Finest Hours, Darkest Hours: How I Talk About "Lee Besieged: Grant's Second Petersburg Offensive, June 18-July 1, 1864"

When I talk about one of my books at a Civil War Round Table, I like to talk about a soldier from the round table's state, if possible.  I also like to approach the components of my forthcoming book from Savas Beatie, Lee Besieged: Grant's Second Petersburg Offensive, June 18-July 1, 1864, in that fashion, because each of those components possesses a challenging complexity for a 45 minute talk.  Those components are principally the battle of Jerusalem Plank Road and the Wilson-Kautz Raid.  Recently I added a refinement and approached the Wilson-Kautz Raid at Raleigh Civil War Round Table by discussing the raid in terms of "Barringer's Finest Hours." I plan to approach the battle of Jerusalem Plank Road in a similar fashion.

Brigadier General Rufus C. Barringer (Finest Hours) was the outstanding brigadier of the entire offensive.  He was ironically nicknamed "Aunt Nancy" because he was a martinet. He fought magnificently against infantry on the first day of the battle of Jerusalem Plank Road on June 21, then saved the Confederate horse artillery batteries at the battle of The Grove (aka Nottaway Court House, aka Black's and White's) on the second day of the Wilson-Kautz Raid on June 23.  His arrival at the battle of Staunton River Bridge persuaded the Federals to call it a day, and with 300 of the 2,000 men and mounts that he had begun the fighting with on June 21, hounded the bluecoats on their way to their disasters at Sappony Church and First Reams Station on June 28 and 29.

Rufus C. Barringer (Library of Congress)

I plan to approach the battle of Jerusalem Plank Road similarly, in terms of "Mahone's Finest Hours," when talking to Civil War Round Tables in the future. Mahone made his mark on June 22, when with three brigades he routed three divisions of the crack II Corps, taking four guns and around 1,700 prisoners.  On June 23, he took his whole division, all five brigades, and mauled VI Corps, seizing about 500 prisoners.  On June 29, he took two of his brigades and joined in trapping the Wilson-Kautz raiders at First Reams Station, capturing guns and prisoners.

William Mahone (National Archives)

Of course, one soldier's finest hour is often another soldier's darkest hour.  Just as Barringer and Mahone had their finest hours during Grant's Seccond Petersburg Offensive, so other soldiers had their darkest hours during the same period.

Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow (Darkest Hours) had a terrible time. On June 21, Barringer's cavalry brigade stopped Barlow's hard-fighting division within a mile of the Weldon Railroad, its objective. On June 22, Mahone's rout of Barlow's division became known as "Barlow's Skedaddle" even though it was army commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's impatience that caused the stampede.  In the following month, Barlow would lose his wife to disease and in August he would show how profoundly the experience of June 22 had affected him.  Ordered to proceed with two divisions to the Darbytown Road crossing of Bailey's Creek without guarding his left flank, he dispersed four of the six brigades at his disposal to do exactly that, leaving him with only two to attack at the designated point.  He used them successively and unsuccessfully.

Francis C. Barlow (Library of Congress)

Brigadier General James H. Wilson (Darkest Hours) led two divisions of cavalry raiders against the railroads emanating southward and southwestward from Richmond and Petersburg. On June 23 he wrecked his primary objective, Burkeville, junction of the Richmond & Danville and South Side railroads, but failed to put icing on the cake by destroying High Bridge on the South Side Rail Road or Staunton River Bridge on the Richmond & Danville. Things became worse when Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry halted the Federal raiders at Sappony Church on June 28.  They became stull worse when Wilson led his troopers into a trap at Reams Station, where Confederate forces under Mahone and Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee routed them on June 29, capturing all their guns and hundreds of prisoners.

James H. Wilson (National Archives)

General Meade had some of his darkest hours during the battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, June 21-24, 1864. He had the good idea of moving II and VI corps together but events intervened; VI Corps could not pull two of its three divisions out of the trenches until the evening of June 21.  It was not his fault but he moved II Corps largely along that day. II Corps failed to reach the Weldon Railroad and forfeited the element of surprise. Things got worse on June 22.  He lost patience and ordered II Corps to move independently of VI Corps, most of which did not wake up and eat till midday.  Mahone piled into the gap thus created and routed II Corps, taking about 1,700 prisoners.  On June 23, Meade as usual tolerated insubordination from one of his corps commanders.  This time it was not Warren but Wright, and as a result Mahone mauled a division of VI Corps and took about 500 prisoners.  These were some of Meade's darkest hours of the war.

George G. Meade  (Library of Congress)

Taking the above approaches to the two actions that take up most of Lee Besieged should permit composition of a 45-minute talk that will not overwhelm either my audience or me.  

I'm prepared to talk to any Civil War Round Table that asks me to appear before it, either by ZOOM or in person.  Click on Lee Besieged if you want to purchase a copy.