[5] Grant selected Butler's Army of the James, which had performed poorly in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, to lead the expedition toward Petersburg.

"[6] One advantage for the Confederates was the strength of the Dimmock Line, formidable artillery positions connected by earthworks and trenches for over 10 miles (16 km), circling the city and anchored on the Appomattox River to the east and west.

William T. H. Brooks, John H. Martindale, and Edward W. Hinks, and the cavalry division of Brigadier General August Kautz.

The transport vessels delivered these divisions almost at random to landing sites on the opposite shore, confusing Smith's plans and wasting time reorganizing.

Kautz's cavalry division was ordered to clear the line of advance for the infantry, Brooks and Martindale would march down the City Point Railroad, and Hinks's U.S.

Smith performed a reconnaissance and, despite his sense of nervousness about the strength of the enemy position, planned to carry the defensive works with a strong skirmish line.

Approximately 600 Confederates under Brigadier General James Dearing bombarded Kautz with artillery and the Union cavalrymen got no closer than 500 yards (460 m) from the line.

In a manner similar to the June 9 battle, Kautz listened for evidence that Smith was attacking to his right and, hearing none, gave up and withdrew.

[10] When Smith finally started his attack, his skirmishers swept over the earthworks on a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) front, capturing Batteries 3 and 5–11, causing the Confederates to retreat to a weaker defensive line on Harrison's Creek.

Despite this initial success and the prospect of a virtually undefended city immediately to his front, Smith decided to wait until dawn to resume his attack.

Confederate artillery fire caused significant Union casualties, including the death of Colonel Patrick Kelly, commander of the famous Irish Brigade.

Although Barlow's men managed to capture their objectives, a counterattack drove them back, taking numerous Union prisoners.

Initially successful, it captured nearly a mile of the Confederate fortifications and about 600 prisoners, but the effort eventually failed when Potter's men moved forward to find another line of entrenchments.

During the day, Beauregard's engineers had laid out new defensive positions a mile to the west of the Dimmock Line, running along a creek named Taylor's Branch to the Appomattox.

Hancock began to suffer effects from his lingering Gettysburg wound and he turned over command of the II Corps to Major General David B. Birney.

The men of the II Corps were surprised to make rapid progress against the Confederate line, not realizing that Beauregard had moved it back the night before.

When they encountered the second line, the attack immediately ground to a halt and the corps suffered under heavy Confederate fire for hours.

Major General Orlando B. Willcox's division of the IX Corps led a renewed attack but it suffered significant losses in the marsh and open fields crossed by Taylor's Branch.