The Battle of First Deep Bottom

On July 26, 1864, Union general Winfield Scott Hancock’s corps and three cavalry divisions under Philip H. Sheridan crossed to the north side of the James River at the Deep Bottom bridgehead. What was supposed to be a raid on Confederate railroads and possibly even a breakthrough to the Confederate capital of Richmond turned into a bloody skirmish. Richard H. Anderson’s Confederate forces prevented a Union victory, but only at a great cost. Robert E. Lee was forced to move half his army from the key fortifications at Petersburg in response. Petersburg was all the more vulnerable for Grant’s next move, the infamous Battle of the Crater. Including newly constructed maps from Steven Stanley and a foreword from fellow Civil War scholar Hampton Newsome, this title is the definitive account of an often-overlooked battle. Join author and historian James S. Price as he recounts a pivotal moment in the Petersburg Campaign and the close of the war.