Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864

Chapter 10. The Fifth and Ninth Corps Advance

178 richmond must fall South of Petersburg, soldiers of the Union ninth Corps broke camp at 3 a.m. Thursday, quickly washed down hard tack with coffee, and marched out into the darkness.1 The badges on their caps bore a cannon tube crossed over an anchor, in recognition of their successful operations along coastal north Carolina in 1862. Through much of the 1864 campaign, though, the ninth Corps had served under the under the affable, unlucky, and underappreciated ambrose Burnside. in July, they had suffered the ignominy of the Crater assault. after the high command nudged Burnside out of his job, corps leadership devolved on John g. Parke, “a very pleasant-looking man and liked apparently by everyone.”2 He was no stranger to the ninth Corps, having served under Burnside for much of the war. Colonel lyman, Meade’s opinionated staffer, wondered if Parke was “stern & rough enough to bring” the loose ends of the ninth Corps into shape.3 For Parke and his three infantry divisions, the day’s mission offered the hope of immediate success. if his column could punch through the nascent Confederate defenses along the Boydton Plank Road, he would open a path to the South Side Railroad. “push ahead more rapidly” Parke’s first division, commanded by Brigadier general orlando Willcox, led the way. The procession stepped through the parapet at Fort Cummings and tramped due west along Hawks’ Road.4 Beyond Fort Cummings to the west, the road gradually ascended into woods and over more open ground dotted by small farms and houses. on the left stood the Smith house, several hundred yards to the south and just down the road off to the right, sat the Hawks house. Farther west, Confederate pickets crouched and beyond, somewhere in the darkness, loomed the new rebel trenches. The federal commanders could only guess at the strength of the works and the number of troops manning them. The ninth Corps’ start seemed smooth enough. The soldiers massed behind the lines on high ground and exited Fort Cummings. But, as noted by Corporal 178 Chapter 10 The Fifth and ninth Corps advance • the fifth and ninth corps advance 179 george allen of the 4th Rhode island, a potential problem arose: “now, it seemed to our ‘unofficial’ minds, that if a surprise movement on the left was to be attempted , there was a big blunder right on the start, in massing us on this hill near headquarters. it was in plain view of the rebel lines, and as soon as it became light enough to see us they crowded on the top of their works and watched to see which way we were going to move.”5 detected or not, the column did not go far. The troops soon halted for some reason and sat down beyond the slashing near the outer picket posts.6 Parke’s command did not resume its advance until daybreak, about 5:30 a.m. once on the move, the column encountered its first obstacle, a small rebel redoubt known as Fort MacRae. The earthen work sat athwart Parke’s advance on a slight rise between the road and the Hawks house. it formed the southwest terminus of the old Confederate Squirrel level line, trenches captured by Union forces during grant’s September offensive. Beyond the grasp of the new Union lines, the small fort continued to provide Confederates with a fortified picket post. if given the chance, the handful of secessionists at Fort MacRae would quickly spread the alarm to Hampton’s and Heth’s men sleeping in their camps to the rear. general Willcox and his three brigades sought to neutralize this trip wire. The general ordered Colonel napoleon Mclaughlen, commanding his division’s third brigade, to penetrate the right and rear of the fort and capture anyone posted there.7 Mclaughlen, in turn, assigned the task to Major James doherty of the 57th Massachusetts. as the cloudy sky brightened, doherty and forty others crept through a patch of woods adjacent to the Hawks yard and then rushed the rebel picket post. Success appeared certain. However, before the position fell, a musket went off, shattering the dawn’s stillness.8 With their presence betrayed, the Union soldiers hurried forward, killing one Confederate. But three others escaped to spread the news. Mclaughlen pushed the balance of his brigade to the redoubt.9 The troops immediately began to reverse and extend the captured works.10 as Fort MacRae fell, men from Colonel Byron...