On this day in 1865, the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, also known as Dabney’s Mill, began during the American Civil War as one in a series of Union offensives during the siege of Petersburg. The American Civil War was a civil war fought between 1861 and 1865 after several southern slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America. After four years of intense battles that saw more than 600,000 soldiers killed, the Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished.
The Battle of Hatcher’s Run in particular was aimed at sending Brig. General David McM. Gregg’s cavalry out to the Boydton Plank Road to destroy as many Confederate supply wagons as they could find while the V Corps and II Corpsprovided support and kept the Confederates occupied to the north and east.
The battle lasted until 7 February and resulted in approximately 2,700 casualties for both sides, with neither side gaining a significant advantage.