October 27, 1864---The Battle of Boydton Plank Road

OCTOBER 27, 1864:                   

The Battle of Boydton Plank Road:

In an attempt to cut the Southside Railroad, Petersburg’s last remaining connection to Richmond, Ulysses S. Grant orders General Winfield Scott Hancock U.S.A. to turn the Confederate flank along the Boydton Plank Road. 30,000 Union troops are engaged in the battle against only 12,000 for Dixie, but after being driven from their positions during the first wave of the attack, the Confederates manage to recapture the Boydton Plank Road and hold the Southside Railroad. Unable to dislodge the determined Confederates, Hancock moved his men back into the trenches around Petersburg. Union casualties in the battle were 1,750; the Confederacy lost 1,300 men. 

As it transpired, this was Hancock’s last battle. He resigned his commission in November and went home, still nursing a wound received at Gettysburg. This was also the last major action taken by the Union to break the Confederate line around Petersburg before winter set in. It was already unusually cool in central Virginia for the time of year. The winter promised to be harsh --- and it kept its promise.