Battle of Boydton Plank Road The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road ( also known as Burgess Mill or First Hatcher ' s Run ) , fought on October 27 – 28 , 1864 , followed the successful Battle of Peebles ' Farm in the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War . It was an attempt by the Union Army to seize the Boydton Plank Road and cut the South Side Railroad , a critical supply line to Petersburg , Virginia . Background . At the Battle of Peebles ' Farm earlier in October , the Union V Corps had seized a portion of the Confederate works around Hatcher ' s Run . The entire II Corps , under Maj . Gen . Winfield S . Hancock , was pulled out of the trenches and moved to operate against the Confederates ' Boydton Line in conjunction with a simultaneous operation against the Richmond defenses along the Darbytown Road . The II Corps was reinforced by divisions from the V Corps , IX Corps , and Brig . Gen . David McM . Gregg ' s cavalry division already operating in the area . Battle . On October 27 , Hancock marched across Hatcher ' s Run , brushed aside Confederate pickets and moved around the Confederate flank towards Burgess Mill . The division under Brig . Gen . Gershom Mott crossed the Boydton Plank Road and attacked Maj . Gen . Wade Hampton ' s Confederate cavalry threatening to cut it off from the main Confederate lines . Lt . Gen . A . P . Hill , who commanded the Confederate defenses in the area , reacted quickly to Hancock ' s threat . However , once his units moved to confront the Federals , Hill , in poor health , proved too sick to continue field command and turned over direction of his corps to Maj . Gen . Henry Heth . Heth put two divisions in Hancock ' s path , but the Federal commander drove up the Boydton Plank Road and pushed aside the opposing Confederates . At this time both Maj . Gen . George G . Meade and Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant rode out to the battlefield , where Meade immediately noticed a gap between Hancock and the V Corps . With the South Side Railroad still away , Meade realized that continuing the advance would only further isolate the II Corps , and so ordered Hancock to halt . Brig . Gen . Samuel W . Crawford ' s V Corps division was ordered to link with the II Corps but became caught up in the dense woods . General Grant , meanwhile , made a personal reconnaissance of the Confederate works and , after coming under fire , determined that the Confederates were too strong and called off the offensive . Having never linked up with Crawford ' s division , Hancock ' s corps returned to Hatcher ' s Run crossing but found it blocked by Confederate cavalry . This left the entire II Corps isolated on the north side of Hatcher ' s Run without support . With the memory of Reams ' s Station infusing them , Heth and Hampton saw a golden opportunity to destroy the whole II Corps . Hancock ' s only line of retreat was the Dabney Mill Road , for which Heth was now aiming . Late in the afternoon , Brig . Gen . William Mahone ' s division attacked through the same woods that had stopped Crawford and seized the Dabney Mill Road , while a Confederate cavalry division under Maj . Gen . W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee moved up behind the Federals . Mahone moved so far around the Federal flank that Brig . Gen . Thomas W . Egan ' s II Corps division was forced to completely change fronts . Hancock was now surrounded on 3 sides with no line of retreat . But unlike at Reams ' s Station , the II Corps did not panic , and Hancock seized the initiative . Mahone had almost been too successful and found his division isolated in turn . Hancock ordered an attack on both Confederate flanks . Hampton failed to hold off the Union cavalry and Gregg was able to move up and aid in routing Mahone . The tables had thus turned and the Confederates , now threatened with encirclement , retreated up the Boydton Plank Road . Hancock retained his hold on the Boydton Plank Road and Grant left to him the decision whether to remain or withdraw to the initial Union lines . Although Hancock had repulsed the Confederate attack , his position was still very unstable . That night Hancock marched his men back to their original position . Aftermath . With October nearly over , both armies settled into winter quarters . The Confederates maintained their hold on the Boydton Plank Road throughout the winter . Hancock had won a tactical victory over Heth ' s Confederates , partially erasing the stain of the rout at Reams ' s Station . No further significant action occurred on any front around Petersburg for the rest of the year . The Battle of the Boydton Plank Road marked the last battle of two distinguished Union generals in the Army of the Potomac . The following month , Winfield Hancock resigned from field command due to complications with the wound he received at Gettysburg . Then in January 1865 , David McM . Gregg unexpectedly resigned his command . His letter of resignation alluded to an anxiety of being away from his home . Meade ' s chief - of - staff , Maj . Gen . Andrew A . Humphreys , assumed command of the II Corps and would resume the offensive against the Boydton Plank Road in February of the following year .