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15 June in military history: First assault on Petersburg, 1864

Military history · 15 June · American Civil WarFull calendar

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Union soldiers in slouch hats and kepis among captured cannon behind a log and earth parapet of the Confederate outer line at Petersburg, June 1864, smoky woods beyond, in faded sepia
Outer line of Confederate fortifications in front of Petersburg, Virginia, captured by the XVIII Corps on 15 June 1864. Public domain. Albumen print, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (Civil War Photographs, No. B492), no known restrictions on publication.
Quick answer

On 15 June 1864, after Cold Harbor, the Union XVIII Corps under Major General William F. "Baldy" Smith attacked Petersburg, Virginia, held by about 2,200 Confederates under P. G. T. Beauregard. Smith waited until evening, broke into the Dimmock Line with a division of US Colored Troops in the lead, then halted for the night. A long siege followed.

The Siege of Petersburg

15 June 1864 to 2 April 1865 · 162 years ago

In May 1864 Grant took the war to Lee in a campaign that never let go: the burning thickets of the Battle of the Wilderness, then the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House and its Bloody Angle. At Cold Harbor in early June a frontal assault failed at heavy cost.

Read the full story of The Siege of Petersburg ›

Also on this day

Battle of Rozgony

15 June 1312 · 714 years ago

King Charles Robert of Hungary fought the forces of the mighty Aba family at Rozgony, now Rozhanovce in Slovakia, in his struggle to control the kingdom. Despite heavy losses the king won decisively, ending Aba rule in the east.

1944: the 2d and 4th Marine Divisions landed on the west coast of Saipan in the Marianas. About 8,000 marines were ashore within roughly twenty minutes. D-Day cost about 2,000 killed and wounded, though no accurate count was made at the time.1

Frequently asked questions

Why did the Union fail to take Petersburg on 15 June 1864?

Smith did not attack until about 7 p.m. and, after breaking into the Dimmock Line, halted for the night. He cited darkness and reports of Confederate reinforcements, and later his tired troops. Beauregard wrote that Hoke's division dug in on a new line behind the break, while Grant wrote that there was no evidence the city had been reinforced.

What role did US Colored Troops play at Petersburg on 15 June?

Hinks's division fought at Baylor's Farm in the morning and in the evening took several batteries of the Dimmock Line; Kiddoo's 22nd USCT carried Battery No. 8.

How many men defended Petersburg on 15 June?

Beauregard put his effective force at 2,200, the figure the Park Service and the American Battlefield Trust also give. Smith's own corps was several times stronger.

Did Hancock's II Corps arrive in time?

Two of its divisions reached Smith after dark and relieved his troops in the captured works late that night, too late for any further advance that day.

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Philip A. Crowl, “Campaign in the Marianas”; Carl W. Hoffman, “Saipan”; Henry I. Shaw Jr., “Central Pacific Drive”. ↩

Sources

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