Battle of Globe Tavern The Battle of Globe Tavern , also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad , fought August 18 – 21 , 1864 , south of Petersburg , Virginia , was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War . A Union force under Maj . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard and Lt . Gen . A . P . Hill . It was the first Union victory in the Richmond - Petersburg Campaign . It forced the Confederates to carry their supplies by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west . Background . As the siege of Petersburg began to take hold , Union Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant continued to look for ways to sever the railroad links supplying the city of Petersburg , Virginia , Confederate Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s army , and the Confederate capital of Richmond . One of these critical supply lines was the Weldon Railroad , also called the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad , which led south to Weldon , North Carolina , and the Confederacy ' s only remaining major port , Wilmington , North Carolina . In the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road , June 21 – 23 , 1864 , the II Corps was able to destroy a short segment of the Weldon before being driven off by the Third Corps of Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia . In August , the II Corps operated north of Petersburg , threatening Richmond and its railroads in the Second Battle of Deep Bottom . Simultaneously , Grant planned another attack against the Weldon . The V Corps supported by units from the IX Corps , II Corps , and a small cavalry division commanded by Brig . Gen . August Kautz , was chosen for the attack under the overall command of the V Corps commander , Maj . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren . While the overall Confederate commander , Gen . Robert E . Lee , was observing at the Deep Bottom battle , Gen . P . G . T . Beauregard was the senior commander at Petersburg . Lt . Gen . A . P . Hill commanded the Third Corps , Beauregard ' s primary infantry force . In preparing his attack , Grant was encouraged by a message he received August 17 from President Abraham Lincoln : Grant remarked to his staff , " The President has more nerve than any of his advisors . " Battle . At dawn on August 18 , Warren advanced to the south through rain and over muddy roads , pushing aside Confederate pickets and a cavalry brigade , and reached the railroad at Globe Tavern around 9 a . m . Parts of the division under Brig . Gen . Charles Griffin began to destroy the track while a brigade from Brig . Gen . Romeyn B . Ayres ' s division formed in line of battle and moved north to block any Confederate advance from that direction . Brig . Gen . Lysander Cutler ' s division was held in reserve . Ayers encountered Confederate troops at about 1 p . m . and Warren ordered the division under Brig . Gen . Samuel W . Crawford to move forward on Ayres ' s right in an attempt to outflank the Confederate left . A . P . Hill sent two brigades of Maj . Gen . Henry Heth ' s division and a brigade from Maj . Gen . Robert F . Hoke ' s division to meet the advancing Union divisions . At about 2 p . m . they launched a strong attack and pushed the Union troops back to within less than a mile of Globe Tavern . Warren counterattacked and regained his lost ground . His men entrenched for the night . Reinforcements arrived during the night — the Union IX Corps under Maj . Gen . John G . Parke ( which had been relieved from duty in the trenches around Petersburg as Hancock ' s II Corps troops returned from Deep Bottom ) and Confederate Maj . Gen . W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee ' s cavalry division and three infantry brigades from the division of Maj . Gen . William Mahone . Contact was limited to skirmishing through the heavy rain most of the day on August 19 . In the late afternoon , Mahone launched a flanking attack that found a weak spot in Crawford ' s line , allowing the Confederates to rush into the Union rear , causing hundreds of Crawford ' s men to flee in panic from the fire they were receiving from two directions . Crawford galloped amongst his men , attempting to rally them , and was almost captured . Almost two full brigades were lost as prisoners . While Mahone attacked the Union right , Heth launched a frontal assault against the center and left , which was easily repulsed by Ayres ' s division . The IX Corps counterattacked and the widespread hand - to - hand fighting ended at dusk . Heavy rains prevented any significant fighting on August 20 and on the night of August 20 – 21 , Warren pulled his troops back two miles ( 3 km ) to a new line of fortifications , which were connected with the main Union lines on the Jerusalem Plank Road ( present - day U . S . Route 301 , Crater Road ) . Fair weather returned on the morning of August 21 and the Confederates attacked beginning at 9 a . m . , with Mahone striking the Federal left and Heth the center . Both attacks were unsuccessful against the strong entrenchments and resulted in heavy losses , particularly in the brigade of Brig . Gen . Johnson Hagood . Brig . Gen . John C . C . Sanders of Mahone ' s division , at 24 one of the youngest Confederate generals during the war , was killed during the assault . By 10 : 30 a . m . , the Confederates withdrew , leaving several miles of the Weldon railroad in Union hands . Aftermath . Union casualties at Globe Tavern were 4 , 296 ( 251 killed , 1 , 148 wounded , 2 , 897 missing / captured ) , Confederate 1 , 620 ( 211 killed , 990 wounded , 419 missing / captured ) . The Confederates had lost a key section of the Weldon Railroad and were forced to carry supplies by wagon from the railroad at Stony Creek up the Boydton Plank Road into Petersburg . The Union army had gained its first victory during the Siege of Petersburg and achieved a major objective . Grant had severed the Weldon and extended his siege lines to Globe Tavern , but this was not yet a critical problem for the Confederates . A member of Lee ' s staff wrote , " Whilst we are inconvenienced , no material harm is done us . " Grant was not entirely satisfied with Warren ' s victory , which he rightly characterized as wholly defensive in nature : Wanting to complete his army ' s control over the railroad , Grant recalled the II Corps from its failed attempt at Deep Bottom to destroy the Weldon further south , an action that resulted in the Second Battle of Ream ' s Station on August 25 .