Captain Dennis Dailey and the Capture of Hagood’s Brigade at the Battle of Globe Tavern, Part 1: The Battle of Globe Tavern

This is the first part of of a longer series. The introduction can be found here.

The story of the Dailey-Hagood incident begins with the Battle of Globe Tavern, one of several battles that occurred on the south side of Petersburg during the summer of 1864. By this point in the war, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had settled for a siege as a means of destroying Lee’s army. But to make it work, Grant had to send his troops to cut the main arteries into Petersburg. The first one that had to go was the Weldon Railroad, the line that connected the city to central North Carolina and thence to the vital seaport of Wilmington. The Army of the Potomac’s commander, Maj. Gen. George Meade, believed Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Warren’s 5^th Corps could handle this operation. In mid-August, the 5^th Corps set out for its target—Globe Tavern—a three-story brick structure near the railroad. Meanwhile, to keep Lee’s attention directed elsewhere, soldiers from the 2^nd Corps made a diversionary attack on the north side of the James River. If things went according to plan, the 5^th Corps infantry would destroy the railroad before Lee could react.

This photo depicts the Globe Tavern, which served as Warren's headquarters.

Warren’s troops arrived in the vicinity of Globe Tavern on August 18, 1864. Immediately, the Yankees went to work, tearing up the railroad tracks and bending them around the trunks of nearby trees. Humorously, they twisted the rails into the shape of a Maltese Cross, the symbol of their corps.

Here, 5th Corps soldiers bend the rails of the Weldon Railroad.

The destruction of the railroad went according to plan, but unfortunately, the soldiers of the 5^th Corps faced a Confederate counterattack. Unwilling to sit passively and let the Union troops sever this important rail line, Lieut. Gen. A. P. Hill’s corps sallied forth from Petersburg on a mission to drive the bluecoats from their position. On the afternoon of August 18, one of Hill’s divisions—Maj. Gen. Henry Heth’s—attacked Warren’s vanguard, driving the bluecoats southward, pushing them along the path of the railroad. Although driven from the field, the Union troops did not panic. Instead, they fell back to a more defensible position, one closer to the tavern. There, they dug in. The next day, Maj. Gen. William Mahone’s division renewed the attack. One 5^th Corps division—Maj. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford’s—routed. However, Warren brought up reinforcements (mainly units from the nearby 9^th Corps), and once again, he stabilized his line. The next day, August 20, rainy weather moved in, preventing the armies from engaging, but the Union troops continued to reinforce their breastworks.

By the morning of Sunday, August 21, the weather—although still a bit misty—had begun to clear. The Union earthworks resembled a backwards number 7, with a line of infantry and artillery extending east-west across the Halifax Road and another line running northwest-southeast along the west side of the Weldon Railroad. Captain Patrick Hart’s 15^th New York Independent Battery held the apex of the Union line. Col. Nathan Dushane’s Maryland Brigade formed on the right of Hart’s battery and Brig. Gen. Edward S. Bragg’s Iron Brigade formed on the left. Col. J. William Hofmann’s brigade extended the Iron Brigade’s line to the southeast, connecting with Maj. Gen. Charles Griffin’s Division, which continued the 5^th Corps line to its terminus.

This map depicts the situation on August 21, 1864. The main Confederate effort targeted the apex of the Union line near the Blick farm; however, one errant brigade--Hagood's--attacked the position near the reentry angle.

Over the nighttime hours, the Confederates prepared to make their last assault. Lieut. Gen. Hill ordered his division commanders—Heth and Mahone—to attack the Union line at dawn. Heth planned to strike the Union right flank, and Mahone planned to strike Union apex, which curved around a farm owned by the Blick family.

The Confederate attack did not occur in a coordinated manner. Misty rain hampered the deployment of the infantry, and, as consequence, the two Confederate divisions set off at different times. Thus, when the Confederates made their grand assault, they delivered two uncoordinated punches, both easily repulsed by Warren’s 5^th Corps.

So, how did one Confederate brigade get trapped? Find that out in the next post.

The tale continues here.