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The Siege of Petersburg: The Battles for the Weldon Railroad, August 1864
A revised and expanded tactical study General Grant’s Fourth Offensive during the American Civil War.The nine-month siege of Petersburg was the longest continuous operation of the American Civil War. A series of large-scale Union “offensives,” grand maneuvers that triggered some of the fiercest battles of the war, broke the monotony of static trench warfare. Grant’s Fourth Offensive, August 14–25, the longest and bloodiest operation of the campaign, is the subject of John Horn’s revised and updated Sesquicentennial edition of The Siege of The Battles for the Weldon Railroad, August 1864.Frustrated by his inability to break through the Southern front, General Grant devised a two-punch combination strategy to sever the crucial Weldon Railroad and stretch General Lee’s lines. The plan called for Winfield Hancock’s II Corps (with X Corps) to move against Deep Bottom north of the James River to occupy Confederate attention while Warren’s V Corps, supported by elements of IX Corps, marched south and west below Petersburg toward Globe Tavern on the Weldon Railroad. The move triggered the battles of Second Deep Bottom, Globe Tavern, and Second Reams Station, bitter fighting that witnessed fierce Confederate counterattacks and additional Union operations against the railroad before Grant’s troops dug in and secured their hold on Globe Tavern. The result was nearly 15,000 killed, wounded, and missing, the severing of the railroad, and the jump-off point for what would be Grant’s Fifth Offensive in late September.Revised and updated for this special edition, Horn’s outstanding tactical battle study emphasizes the context and consequences of every action and is supported by numerous maps and grounded in hundreds of primary sources. Unlike many battle accounts, Horn puts Grant’s Fourth Offensive into its proper perspective not only in the context of the Petersburg Campaign and the war, but in the context of the history of warfare.“A superior piece of Civil War scholarship.” —Edwin C. Bearss, former Chief Historian of the National Park Service and award-winning author of The Petersburg Volume 1, The Eastern Front Battles and Volume 2, The Western Front Battles“It’s great to have John Horn’s fine study of August 1864 combat actions (Richmond-Petersburg style) back in print; covering actions on both sides of the James River, with sections on Deep Bottom, Globe Tavern, and Reams Station. Utilizing manuscript and published sources, Horn untangles a complicated tale of plans gone awry and soldiers unexpectedly thrust into harm’s way. This new edition upgrades the maps and adds some fresh material. Good battle detail, solid analysis, and strong characterizations make this a welcome addition to the Petersburg bookshelf.” —Noah Andre Trudeau, author of The Last Petersburg, June 1864–April 1865
473 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 19, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 6, 2025
Horn's account is dry, detailed, and supported by a mostly solid analysis of the situation. The offensive is presented as something of a draw. The Confederates inflicted heavy losses and proved the Union army was incapable of hard combat, itself a repudiation of Grant's Overland Campaign. Morale in the North sank further. However, the capture of the Weldon Railroad made the Rebel supply situation slightly worse and made it impossible for Lee to send men to Jubal Early (Johnston and Hood were never serious considerations in this regard). All in all, though, the operation must be viewed as a Confederate victory, arguably their last victory of consequence before Atlanta decided everything.
In looking at the commanders, Horn is notably hard on them. He is at his shrewdest in considering Grant, giving him high marks for strategy and operational maneuver but low ones for his tactics. The evidence that Grant was a bad tactician continues to mount.
UPDATE: I now view the offensive as a slight Union victory, but a very costly one.
In looking at the commanders, Horn is notably hard on them. He is at his shrewdest in considering Grant, giving him high marks for strategy and operational maneuver but low ones for his tactics. The evidence that Grant was a bad tactician continues to mount.
UPDATE: I now view the offensive as a slight Union victory, but a very costly one.
February 17, 2015
The Siege of Petersburg tends to be one of the more overlooked and overwritten aspects of the American Civil War due to the waning years of the war. John Horn’s work, The Siege of Petersburg helps to fill in some of the gaps during that lengthy campaign, mainly the battles which surrounded the Weldon Railroad. Not only is this a strong work which has stood the test of time, it is now available for purchase in a special 150th Anniversary Edition which has been revised and expanded. This edition has also, as stated in the introduction, been toned down in the realm of footnotes focusing on the direct quotes. The finished product is a book that has been well polished and is a welcome addition into the annals of history in the world of the Petersburg Campaign.
John Horn has published numerous articles in many different Civil War publications such as Civil War Times, Illustrated and America’s Civil War. He has also published other books such as The Destruction of the Weldon Railroad and the Petersburg Campaign. Along with Hampton Newsome and Dr. John G. Selby, he co-edited Civil War Talk: The Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard and His Fellow Veterans. Aside from being an excellent historian, he also practices law and sometimes holds public office.
I had to laugh when I read the introduction to this book and coming upon Horn’s description of the Petersburg Campaign. He stated that it was the Rodney Dangerfield of Civil War campaigns: it gets no respect. Throughout the many books which I have read and reviewed concerning the Petersburg Campaign and its battles in the past year, I have to say that this book is a welcome addition to the collection of works on the event. Horn leaves no detail unturned and in all reality, goes extremely in depth into the regimental movements of the battle. This does not deviate from the compelling narrative which fuels this work which is also aided by finely drawn maps. Horn also breaks down the battles in which he is talking about throughout the chapters especially battles in a complex nature such as Second Deep Bottom. Almost the entire first half of the book centralizes around the Second Battle of Deep Bottom and it is that attention to detail which makes this work shine. One of the things which I found to be fascinating was the outlook of the commanders which many have come to revere thanks to their actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. The situation in which they participated was much different than those three days in July and for some of them it greatly showed. Certain issues with the command of people such as Francis Barlow and Winfield Scott Hancock gives the reader a different outlook on the people whom so many consider the heroes of the war just because they stood tall at Gettysburg. While I have to admit, that I do not own the original edition of this work, but the reprint is done in an excellent format and is quite informative to people who do not entirely know what happened during the fight for the Weldon Railroad.
I highly recommend this book to the student of the Petersburg Campaign. The new student to the Civil War might find this book to be a bit daunting due to the attention to detail, but it should not stop them from purchasing and reading this fine book. John Horn’s new edition of The Siege of Petersburg excels at filling in the gap of what many other histories of the last two years of the war have failed to do. This is an incredible piece of academia and is a welcome scholarship into the study.
Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle
John Horn has published numerous articles in many different Civil War publications such as Civil War Times, Illustrated and America’s Civil War. He has also published other books such as The Destruction of the Weldon Railroad and the Petersburg Campaign. Along with Hampton Newsome and Dr. John G. Selby, he co-edited Civil War Talk: The Further Reminiscences of George S. Bernard and His Fellow Veterans. Aside from being an excellent historian, he also practices law and sometimes holds public office.
I had to laugh when I read the introduction to this book and coming upon Horn’s description of the Petersburg Campaign. He stated that it was the Rodney Dangerfield of Civil War campaigns: it gets no respect. Throughout the many books which I have read and reviewed concerning the Petersburg Campaign and its battles in the past year, I have to say that this book is a welcome addition to the collection of works on the event. Horn leaves no detail unturned and in all reality, goes extremely in depth into the regimental movements of the battle. This does not deviate from the compelling narrative which fuels this work which is also aided by finely drawn maps. Horn also breaks down the battles in which he is talking about throughout the chapters especially battles in a complex nature such as Second Deep Bottom. Almost the entire first half of the book centralizes around the Second Battle of Deep Bottom and it is that attention to detail which makes this work shine. One of the things which I found to be fascinating was the outlook of the commanders which many have come to revere thanks to their actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. The situation in which they participated was much different than those three days in July and for some of them it greatly showed. Certain issues with the command of people such as Francis Barlow and Winfield Scott Hancock gives the reader a different outlook on the people whom so many consider the heroes of the war just because they stood tall at Gettysburg. While I have to admit, that I do not own the original edition of this work, but the reprint is done in an excellent format and is quite informative to people who do not entirely know what happened during the fight for the Weldon Railroad.
I highly recommend this book to the student of the Petersburg Campaign. The new student to the Civil War might find this book to be a bit daunting due to the attention to detail, but it should not stop them from purchasing and reading this fine book. John Horn’s new edition of The Siege of Petersburg excels at filling in the gap of what many other histories of the last two years of the war have failed to do. This is an incredible piece of academia and is a welcome scholarship into the study.
Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle
March 1, 2015
I just finished reading John Horn's The Siege of Petersburg: The Battles for the Weldon Railroad, August 1864, which encompasses the battles of Second Deep Bottom, Globe Tavern, and Second Reams Station, all part of Grant's fourth offensive. This is a revision of the author's 1993 book under a slightly different title. While primarily focused on the fighting at the tactical level, the author casts an acute eye on the operational and strategic levels of war. Everyone interested in the Civil War should read Horn's chapter 13 which is a model of how to examine the various levels of warfare and the ultimate meaning of this campaign.
I have only one substantive disagreement with Horn’s analysis. I believe that Meade and his staff should bear the main part of the culpability for the slow and awkward transfer of Hancock's II Corps to Deep Bottom, particularly the failure to gather lighters and other small craft to land the troops rather than Grant and his staff. As Horn points out, Meade functioned largely as Grant's executive officer as opposed to a true army commander during the campaign. This is but one example out of many during 1864 when Meade's execution of Grant's plans was anything but crisp and efficient.
Although there are many maps, more could profitably be added to help the reader understand the fighting on the tactical level while the existing ones need a greater level of detail. Generally the author writes on the brigade, regimental, and, occasionally, company level but the maps show units often at the division level and only sometimes at the brigade level. I found it difficult to keep the placement of regiments clearly in view during most of his account.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in the American Civil War.
I have only one substantive disagreement with Horn’s analysis. I believe that Meade and his staff should bear the main part of the culpability for the slow and awkward transfer of Hancock's II Corps to Deep Bottom, particularly the failure to gather lighters and other small craft to land the troops rather than Grant and his staff. As Horn points out, Meade functioned largely as Grant's executive officer as opposed to a true army commander during the campaign. This is but one example out of many during 1864 when Meade's execution of Grant's plans was anything but crisp and efficient.
Although there are many maps, more could profitably be added to help the reader understand the fighting on the tactical level while the existing ones need a greater level of detail. Generally the author writes on the brigade, regimental, and, occasionally, company level but the maps show units often at the division level and only sometimes at the brigade level. I found it difficult to keep the placement of regiments clearly in view during most of his account.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in the American Civil War.
July 8, 2015
This is a useful examination of one of General Ulysses Grant's efforts to move ahead the results of his siege of Petersburg and, ultimately, Richmond. He had a number of motives for the Weldon Railroad caper. At one level, to take the Weldon Railroad and end the supplies moving along its battered tracks to support the Confederate forces and others. At another level, a major attack might prevent Lee from reinforcing General Jubal Early's forces in the Shenandoah Valley.
The attack had two components--first, an attack at the northern end of the Confederate trenches around Richmond and Petersburg; second, an attack at the other end of the Confederate lines on the Weldon Railroad. It was a complex operation (more so than my rendering of events). First, the Second Corps under General Winfield Scott Hancock, would be the primary voice attacking the Confederate lines outside Richmond. A part of the motivation here was to draw Confederate forces from other trenches to defend against this attack. Then, led by General Gouverneur Warren's Fifth Corps, there would be an attack on the Weldon Railroad at the other end of Confederate defenses, now hopefully denuded of some of its defenders.
The fight at both ends was sanguinary. Union losses were heavy, but Confederate forces bled as well, as they could afford casualties less than Union forces. There were poor tactical movements throughout--especially by Union forces. Hancock "the Superb" was not at the top of his game (he actually ended up involved in both attacks!).
This is a detailed analysis of the "one-two" punch launched by Grant. End results were rather meager, but in the end the Confederate lines were spread further, stretching the limited manpower that much more. And troops intended for Early's mission did not join him.
The attack had two components--first, an attack at the northern end of the Confederate trenches around Richmond and Petersburg; second, an attack at the other end of the Confederate lines on the Weldon Railroad. It was a complex operation (more so than my rendering of events). First, the Second Corps under General Winfield Scott Hancock, would be the primary voice attacking the Confederate lines outside Richmond. A part of the motivation here was to draw Confederate forces from other trenches to defend against this attack. Then, led by General Gouverneur Warren's Fifth Corps, there would be an attack on the Weldon Railroad at the other end of Confederate defenses, now hopefully denuded of some of its defenders.
The fight at both ends was sanguinary. Union losses were heavy, but Confederate forces bled as well, as they could afford casualties less than Union forces. There were poor tactical movements throughout--especially by Union forces. Hancock "the Superb" was not at the top of his game (he actually ended up involved in both attacks!).
This is a detailed analysis of the "one-two" punch launched by Grant. End results were rather meager, but in the end the Confederate lines were spread further, stretching the limited manpower that much more. And troops intended for Early's mission did not join him.
July 26, 2021
A detailed account of Grant’s fourth offensive at Petersburg, VA. The author provides rich detail as well as thoughtful analysis of the leadership during this period. It is well worth the read.
February 18, 2023
A nice read dealing with the tail end of Grant's fourth offensive. Maps included in this volume are particularly good and some locations are still accurate to the current day.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews