. The Union suffered some 2,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, while the Confederates lost about 1,000. The battle did extend the Petersburg line a few miles to further stretch Lee’s thin lines, but the stalemate continued for six more weeks before Grant’s forces finally sent Lee racing west with the remnants of his army. The chase ended in April 1865 when Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

* Civil War Trust Battle Map.

hatchers-run-february-5-7.jpg


* Virginia State Historical Marker on US 1 (Boydton Plank Road)

DSC_0170.JPG


* Civil War Trust Marker on the Dabney Mill Road (State Route 613) near the site of the Dabney's Saw Mill.

DSC_0189.JPG


* Virginia State Historical Marker on Dabney Mill Road (State Route 613).

DSC_0190.JPG


* Civil War Trust Marker.

DSC_0192.JPG


* Civil War Trust Marker.

DSC_0194.JPG


* The Death of Confederate Brigadier General John Pegram Marker.

DSC_0193.JPG


* The Hatcher's Run Creek near the Steers Millpond on Duncan Road (State Route 670).

DSC_0202.JPG


* The Site of the Armstrong's Mill (Steers Millpond).

DSC_0200.JPG


* Looking Northbound on Duncan Road (State Route 670) near the old Armstrong's Mill.

DSC_0198.JPG


* Looking Southbound on Duncan Road (State Route 670) at the Hatcher's Run Creek.

DSC_0199.JPG
 
Thanks for posting

Welcome, Sir! I really enjoy touring the "Off the Beaten Path" American Civil War venues. One has to use greats maps and a lot of imagination to comprehend a particular conflict like the Battle of Dabney's Mill (Hatcher's Run).

Bill
 
Lieutenant Colonel John Blair of the 2nd Mississippi was captured during the fighting sometime between February 5 and February 7, 1865. He had been exchanged and released following his capture at the Railroad Cut at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. Colonel Stone had left on a recruiting trip back to Mississippi and would never see the regiment again. All the 2nd Mississippi field officers were now gone. The regiment probably now mustered fewer than 150 men. Captain William F. Harvey of Company K would assume command of the regiment until it's capture at Hatcher's Run on April 2, 1865.
 
On this day in 1865, at the Battle of Dabney’s Mill (also known as Hatcher’s Run), Federal and Confederate forces around Petersburg, Virginia, begin a three-day battle that produces 3,000 casualties but ends with no significant advantage for either side.

Dabney’s Mill was another attempt by Federal Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant to break the siege of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. In 1864, Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee pounded each other as they wheeled south around the cities. After a month of heavy battling that produced the highest casualty rates of the war, Grant and Lee settled into trenches around Petersburg. These lines eventually stretched 25 miles to Richmond, and the stalemate continued for 10 months. Periodically, Grant mounted offensives either to break through Lee’s lines or envelope the ends. In June, August, and October, these moves failed to extricate the Confederates from their trenches.

Now, Grant sent cavalry under General David Gregg to capture a road that carried supplies from Hicksford, Virginia, into Petersburg. On February 5, Gregg moved and captured a few wagons along his objective, the Boydton Plank Road. He found little else, so he pulled back toward the rest of the Union Army. Yankee infantry under General Gouverneur K. Warren also moved forward and probed the area at the end of the Confederate’s Petersburg line. The Rebels responded by moving troops into the area. Skirmishes erupted that evening and the fighting continued for two more days as each side maneuvered for an advantage. The fighting surged back and forth around Dabney’s Mill, but the Yankees were never able to penetrate the Confederate lines. The Union suffered some 2,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, while the Confederates lost about 1,000. The battle did extend the Petersburg line a few miles to further stretch Lee’s thin lines, but the stalemate continued for six more weeks before Grant’s forces finally sent Lee racing west with the remnants of his army. The chase ended in April 1865 when Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

* Civil War Trust Battle Map.

View attachment 265490

* Virginia State Historical Marker on US 1 (Boydton Plank Road)

View attachment 265583

* Civil War Trust Marker on the Dabney Mill Road (State Route 613) near the site of the Dabney's Saw Mill.

View attachment 265584

* Virginia State Historical Marker on Dabney Mill Road (State Route 613).

View attachment 265586

* Civil War Trust Marker.

View attachment 265587

* Civil War Trust Marker.

View attachment 265591

* The Death of Confederate Brigadier General John Pegram Marker.

View attachment 265601

* The Hatcher's Run Creek near the Steers Millpond on Duncan Road (State Route 670).

View attachment 265602

* The Site of the Armstrong's Mill (Steers Millpond).

View attachment 265603

* Looking Northbound on Duncan Road (State Route 670) near the old Armstrong's Mill.

View attachment 265604

* Looking Southbound on Duncan Road (State Route 670) at the Hatcher's Run Creek.

View attachment 265605
Great post and wonderful photos. I’ve just joined up to CWT and Hatcher’s Run is currently my main focus of research, so I thought I’d take a chance and catch up with old threads. There seems to be some contradictory accounts of Pegram’s death, whether he was hit by a lone sniper / sharpshooter, or whether he was too far forward and got killed in a melee which also injured Col Hoffman and killed Capt Snow of the 21st NC? Do you have any thoughts?
 
Great post and wonderful photos. I’ve just joined up to CWT and Hatcher’s Run is currently my main focus of research, so I thought I’d take a chance and catch up with old threads. There seems to be some contradictory accounts of Pegram’s death, whether he was hit by a lone sniper / sharpshooter, or whether he was too far forward and got killed in a melee which also injured Col Hoffman and killed Capt Snow of the 21st NC? Do you have any thoughts?

Thanks for the kind words!

I personally believe he was shot in the chest leading his men near Dabney's saw mill.

Bill
 
Thanks for the kind words!

I personally believe he was shot in the chest leading his men near Dabney's saw mill.

Bill
Agreed. The Kyd Douglas account is very credible and oft cited; it’s a wonderful book to read overall. What is more hazier and not mentioned by Douglas is the wounding of Col Hoffman and killing of Capt Snow at the same time. The Snow story is interesting because as captain of the 21st NC in theory he should have been further south on the Vaughn Road?
Cheers.
 
Back
Top