Twice during the Siege of Petersburg, Harrison's Creek became a dividing point between contending armies.
June 15, 1864 After being driven out of the Dimmock Line, the outnumbered Confederate defenders of Petersburg formed a new line on the heights across the stream from you. They held this position until June 17 - weathering repeated Union attacks - then pulled back safely to the line they would hold for the remainder of the siege, a half mile west of here.
March 25, 1865 Harrison's Creek also marks the farthest advance of Lee's last offensive.
After breaching the Union lines at Fort Stedman, Confederates under Brig. Gen. James A. Walker advanced to and beyond Harrison's Creek. Pennsylvanians of Brig. Gen. John Hartranft's Union division rushed from their camps to meet the attack. Volleys rolled across the fields here; soon the overmatched Confederates retreated to Fort Stedman and, eventually, to their own lines.
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