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The Battle of White Oak Road on March 31, 1865 was the second action in Grant’s spring offensive. The one-day battle opened the road for Union infantry to reach the strategic intersection of Five Forks. This led to the end of the Siege of Petersburg, the capture Richmond, and the retreat of Lee’s army to Appomattox.

The Civil War Trust has preserved part of the battlefield and developed a 2/3 mile walking trail with interpretive markers that tell the story of the battle. Two Virginia historical markers direct motorists to the trailhead. White Oak Road S52 is on Boydton Plank Road (US 1) about 1.7 miles east of the trailhead and White Oak Road Engagement S81 is on the north side of White Oak Road at the pull off for the trailhead.


On this site

Tour the battlefield park and explore the interpretive markers along the Civil War Trust’s hiking trail.

See the organization of both armies at the time of the battle.

View a series of Battle Maps shows the progression of the fighting.


Entrance to the White Oak Road battlefield near Petersburg, Virginia

Who fought in the Battle of White Oak Road?

Union Major General Gouverneur K. Warren commanded 22,000 men from the Fifth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He was supported by Brigadier General Nelson Miles’ Division of the Second Corps.

Confederate Major General Richard H. Anderson commanded 8,000 men from Major General Bushrod Johnson’s Division of the Army of Northern Virginia. General Robert E. Lee was also on the field.

Both forces were part of much larger armies operating along the thrity-some miles of front in the Siege of Petersburg.

How many casualties were there in the battle?

The North lost about 1,870 men, the South 800.

Why was the battle fought?

The Siege of Petersburg had been going on for nine months. Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant had repeatedly tried to swing around Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s flank. Grant was trying to outflank the extensive Confederate defenses at Petersburg and cut the Southside Railroad. The railroad was the last Confederate supply line. Its loss would force Lee to evacuate Petersburg and the Confederate capital at Richmond. Each time Grant had been stopped, although the siege lines were extended and Lee’s outnumbered army was forced to stretch itself a little thinner. Now, Lee’s army was at its weakest after a long and hungry winter in the trenches. Lee’s men were stretched to the breaking point after a costly failed attack at Fort Stedman on March 25. Grant was ready to try again.

Lee sent off his only mobile reserve, Pickett’s infantry division and three small cavalry divisions, to defend against a Union move around his western flank. The Confederate position along White Oak Road was critical to maintain contact with and cover the Pickett’s forces to the west.

On March 29 Union Major General Gouverneur K. Warren Fifth Corps left the Union siege lines and began moving toward Boydton Plank Road, followed by Major General Andrew A. Humphrey’s Second Corps. Further South, Major General Philip Sheridan led the Cavalry Corps toward Dinwiddie Court House. Warren ran into three Confederate brigades of Major General Bushrod Johnson’s Division of Lieutenant General Richard Anderson’s Corps. In the Battle of Lewis’ Farm Warren pushed the Confederates back to their defenses along White Oak Road.

The battle: attack and counterattacks

On March 30 Warren moved forward against the Confederate defences. But a counterattack by Johnson’s men, reinforced by two other brigades, threw the Federals back. Warren committed his reserve division under Griffin and, in cooperation with Miles’ Division of the Second Corps, pushed the Confederates back to their defenses. Warren took up a position on White Oak Road.

Results of the battle

It was a Federal victory. White Oak Road was muddy and barely passable, but it was undefended. It led to the strategic intersection of Five Forks, well in the rear of Pickett’s Confederate infantry at Dinwiddie Court House. Pickett was forced to withdraw to Five Forks to cover the intersection. And the next day, on April 1,  Warren advanced down White Oak Road against Pickett’s flank and, combined with Sheridan’s cavalry, overwhelmed Pickett’s force in the decisive Battle of Five Forks.

What other names is the Battle of White Oak Road known as?

The battle is known by several other names: Hatcher’s Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, and White Oak Ridge, all from physical features of various parts of the battlefield where different units fought.

Location of the parking area for the White Oak Road battlefield trail

The White Oak Road battlefield is about ten miles southwest Petersburg, Virginia in the woods between White Oak Road and Boydton Plank Road. The Civil War Trust’s White Oak Road battlefield trail parking area is on White Oak Road at the intersection with Claiborne Road, about 1.7 miles west of Boydton Plank Road (US 1) and 4.4 miles east of Five Forks.