The American Civil War - This Mighty Scourge of War

The fighting 221

From Richmond and

Petersburg to Appomattox

Winter weather and its effect on a bad road
system stymied Grant's steady probing
westward toward the railroads through the
war's last winter. The only major operation
through that period unfolded on
5-7 February 1865 in the Battle of Hatcher's
Run. Once again the Federals hoped to seize
and hold the Boydton Plank Road; and once
again they coveted the invaluable South Side
Railroad, which ran just beyond the road.
A strong Federal force moved into the area.
It included II Corps, now under General
Andrew A. Humphreys (long-time,
much-admired corps commander Hancock
had left the army), and Warren's V Corps
returning to familiar ground.
On 5 February, Humphreys battered
Confederates who had hurried out from
Petersburg. The next day, further Southern
units swarmed over Warren and inflicted
serious damage, but without lasting results.
On the 7th, Lee concluded that he could
not evict the Federals from their new perch,
so both sides once more went back to
entrenching. This latest extension of the line
left Lee with 35 miles (56km) to defend.
About 1,500 Federals had fallen, and
1,000 Confederates.

General John B. Gordon entered service in 1861 without

any military training or background whatsoever, but

advanced steadily on merit until by the war's end he was

among Lee's most important subordinates. Gordon

designed and led the desperate attack on Fort Stedman

on 25 March 1865. (Public domain)

Among the Southern casualties was

General John Pegram. One contemporary

remembered him fondly, if oddly as 'a

delightful & artistic whistler.' The handsome

young officer had been married in Richmond

at St Paul's Church on 19 January to Hetty

Cary, a widely admired belle - 'the most

beautiful woman I ever saw in any land,'

enthused a Confederate officer. Five days

later John celebrated his thirty-second

birthday. Two more weeks and he was back

at St Paul's in a casket.

By mid-March, Lee's options had all but

vanished. He accepted a desperate scheme

hatched by the innovative General Gordon,

back with the main army after leading the

secret march at Cedar Creek in the

Shenandoah valley. Gordon would marshal

as many men as could be spared from the

Confederate General John Pegram married a young

woman acclaimed as among the most beautiful in the

South, then was killed a few days later at Hatcher's Run.

(Public domain)