The Battle of Harmon Road

The Battle of Harmon Road (HMA02)

Location: Petersburg, VA 23803
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 10.635', W 77° 28.593'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 755 views
Inscription

The Breakthrough Trail

— Pamplin Historical Park —

On the final day of the Battle of Peebles' Farm, October 2, 1864, Union troops of Brigadier General Gershom Mott's Third Division, Second Army Corps, moved against the Confederate breastworks at the Hart Farm. Mott had orders to determine if the trenches were vulnerable to an attack. The Federals met light resistance from Confederate cavalrymen as they marched up Duncan Road (which they called Harmon Road, after a home located near its intersection with Boydton Plank Road, today's U.S. 1). Major General Henry Heth began rushing infantry units to the area to meet this threat.

Just as Mott's soldiers advanced from the low ground across this field, North Carolinians of Brigadier General William MacRae's Brigade filed into the works. Musketry and artillery fire repulsed the Union attack. About mid-afternoon, four Federal regiments under Lieutenant Colonel George Zinn moved forward again to test the strength of the Confederate defenses. Two more infantry brigades of Heth's division had reinforced MacRae's and easily halted this assault. Zinn received a severe leg wound, but his men removed him from the field. Fewer than 70 Union soldiers became casualties in what was dubbed the Battle of Harmon Road. Confederate losses are unknown but probably were light. Mott's division withdrew to the area of Peebles' Farm and entrenched. The two armies would occupy these lines until April 2, 1865.

"? we were called off to try to drive the enemy from a redoubt in course of construction on another part of the line. Withdrawn from this attempt, we were just going into bivouac again when we were double-quicked to meet the enemy, who was, as usual extending his left. Then occurred the unique incident of two opposing forces running to reach the same point, the point being in this instance the very works we had recently built. The brigade reached them first and just in time to drive back the enemy, who had approached through an extended open field instead of through a wood in front, which would have concealed his movement ?. The attack was repelled and the extension of Grant's left delayed for many days."
- Captain Louis G. Young, Assistant Adjutant General, MacRae's [North Carolina] Brigade
Details
HM NumberHMA02
Tags
Placed ByPamplin Historical Park
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, September 20th, 2014 at 8:03pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 280140 N 4117407
Decimal Degrees37.17725000, -77.47655000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 10.635', W 77° 28.593'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 10' 38.10" N, 77° 28' 35.58" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804, 434, 757
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 6915 Duncan Rd, Petersburg VA 23803, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?