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Stop One on the Petersburg National Battlefield Western Front Auto Tour is Fort Wadsworth.
Today’s Halifax Road was the route of the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad during the Civil War. Since the war the current railroad has been relocated just to the west, where Flank Road tunnels under a large railroad yard. The Weldon Railroad was one of the critical supply lines into Petersburg and Richmond, and cutting it was one of Grant’s main objectives. Union troops tried and failed to reach this point in June.
The Battle of Globe Tavern
On August 18, 1864 they succeeded, reaching this position and demolishing track. Confederate forces attacked, resulting in the three day Battle of Globe Tavern. It was the first Federal victory of the Petersburg Siege, with Union forces holding their ground and inflicting heavy casualtes on the attackers, particularly Hagood’s South Carolina Brigade, whose monument is here.
After the battle Union troops threw up defensive works that connected with the Union siege line. The strong point at the end of the Union line became Fort Wadsworth. It would be the extreme left of the Union siege lines for two months.
Fort Wadsworth was named after Union division commander Brevet Major General James Wadsworth. He is honored by a statue on the Gettysburg battlefield, where he commanded the First Division of the First Corps, and a monument on the Wilderness battlefield, where he was mortally wounded in May of 1864.
A monument to a Confederate brigade and three markers help tell the story of this area:
Siege of Petersburg – Grant’s Fourth Offensive orientation marker
Fight for the Weldon Railroad wayside marker
Fort Wadsworth wayside marker
Monument to Hagood’s South Carolina Brigade
Map and directions to Stop One on the Auto Tour
Stop 1 on the Petersburg National Battlefield Western Front Auto Tour is south of Petersburg at the intersection of Flank Road and Halifax Road, Virginia Route 604. The parking area is on the southwest side of the intersection. (37°10’02.0″N 77°24’57.6″W)
Directions to the next stop on the Auto Tour:
Leave the parking area by the north side and turn left (west) on Flank Road. Proceed through the tunnel under the railroad yard and about .6 mile west. Turn south (left) on Vaughn Road (Route 675) and proceed .5 mile to the entry to the Stop Two, Poplar Grove National Cemetery.