On February 5, Grant and his Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade sent Maj. Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg’s cavalry division to disrupt a Confederate supply line along Boydton Plank Road around Dinwiddie Court House.

Everything had remained relatively quiet there since Grant's seventh offensive in early December, which disrupted the Weldon Railroad to Bellfield, 40 miles south of Petersburg.

[4][5] As the Confederate delegates returned to Richmond and the winter weather temporarily abated, Grant was eager for further action around Petersburg.

Gregg's cavalry division on a raid to Belfield to destroy or capture as much as possible of this supply route that was supporting the Rebel war effort about Petersburg.

To cover Warren's rear, two 2nd Corps divisions (Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys commanding) would move a few miles southwest and take up positions on two Hatcher's Run crossings.

Here, they would block Confederate forces in their works defending Boydton Plank Road from moving out and cutting off any Federal troops from the main Union lines.

[7] Meade's plan retained the same objective as Grant's initial idea but involved traveling shorter distances with the three Union forces remaining closer.

Commentators have claimed that the offensive's aim was to threaten the Confederate right flank and seize the Southside Railroad,[9] which, if accomplished, would have doomed both Petersburg and Richmond.

Federal data derive from the “Organization of the Army of the Potomac, End of January 1865” [13] and the official Union casualties for Hatcher’s Run.

CSA Forces Army of Northern Virginia – Gen. Robert E. Lee SECOND CORPS – Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon Early’s Division – Brig.

USA Forces Army of the Potomac – Maj. Gen. George G. Meade II CORPS – Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys First Division – Bvt.

Gen. Régis de Trobriand’s brigade ( Maj. Gen. Gershom Mott’s division) to capture the Hatcher’s Run crossing of Vaughan Road two miles hence.

North of Armstrong's Mill, Humphreys’ men began digging in, forming a line east and west of Rocky Branch, around 1000 yards south of the main Confederate works protecting Boydton Plank Road.

Gen. William MacRae's Brigade of North Carolinians, all from Maj. Gen. Henry Heth’s Division (Hill's Third Corps), received orders to attack.

[40][41] West of the stream, the Confederate attacks failed to penetrate the Union picket line formed by the 182nd New York Infantry Regiment.

With Grant's blessing, Meade ordered Warren and Gregg to march their forces as soon as possible to the Hatcher's Run crossing of Vaughan Road.

[50] February 6, 1865 Morning Activities As dawn broke and the Union forces consolidated around Humphreys’ location, Meade felt less anxious.

[62] Pegram's larger force slowly pushed Winthrop's Federals back, and as they began to run out of ammunition, they called for support.

Gen. Horatio G. Sickels’ brigade arrived around 3.00 p.m. and not only halted Pegram’s force but routed it, sending the Confederates into the woods for cover.

[63][64] Pegram managed to regroup his soldiers, and at around 3.30 p.m., they headed north across difficult terrain to join their comrades around Dabney’s Mill.

[65][66] Elements of David Gregg’s cavalry patrolled down Vaughan Road and by 5.00 p.m. had cleared it of enemy troops, thus fulfilling their orders of nearly three hours earlier.

Despite Warren’s overwhelming numerical superiority, due to the narrowness of the road and the surrounding dense woods, he could not get all his force to the front at once.

[68][69] As Warren’s lead regiments began to tangle with Lea’s soldiers, an early casualty was the death of “Sallie,” the famed 11th Pennsylvania mascot dog, who was subsequently memorialized in marble at Gettysburg.

[70] Dense woods, swamps, and ravines surrounded the clearing, and the ground was slick with ice and mud, not ideal for conducting military operations.

They arrived around 4.30 p.m., and went to the Union left and, with Col. Richard N. Bowerman’s brigade, prepared to attack the Rebel right held by Gimlet Lea’s men.

Warren suggested returning to the battlefield and pushing the strong Confederate picket line (composed of elements from Mahone's Division) back to their defenses at Dabney's Mill.

Warren reported back, and Meade recommended that he return to the Union works along Hatcher's Run and not attack a defended position.

[91][92] Here they endured another bleak night of hunger, wet and cold, before in the early hours of February 8, they retired to the Union lines along Hatcher's Run, thus ending Grant's 8th Petersburg Offensive.

[91][93][94] The stated aim of Grant's Eighth Offensive was to disrupt the Confederate Belfield – Boydton Plank Road supply route.

Despite a slow response to the Union advance, they focussed forces upon Humphreys’ 2nd Corps late on February 5, and but for poor tactics, they could have inflicted severe damage.