Breakthrough at Petersburg

Entrenchments at Petersburg

When Ulysses S. Grant received news of Phil Sheridan's victory at Five Forks the previous day, he immediately gave orders for a general attack to be made on Lee's lines at Petersburg. This opportunity coincided with a major attack Grant had been planning for some time. For months the Confederates had been stretched thinner and thinner, and now they must surely be planning to evacuate the position, since Sheridan could cut off their lines of communication. Grant wanted to strike and destroy Lee before he escaped.

Horatio Wright

The assault was preceded by an artillery barrage which began at 10 pm on April 1st, and continued for some four hours. Not longer after, in the early morning of April 2, the Union infantry attacked. The attack was begun by Horatio Wright's VI Corps, which was facing some of A. P. Hill's about in the center of the battle lines. Wright had carefully chosen the point to attack, on the far left of his position, where the lines were close together and these were few obstacles in between. He had a vast superiority of numbers, and was able to bring 14,000 troops to bear on a mile long line held by only 2,000 Confederates. However, the southerner's works were high and strong, and they had well sited cannon posted along the line.

At 4:40 two Union cannon fired, signalling the beginning of the attack. The Federal troops moved forward, preceded by pioneers to clear away the wooden obstructions in front of the Confederate lines.  The Confederate pickets were driven back, but they alerted the main line of the attack, and soon the Yankees began to receive a heavy and well-directed fire. The first Federal over the wall was Captain Charles Gould of the 5th Vermont. He ran down the path made by the Confederate pickets, followed by three men with the rest not far behind, and crossed the ditch on a plank bridge the Confederate had placed there. Gould quickly climbed over the wall and gained the parapet, but the rebels on the other side were ready for him. He was immediately cut three times by bayonets and swords, and one southerner pointed a rifle directly at him and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. He was pulled back over the parapet by Corporal Henry Rector, and before long more Union troops arrived and secured the position.

All along the line Federals climbed up the works, capturing them with quick hand-to-hand fighting. Breaches formed in the Confederate position and soon it fell entirely into Federal hands. The 2nd Rhode Island captured six Confederate cannon, and then quickly turned them on their former owners to drive back a counter attack.

A. P. Hill

After this initial success, Wright's troops continued to push forward in ragged order, capturing the Southside Railroad a mile in the rear. This would not be a temporary success, like Gordon had won at Fort Steadman. Instead it was a major breakthrough. A. P. Hill, the Confederate corps commander, worked to organize a resistance to meet this major reverse. He was riding through the woods towards Harry Heth's headquarters, accompanied by only one staff officer. The Confederate officers encountered two Union stragglers of the 138th Pennsylvania, Corp. John Mauk and Private David Wolford. Hill demanded their surrender, but instead Mauk fired, killing Hill. He was one of the highest ranking Confederate killed during the war.

The attacks

Wright reorganized his corps, and began widening the gap formed in the Confederate line, with support from Gibbon's XXIV Corps. At 6:00 Humphreys' II Corps on the left attack, and also made progress. Many Confederates resisted just to buy time, hoping that reinforcements would arrive. Fort Gregg was stoutly defended, and the attackers got stuck in the ditch, which was filled with mud and water. However, after several attacks, Union soldiers were able to work their way around to the fort's rear, drive off the few defenders placed there, and gain entrance into the fort.

Dead Confederate at Petersburg

Robert E. Lee realized that he could not maintain his lines, and that Richmond and Petersburg must fall. He telegraphed the Secretary of War:

I see no prospect of doing more than holding our position here until night. I am not certain I can do that. If I can I shall withdraw to-night north of the Appomattox, and, if possible, it will be better to withdraw the whole line to-night from James River. I advise that all preparations be made for leaving Richmond tonight.

During the day of heavy fighting along the entire line, Grant's army lost about 4,000 men, the Confederates about 5,000 men, mostly captured.Lee's men began evacuating the lines which they still retained at 8:00 pm. The government abandoned Richmond that night, taking with them what papers they could. The retreating soldiers set fire to the warehouses, and other structures of military use. The fire spread out of control, and much of the city burnt to the ground.

Richmond burning

That night Grant wrote to his wife:

I am now writing from far inside of what was the rebel fortifications this morning but what are ours now. They are exceedingly strong and I wonder at the sucsess [sic] of our troops carrying them by storm. But they did it and without any great loss. Altogether this has been one of the greatest victories of the war.

Early the next morning, Union troops found that Lee had abandoned his lines. He had set off towards Appomattox. The last stage of the American Civil War had begun.

The ruins of Richmond after the fire

Battle of Fort Stedman

Gordon

With things deteriorating across the Confederacy, the situation was looking bleak for Robert E. Lee at Petersburg. He had only 50,000 men to hold the many miles of entrenchments defending Richmond, and he was facing Grant, who had 125,000. On March 6, he told John B. Gordon, one of his corps commanders, “there seemed to be but one thing that we could do—fight. To stand still was death. It could only be death if we fought and failed.” Gordon finalized plans on March 23 for a surprise attack against a portion of the Union line, specifically Fort Stedman. He hoped that even if the attack did not break the siege, it would at least foil whatever plans Grant might be making. With Lee's approval, the attack was scheduled for March 25.

Fort Stedman, at which the attack was directed, was chosen because it was one of the points where Union and Confederate lines were the closest. There were also less wooden obstacles in front of it, and there was a Federal supply depot one mile behind it. Gordon's plan was to capture Fort Stedman and then have troops move north and south to roll up the Union line, preparing the way for a heavy column to exploit the breach and head for Grant's main headquarters at City Point. Half of Lee's infantry were on hand to either make the attack or follow up on it. Although the men involved may not have known it at the time, this would be Lee's last great attack.

Fort Stedman today. Source. 

The Confederates advanced at 4:15 am on March 25th, 150 years ago today. The first troops charged with unloaded muskets. Their duty was to get into the fort as quickly as possible, without stopping to fire. Captain J. P. Carson led one of the forlorn hopes – the troops at the very front of the attack. After the war he wrote his account of the attack:

The command was to advance at the sound of the bugle. It came at last. In an instant we were over the works and heading for the fort with all the speed we could command. We had hoped to reach there undiscovered, but twenty-five yards had not been passed before the fort opened upon us. I do not even now understand it. We were not visible and made no noise, but they knew we were coming and our direction. By the flash of those guns two hundred yards ahead of us darkness disappeared. It was at quick succeeding intervals as light as day. We soon got beneath their line of fire at the foot of the hill. I don't think we had up to this time lost a man. We were still going on the run as hard as we could when we crossed the branch and started up the hill. How we got past the first line of obstructions I could never remember. I was very fleet of foot, but when I reached the line Bob was there ahead of me. I saw him for an instant in the flash of the cannon tearing down and dragging aside the wire and logs. He was very strong, and had broken the wire when I got up. We went through the gap together. How the others crossed I do not know. The next minute we struck the middle line of brush, climbing and rolling over it into the open ground beyond. There the wind from the cannon and flying shot was so strong that we could not keep our hats on, while the frightful roar of the guns drowned every other sound. We went the rest of the way with hats and guns in hand until we struck the last line of obstructions. The men seized the rails with the strength of desperation, dragging them out of the ground and rushing through the gap. The next instant we came into the fire of the smaller guns. Here we hurried forward at full speed. It was every man for himself. Not only were we exposed to the musketry fire, but we had risen to the line of fire from the artillery.

Fort Stedman during the war

I do not know exactly how we got through it all, but in a minute more we were in the moat and in two feet of water. The fort had been struck just about the middle. Immediately the infantry ran out upon the works and began to fire straight down upon us. Lieutenant [John T.] Gay, [Fourth Georgia] of La Grange, [GA] fell at this moment mortally wounded, and would have drowned had we not lifted him back upon the bank, where he died. We were in the dark, while the men above were faintly outlined against the gray sky. I called to the men to shoot every Yankee who showed himself. They began firing at once, and in an instant almost the works were cleared. It was but thirteen feet up, and my men were sharpshooters. When the enemy found that it was death to show themselves, they thrust their guns over and discharged them downward. It was a critical moment; we could neither advance nor retreat. I heard simultaneous inquiries from along the line as to what must be done and one or two more suggestions to fall back. Just at this moment with the utmost coolness word was quietly passed along from right to left that a low place had been found. I heard the intelligence coming before the man next to me repeated it. Returning the command, "By the right flank, march," we filed along until the place was reached and then scrambled into the fort. Forming my line, I struck the forces within at right angles, and in a minute more they surrendered. The fort was commanded by General McLaughlin, and over five hundred men surrendered with him.

The Confederates had achieved a near-complete surprise, and were able to quickly seize the fort. Three more batteries were seized, leaving 1,000 feet of the Union line in the hands of Gordon's men. However, the attack began to stall. The Federals put up a good defense on northern and southern flanks of the breakthrough, and the Confederates, confused by the web of trenches and under heavy Union artillery fire, could not make any further advances. The Federal generals quickly brought up troops to seal the gap in the line, and then systematically advanced to eliminate the pocket.

By the time the Confederate attack was completely repulsed, they had suffered about 4,000 casualties - 600 killed, 2,400 wounded and 1,000 captured. They had inflicted 1,044 casualties on the Federals - 72 killed 450 wounded and 522 captured. Although this was a great effort on the on the southerners' part, it was not an important event for the Federals. Lincoln was in town visiting the army, and a grand review had been scheduled. Although the review was delayed during the attack, it went off that afternoon, as if nothing had happened.

Battle of Peebles's Farm

In the end of September, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant launched several attacks against Lee's lines around Richmond and Petersburg. One of these, conducted on the eastern end of the line by Benjamin Butler, captured Fort Harrison and New Market Heights on September 29th. Lee sent I Corps commander Richard Anderson to the scene to contain the breakthrough. Anderson launched several unsuccessful counterattacks to try to recapture the Confederate line. Grant rightly believed that these attacks were being made by troops from Lee's right, so he ordered Gouverneur Warren to attack on that portion of the line with the V Corps.

Warren

Warren's troops begin moving on September 30th, striking A. P. Hill's Third Corps, which had indeed been weakened to reinforce the Confederate left. The Federals attacked at 1 pm and quickly broke the Confederate line, capturing Fort Archer while the southerners fled to the rear. When Lee realized that his right also was in critical danger, he recalled the Light Division and sent them back to the right. The IX Corps had been brought up to support the Union line, which Warren thought would face a counterattack. That Corps was not properly connected to the V Corps. When Heth's men attacked at 4:30 pm, they routed the IX Corps, capturing nearly an entire brigade. Warren rallied his men, and the fighting died down for the day.

Heth

On October 1st Heth again attacked Warren's line, but this time the assaults were repulsed. The next day Warren was reinforced with a division from the II Corps, which led an attack on the Confederate works. Their goal was the Boydton Plank Road, an important Confederate supply route. This attack overran Confederate positions, but was stopped before reading the road. Although this battle had no decisive impact on the campaign, it did lengthen the lines further clockwise around Petersburg, bringing Grant closer to cutting off Lee's line of communication. In this fight the Union lost almost 2,900, the Confederates over 1,200.

Battle of New Market Heights

150 years ago today Grant's forces around Richmond and Petersburg attacked the Confederate lines. They captured Fort Harrison and Confederate entrenchments on New Market Heights. The attack on New Market Heights was led by troops of the USCT, who took heavy losses. They won 14 medals of honor because of their gallant fighting. These captured positions did not result in a complete breakthrough of the rebel lines, the Confederates were able to contain these attacks.

These videos were taken at the 150th anniversary reenactment of these battles:

Battle of Globe Tavern

Globe Tavern

By August, 1864 the armies of Lee and Grant were stalled in front of Petersburg, the active campaigning turned into a regular siege. Grant and Meade's strategy to break this deadlock was to hit Lee's supply line. They hoped that if they cut off the flow of food and weapons coming through North Carolina, Richmond and Petersburg would have to be abandoned. One of the major supply lines was the Weldon Railroad. In the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road in late June Federals had destroyed a short section of the Weldon, but they were quickly driven off by the Confederates. In August Grant sent out another force against the Weldon under Major General Gouverneur Warren.

On August 18th Warren reached the railroad at Globe Tavern without meeting any resistance outside of a few pickets. While some troops began tearing up the tracks the rest formed a battle line and moved north to guard against a Confederate attack. When A. P. Hill heard of the Federal advance he sent three brigades out to meet them. At 2 pm they struck Warren's line and drove it back early to Globe Tavern. The Federals counterattacked and recaptured some ground before halting and entrenching for the night.

Warren

During the night significant reinforcements arrived for both sides. The next day was rainy, and for most of it the fighting was limited to minor skirmishing. But that changed in late afternoon. Maj. Gen. William Mahone, commanding the three infantry brigades the Confederates had received, had found a weak spot in the Federal right. When his men changed it, they were able to easily burst through into the Federal flank and rear. The Federals were under fire from several directions, and soon panicked and fled to the rear. Mahone's men captured nearly two full Union brigades. Although the Federal right crumbled, the center and right beat off the Confederate frontal attacks, and Union reinforcements arrived to stabilize the position.

Mahone

The next day rain prevented further Confederate attacks, and that night Warren fell back two miles to a new entrenched position. There he was still on the Weldon Railroad, but his would were connected with the rest of the Union line. The Confederates advanced and attacked on the morning of August 21, but they were repulsed with heavy losses. With this the Confederates halted their attacks, resigned to the fact that the Weldon Railroad would remain in Union hands. The Confederate supply lines were disturbed, but not cut. They bypassed the Federal held section by hauling supplies in wagons on a series of roads.

Battle of the Crater

The Federal high command knew it would be difficult to break the siege that had developed around Petersburg, Virginia. A frontal attack would be well-nigh impossible, as the Confederate works were just too strong to capture. Ambrose Burnside, once commander of the entire Army of the Potomac but now only of the XIV Corps, decided to go under the Confederate line. Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, a former mining engineer and now commander of the 48th PA submitted a plan to dig a mine which Burnside approved. When blown up under Elliott's Salient, it would destroy the Confederate works in the area and kill their defenders. Grant had made a similar attempt at the siege of Vicksburg, but it had not been completely successful in breaking the Confederate line. That did not stop Burnside from trying again. Even if it wasn't successful, at least it would keep the men in the area occupied.

Digging the mine

The Pennsylvanians, many of them former miners, dug the earth out by hand, and then packed it into boxes and pulled out on improvised sledges. The air was kept fresh inside the tunnel with a fire which heated the air and forced it out through a ventilation tube. The soldiers dug around the clock. They calculated that they were under the Confederate position on July 17th after 511 feet of digging. Twenty feet deep in the ground, they could hear the rebel soldiers marching above. By July 23rd they had finished digging powder chambers under the bastions. 8,000 pounds of powder were brought in and connected with 100 feet of fuzes. The workers replaced the first forty feet of earth to create a backstop. All was ready on July 28th.

Burnside planned for a division of United States Colored Troops under Edward Ferrero to make the attack. Burnside had the men meticulously trained on exactly what their role would be in the assault. There was reluctance on the part of many Union generals to lead the blacks in combat, as they thought that they would not make good soldiers. Meade and Grant decided to change out the black division for a white one, and James Ledlie's unprepared division was chosen to lead the assault. Many brigades of infantry and 144 cannon were prepared to support them.

The explosion

The fuse was lit at 3:30 am on the morning of July 30th. Time ticked by as the Yankees anxiously waited, but no there was no explosion. It seemed likely that the fuse had been a dud, but it would be very hazardous to go and check, as it was possible it would explode at any moment. Grant was considering ordering Burnside to attack without the mine when two soldiers volunteered to see what the problem was. Lt. Jacob Douty and Sgt. Harry Reese soon found the problem - there had been a faulty splice in the fuse. They spliced and relit it. At 4:44 am the powder exploded in the middle of the Confederate entrenchments, throwing men, earth and guns into the air. One Confederate wrote:

A slight tremor of the earth for a second, then the rocking as of an earthquake, and, with a tremendous blast which rent the sleeping hills beyond, a vast column of earth and smoke shoots upward to a great height, its dark sides flashing out sparks with a roaring sound, showers of stones, broken timbers and blackened human limbs, subsides - the gloomy pale of darkening smoke flushing to an angry crimson as it floats away to meet the morning sun.

A crater opened in the landscape 170 feet long, over 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, that is still visible to this day. 278 Confederate soldiers were instantly killed in the explosion, and many more were badly stunned. However, the Federals of Ledlie's division were not prepared to make an assault. When they did finally make it to the crater they did not keep moving as the black division had been trained to. Wandering around, they decided to use the crater as a rifle pit instead of making use of their success. Confederate Brigadier General William Mahone gathered all the men he could find and moved them to the Crater. Federal troops continued to pour into the crater, including Ferrero's black division. The gap in the Confederate line had been closed and Mahone moved his men to the rim of the crater. They unleashed their fire on 10,000 disorganized Union soldiers who were gathered in the pit. The casualties mounted among the tightly packed Federals, and the ease of hitting the target reminded many rebels of a turkey shoot. At about 9:30 am, Grant ordered the attack halted and Burnside to pull back the troops, but Burnside, despairing, delayed to execute the order in the hope that something miraculous would redeem the attack. Finally, around midday, the battle ended. Mahone's men charged with bayonets into the crater, capturing or killing any who did not flee to the rear. The Confederates were angry at seeing black troops fighting against them, as they saw it as uprooting their social order and inciting a slave rebellion on their helpless families. There were reported instances of cruelty on the part of the Confederate troops, some of whom regrettably did not accept the surrender of a black soldier, and bayoneted them in cold blood.

The crater after the battle

In this battle the Federals lost almost 3,800, with 500 killed, 1,900 wounded and 1,400 captured. The Confederates lost about 1,500, 350 killed, 750 wounded and 400 missing. Blame was quickly spread for the failure. Burnside and Ledlie were effectively dismissed, and resigned from the army. Grant wrote to Henry Halleck in Washington:

It was the saddest affair I have witnessed in this war. Such opportunity for carrying fortifications I have never seen and do not expect again to have. ... I am constrained to believe that, had instructions been promptly obeyed, Petersburg would have been carried, with all the artillery and a large number of prisoners, without a loss of 300 men.

The crater today

The Siege of Petersburg Begins

When Grant's men renewed their attack on Petersburg on June 18^th, 150 years ago today, at first they made quickly progress. This was only because Beauregard had fallen back to a new line during the night. When the hit this second line they were stopped by heavy Confederate fire, and could make no more progress. More troops were brought up throughout the day, but they too were pinned down under murderous fire. Meade grew frustrated as his corps commanders yet again failed to cooperate. “I find it useless to appoint an hour to effect co-operation,” he complained, “and I am therefore compelled to give you the same order. You have a large corps, powerful and numerous, and I beg you will at once, as soon as possible, assault in a strong column. The day is fast going, and I wish the practicability of carrying the enemy's line settled before dark."

The troops went forward, but the men did not have their heart in the assault. They had made these attacks before, all over Virginia in the past weeks, and they were always bloody. “We are not going to charge,” said one solder as he went forward. “We are going to run toward the Confederate earthworks and then we are going to run back. We have had enough of assaulting earthworks."

The Union attacks were unsuccessful, as the reluctant veterans had foreseen. All, however, were not experienced in this type of attack. One regiments especially made a gallant and costly attack on the Confederate works, 1st Maine. It was a heavy artillery regiments that had been converted into infantry and sent to Grant. Inexperienced with combat, they didn't know what was in store for them. Stepping over the prone veterans, they boldly charged at the entrenchments. The rebels works exploded in flame, and the men fell down in rows. Not a man made it to their target. Of the 850 green soldiers who charged, 632 fell. Its 74% casualties were the most severe loss from any Union regiment in the war.

As the sun set on the bloody field, it was apparent that frontal attacks had proved useless. Over 11,000 men were lost by the army of the Potomac in this advance on Petersburg, compared to about 4,000 Confederates. Grant had a chance at a quick success by cutting Lee's supply line at Petersburg, but uncoordinated assaults and firm fighting by Beauregard's men deprived him of that victory. It was apparent as the rest of Lee's army moved into Petersburg that the active maneuvering in the field had given way, for a time, to a siege. Both armies were not the same as had began the Overland Campaign. Both sides had lost their aggressive edge, and the war in the east had turned into a siege, with the both soldiers reluctant to assault the enemy works.

Battle of Petersburg – Beauregard Holds On

Beauregard

150 years ago today the Confederates in Petersburg were still struggling to hold on, hoping that reinforcement arrived before the weight of Grant's numbers took their toll. Lee still did not have certain information that the troops opposing Beauregard were from Grant, not Butler. The Federals had been reinforced to 80,000 men by the arrival of Warren's corps, and Beauregard's 14,000 men should not have been able to maintain their line. But they were because of the failure of the Federal generals to coordinate the assaults and use their strength effectively. One Confederate wrote:

Three times were the Federals driven back, but they as often resumed the offensive and held their ground. About dusk a portion of the Confederate lines was wholly broken and the troops in that quarter were about to be thrown into a panic, which might have ended in irreparable disaster, when happily, as General Beauregard, with his staff, was endeavoring to rally and reform the troops, Gracie's brigade ... came up.... It was promptly and opportunely thrown into the gap on the lines and drove back the Federals, capturing ... prisoners. The conflict raged with great fury until after 11 o'clock at night.

After beating back the attacks all day, Beauregard's tired troops fell back in good order to a shorter line which had been had been marked out, and began digging defenses. Beauregard sent a staff officer to Lee with the message, “Unless reinforcements are sent before forty-eight hours, God Almighty alone can save Petersburg and Richmond.”

Richmond

The report of the staff officer, along with recent messages from Beauregard, finally convinced Lee that Grant was indeed south of the James. Therefore he got two divisions moving before dawn on June 18th to reinforced the hard-pressed rebels in Petersburg. When these forces arrived, they brought the total forces defending the city up to 20,000.

Battle of Petersburg – Beauregard Holds On

After the Federal troops nearly captured Petersburg, Virginia the day before, Confederate commander P. G. T. Beauregard knew the danger he faced. He later wrote,

Petersburg at that hour was clearly at the mercy of the Federal commander, who had all but captured it, and only failed of final success because he could not realize the fact of the unparalleled disparity between the two contending forces.  

Beauregard brought up all the men he could to put them between Smith and Petersburg. He decided on his own authority to abandon the Bermuda Hundred position, as Richmond would not give him directions and he saw holding that Petersburg was much more important. During the night he had 14,000 men in Petersburg working on entrenchments a mile back from the line he had lost. When Lee heard the news of the attack on Petersburg he set his troops moving to reoccupy the Bermuda Neck and reinforce Petersburg. However, he was still looking for certain information that Grant's entire army had crossed the James before he would move his entire army to join Beauregard.

Grant

On June 16th, Grant arrived in Petersburg along with more troops, those of Burnside's IX Corps, and ordered that reconnaissance be made in preparation for an attack. All three Federal corps on the scene moved forward at 5:30 pm, and pushed hard on Beauregard's men in their new works. The 14,000 greybacks fought hard against greatly superior number of troops pressing them, and as breakthroughs were made, erected new defenses in the rear, or counter attacked to try to regain their line. Hard fighting prevented a complete breakthrough, though some progress was made by the Federals.

Confederate Major General Bushrod Johnson wrote in his report:

Our troops behaved very handsomely and a steady and deliberate fire, aided by Folds’ section of artillery did great execution and repulsed the assault.  It was repeated some four or five times and repulsed each time with greater loss to the enemy.  The enemy’s dead and wounded were seen lying in large numbers in front of our work. … The conflict continued until late in the night and the artillery fire was kept up till morning.  Under cover of the darkness of night the enemy carried the ravine and established a line about one hundred yards from the left of Johnson’s Brigade.

Battle of Petersburg – The Attacks Begin

While Sheridan was out on raiding the Virginia Central Railroad, and trying to attract the attention of Robert E. Lee. Grant and Meade began to put their plan to attack Petersburg into action. The movement began on the night of June 12, and work began on an over 2000 foot pontoon bridge across the James River. The Union army began crossing on June 14, and all the men were not across until the 18^th. However, they did not wait that long to strike at Petersburg. The advance on that town began on June 15. Leading the Federal army was Benjamin Butler's Army of the James, which had already failed to capture Petersburg once during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign.

Petersburg was very weakly held. Lee had not realized that Grant was attacking Petersburg with his entire army, and so remained north of the James. The commander at Petersburg was P. G. T. Beauregard. He still had to deal with Butler on the Bermuda Hundred, so he only had 2,200 men to hold the Petersburg defenses.

Smith

As “Baldy” Smith, commander of the XVIII corps, approached Petersburg on June 15^th, 150 years ago today, he was worried about the strength of its entrenchments. There were six foot high breastworks surrounded by a ditch six feet deep and fifteen wide. In front of this obstacle was a row of felled trees with branches sharpened to delay the attackers while they were shot at from the walls. Smith spent time examining the positions, and looking for weak spots. By 4 pm he had decided to attack with heavy skirmish lines, hoping that they would not suffer heavily from Confederate fire during the charge. He set the launch off time at 5 pm, but it was discovered that no one had told the artillery chief of the plans. The guns were needed for supporting fire while the infantry attacked. The artillery horses had been sent away for water, and could not pull the guns into position. Smith delayed the attack until 7 pm, when his troops were able to move forward.

When Smith's men charged these works, they found them much less formidable than they had imagined. As they pushed backed the skirmishers, crossed the abatis and climbed the ditch, they quickly gained the walls meeting little resistance. Many batteries were captured by Smith's advance over more than a mile of entrenchments. At this point, however, Smith halted the assault. The Confederates fell back to a weaker line, and Smith thought it likely that Lee had crossed the James and was in his front. He wanted to prepare his men to meet a counter-attack, not continue forward. Winfield Scott Hancock arrived, ahead of his corps, and although the senior officer on the field and normally aggressive, he acquiesced to Smith's decision. No more attacks would be made that night.

Hancock