White Oak Road • Tour the Battlefield • The Armies • Battle Maps
The men who fought at White Oak Road were well acquainted. Both armies had gone into the field in May of 1864 and there had been no break in the fighting for nine long months. Both armies were experienced, but tired and worn.
Since the begining of the Siege of Petersburg the Union Second and Fifth Corps were repeatedly the choice for an attacking force which would swing around the Confederate flank and strike for their supply lines. They had always been met with a Confederate counterattack that resulted in casualties, often heavy. And yet almost always some new ground had been held, the trench lines extended, and replacements found for another try.
The names of famous regiments that had fought at Chancellorsville or Gettysburg were still on the rosters of the Union corps. But most of these veteran regiments were tattered remnants of the original. Some had been officially downgraded from regiments to battalions. Entire brigades were new. They were replacements for the volunteers of the early days of the war whose units mustered out, or the tens of thousands of men left buried on the fields of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania or Cold Harbor, or disabled by wounds.
The regiments’ commanding officers were one sign of the loss. Few were commanded by full colonels. Many were led by majors and captains. Several regiments were consolidated under the command of a surviving field officer.
But for all the negatives, the Federals had advantages. They had received enough reinforcements that their numbers had grown during the siege, even if many of the new men were heavy artillery units whose infantry training was tragically out of date or bounty men who had to be guarded so they wouldn’t desert at the first opportunity. They had supplies, food and ammunition in abundance, brought to within a mile or two of their trenches by the military railroad built during the siege. And they were not only unquestionably winning, but the desperation of their opponents was plain.
For all the signs of wear and battering shown by the Federals, the Confederates were in far worse shape. They also had suffered the heavy casualties of the last nine months. But they hadn’t received the stream of replacements and supplies. The men were hungry, even starving. Their clothes were worn out and many men had no shoes. They seemed to welcome a Yankee attack for the food, socks and shoes that would be left behind in the knapsacks of the dead and wounded. And it was not just the men. Hungry artillery horses were too weak to pull the cannon and cavalry mounts didn’t have the strength for a hard day of fighting.
The Confederates had been run ragged keeping up with Grant’s strategy of alternating blows on the Petersburg and Richmond fronts. Units were continually being shifted back and forth to reinforce threatened areas and counterattack Union successes. One result was that the five Confederate brigades commanded by Johnson at White Oak Road came from three different divisions of three different corps.
Only two of Johnson’s brigades, Moody’s and Wise’s, were at White Oak Road. His other two brigades, under Ransom and Wallace, had been loaned to Pickett at Five Forks. In exchange he had Hunton’s Brigade from Pickett’s Division of the First Corps. McGowan’s and Scales’ brigades were on loan from Wright’s Division of the Third Corps, which held the line to the east.
Organization of Confederate Forces at The Battle of White Oak Road
Commanded by Lieutenant General George Anderson
(General Robert E. Lee was on the battlefield in overall command)
Johnson’s Division |
Major General Bushrod R. Johnson |
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| Moody’s Brigade | Colonel Martin L. Stansel | ||
| 41st Alabama Infantry Regiment | Colonel Martin L. Stansel | ||
| 43rd Alabama Infantry Regiment | Major William J. Mims | ||
| 59th Alabama Infantry Regiment | Major Lewis H. Crumpler | ||
| 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment | Colonel John W.A. Sanford | ||
| 23rd Alabama Infantry Battalion | Major Nicholas Stallworth | ||
| Wise’s Brigade | Brigadier General Henry A. Wise | ||
| 26th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Major William K. Perrin | ||
| 34th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Colonel John T. Goode | ||
| 46th Virginia Infantry Regiment | |||
| 59th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Colonel William B. Tabb | ||
Temporarily attached from Pickett’s Division of the First Corps |
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| Hunton’s Brigade | Brigadier General Montgomery Corse | ||
| 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment | |||
| 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel H. Wilkinson | ||
| 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment | |||
| 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Major Michael P. Spessard | ||
| 56th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Captain John W. Jones | ||
Temporarily attached from Wilcox’s Division of the Third Corps |
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| McGowan’s Brigade | Brigadier General Samuel McGowan | ||
| 1st South Carolina (Orr’s) Rifles | Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson | ||
| 12th South Carolina Infantry Regiment | Captain J.C. Bell | ||
| 13th South Carolina Infantry Regiment | Colonel Isaac F. Hunt | ||
| 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Edward Croft | ||
| Scales’ Brigade | Colonel Joseph H. Hyman | ||
| 13th North Carolina Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel E. Benton Withers | ||
| 16th North Carolina Infantry Regiment | Colonel William A. Stowe | ||
| 22nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment | Colonel Thomas S. Galloway, Jr. | ||
| 34th North Carolina Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel George M. Norment | ||
| 38th North Carolina Infantry Regiment | Colonel John Ashford Lieutenant Colonel George W. Flowers |
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| Holcombe (S.C.) Legion | Colonel William J. Crawley | ||
Organization of United States Forces at the Battle of White Oak Road
Commanded by Major General Gouverneur K. Warren
Fifth Corps |
Major General Gouverneur K. Warren |
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| 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Co. C | ||||
| 104th New York Infantry | ||||
First Division |
Brigadier Genreral Charles Griffin |
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| First Brigade | Brigadier General Joshua L. Chamberlain | |||
| 185th New York Infantry Regiment | Colonel Gustavus Sniper | |||
| 198th Pensylvania Infantry Regiment | Major Edwin A. Glenn | |||
| Second Brigade | Colonel Edgar M. Gregory | |||
| 187th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Meyers | |||
| 188th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Collonel Isaac Doolittle | |||
| 189th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Joseph G. Townsend | |||
| Third Brigade | Brigadier General Joseph J. Bartlett | |||
| 1st Maine Sharpshooters | Captain George R. Abbott | |||
| 20th Maine Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Walter G. Morrill | |||
| 32nd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel James A. Cunningham | |||
| 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel George Lockley | |||
| 16th Michigan Infantry Regiment | Brevet Colonel Benjamin F. Partridge | |||
| 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel Chauncey P. Rogers | |||
| 91st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Eli G. Sellers | |||
| 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Henry O’Neill | |||
| 155th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel Alfred L. Pearson | |||
Second Division |
Brigadier General Romeyn B. Ayres |
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| First Brigade | Brevet Brig. Gen. Frederick Winthrop | |||
| 61st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment | ||||
| 5th New York Veteran Infantry | Captain Henry Schickhardt | |||
| 15th New York Heavy Artillery | Lieutenant Colonel Michael Weidrich | |||
| 140th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel William S. Grantsyn | |||
| 146th New York Infantry Regiment | Colonel James Grindley | |||
| Second Brigade | Colonel Andrew W. Denison (w) Colonel Richard N. Bowerman |
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| 1st Maryland Infantry Regiment | Colonel David L. Stanton | |||
| 4th Maryland Infantry Regiment | Colonel Richard N. Bowerman (^) Major Harrison Aderon |
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| 7th Maryland Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel David T. Bennett (w) Major Edward M. Mobley |
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| 8th Maryland Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Ernest F.M. Faehtz | |||
| Third Brigade | Brevet Brigadier General James Gwyn | |||
| 3rd Delaware Infantry | Captain John H. Cade | |||
| 4th Delaware Infantry | Captain William H. Maclary | |||
| 8th Delaware Infantry (3 companies) | Captain John N. Richards | |||
| 157th Pensylvania Infantry (4 companies) | Brevet Colonel Joseph B. Pattee | |||
| 190th Pensylvania Infantry Regiment | Brevet Colonel Joseph B. Pattee | |||
| 191st Pensylvania Infantry Regiment | Brevet Colonel Joseph B. Pattee | |||
| 210th Pensylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel William Sergeant (mw) Lieutenant Colonel Edward L. Whitman |
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Third Division |
Brigadier General Samuel W. Crawford | |||
| Unattached | ||||
| 1st New York Sharpshooter Battalion | Captain Clinton Perry | |||
| First Brigade | Colonel John Kellogg | |||
| 91st New York Infantry Regiment | Colonel Jonathan Tarbell | |||
| 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Kerr (w) Captain Edward A. Whaley |
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| 7th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Hollon Richardson | |||
| Second Brigade | Brigadier Genreral Henry Baxter | |||
| 16th Maine Infantry Regiment | Colonel Charles W. Tilden | |||
| 39th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Henry M. Tremlett (w) Captain Joseph J. Cooper |
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| 97th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Rouse Egelston | |||
| 11th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major John B. Overmyer | |||
| 107th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel Thomas F. McCoy | |||
| Third Brigade | Colonel Richard Coulter | |||
| 94th New York Infantry Regiment | Major Henry H. Fish (w) | |||
| 95th New York Veteran Infantry | Captain George T. Knight | |||
| 147th New York Infantry Regiment | Major Dennis B. Dailey (w) Captain James A. McKinley |
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| 56th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major Henry A. Laycock | |||
| 88th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major Henry A. Laycock | |||
| 121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major West Funk | |||
| 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Horatio N. Warren (w) | |||
Artillery Brigade |
Brevet Brigadier General Charles S. Wainwright | |||
| 1st New York Light, Battery B | Captain Robert E. Rogers | |||
| 1st New York Light, Battery D | Lieutenant Deloss M. Johnson | |||
| 1st New York Light, Battery H | Captain Charles E. Mink | |||
| 15th New York Heavy, Battery M | Captain William D. Dickey | |||
| 4th United States, Battery B | Lieutenant William Vose | |||
| 5th United States, Batteries D & G | Lieutenant Jocob B. Rawles | |||
Second Corps |
Major General Andrew A. Humphreys |
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First Division |
Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles | |||
| First Brigade | Colonel George W. Scott | |||
| 26th Michigan Infantry Regiment | Captain Lucius H. Ives | |||
| 5th New Hampshire Infantry Battalion | Lieutenant Colonel Welcome A. Crafts | |||
| 2nd New York Heavy Artillery | Major Oscar F. Hulser | |||
| 61st New York Infantry Regiment | Major George W. Schaffer | |||
| 81st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel William Wilson | |||
| 140th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Captain William A.F. Stockton | |||
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Second Brigade |
Colonel Robert Nugent | |||
| 28th Massachusetts Infantry (5 cos.) | Captain Patrick H. Bird | |||
| 4th New York Heavy Artillery | Major Seward F. Gould | |||
| 63rd New York Infantry (6 cos.) | Captain William H. Terwilliger | |||
| 69th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel James J. Smith | |||
| 88th New York Infantry (5 cos.) | Lieutenant Colonel Denis F. Burke | |||
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Third Brigade |
Brevet Brigadier General Henry J. Madill | |||
| 7th New York Veteran Infantry | Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Pokorny | |||
| 39th New York Infantry Regiment | Colonel Augustus Funk ( 3/31) Major John M. Hyde |
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| 52nd New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Henry M. Karples | |||
| 111th New York Infantry Regiment | Colonel Clinton D. MacDougall | |||
| 125th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Hyde | |||
| 126th New York Infantry Battalion | Captain John B. Geddis | |||
| Fourth Brigade | Brevet Brigadier General John Ramsey | |||
| 64th New York Infantry Regiment | Lieutenant Colonel William Glenny | |||
| 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel William M. Mintzer | |||
| 116th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Major David W. Megraw (w 3/31) Captain John R. Weltner |
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| 145th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Captain James H. Hamlin | |||
| 148th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Captain Alfred A. Rheinhart (w 3/31) Captain John F. Sutton |
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| 183rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment | Colonel George T. Efbert | |||