Second Battle of Deep Bottom

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Second Battle of Deep Bottom


caption=
partof=the American Civil War
date=August 14 – August 20, 1864
place=Henrico County, Virginia
result=Confederate victory
combatant1= flagicon|USA|1863 United States (Union)
combatant2= flagicon|CSA|1863 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1=Winfield S. Hancock
commander2=Charles W. Field
strength1=II Corps
X Corps
Gregg's Cavalry Division
strength2=Field's Division, I Corps
casualties1=2,900
casualties2=1,300

The Second Battle of Deep Bottom was fought from August 14 to August 20, 1864, at Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Deep Bottom is the colloquial name for an area of the James River near the state capital, where the river is surrounded by bluffs, and was part of a supply route for the Confederate Army during the Siege of Petersburg.

Background

Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army sought to cut the supply route through the rail head in Petersburg, Virginia, 27 miles south of the capital city, Richmond. The Union army had suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and the attack sought to weaken the Confederate reserves. In an attempt to draw General Robert E. Lee's troops from Petersburg, Grant staged an ill-fated feint at Richmond—the second Battle of Deep Bottom—using the X Corps, II Corps, and Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry.

Battle

Under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, along with Maj. Gens. David B. Birney and David Gregg, the Union forces began a river crossing. Hampered by the oppressive summer heat, the Union soldiers gathered on the south shore of the James River awaiting steamboats. Due to severe miscommunication, the sixteen boats crossed the river at night, ferrying 15,000 men to dilapidated and damaged moorings at Deep Bottom. What was to be a dawn raid on Confederate positions was delayed into the mid-morning of August 14 as the men had to be off loaded by gangplank, sometimes one soldier at a time.

When the Union forces crossed the James to the northern shore, they faced an entrenched Confederate army of fewer than 8,000 men. With early victories, the Union men pushed forward to New Market Heights and west towards Bailey's Creek. By August 16, 100°F heat and mounting casualties began to take a toll on Union morale. Maj. Gen. Charles W. Field led his vastly outnumbered army to turn the Union soldiers back towards the river and ultimately back to the southern shore on August 20.

Aftermath

Union casualties were approximately 2,900 men, some due to heat stroke. Confederate casualties were 1,300. Confederate Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss was killed during cavalry fighting on Charles City Road. General Gregg, his classmate at West Point, took charge of the body and later sent it through the lines to Chambliss's widow. [Salmon, pp. 423-24.] As at the First Battle of Deep Bottom, the federal assault had failed against a smaller defensive force. However, the operation had compelled General Lee to detach a brigade from Petersburg and three regiments from Bermuda Hundred to deal with the Union advance.

References

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va071.htm National Park Service battle description]
* Salmon, John S., "The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide", Stackpole Books, 2001, ISBN 0-8117-2868-4.

Notes