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Petersburg National Battlefield
Weldon Railroad: The 19th - 21st
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August 19, 1864 (continued)
![Weldon Railroad - August 19, 1864](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511201532im_/http://www.nps.gov/archive/pete/mahan/wrrAug19B.gif)
Reinforced, the Union counterattacked and by nightfall had retaken most of the ground lost that afternoon.
August 21, 1864
![Weldon Railroad: Aug. 21, 1864](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511201532im_/http://www.nps.gov/archive/pete/mahan/wrrAug21.gif)
During August 20, as Beauregard spent the entire day organizing another attack, the Union forces dug trenches eastward to connect their fortified position to the main Federal siege lines at Jerusalem Plank Road.
Gen. A.P. Hill (CSA) personally oversaw the Confederate attack on August 21. With the new fortified positions the Union thwarted the Confederate charges.
Aftermath
![August 22, 1864](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511201532im_/http://www.nps.gov/archive/pete/mahan/PbrgRSA2.gif)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511201532im_/http://www.nps.gov/archive/pete/mahan/mapkey.gif)
With this success, Grant extended his siege lines (and his military railroad) further west, cutting off Petersburg's primary rail connection with an important supply center that was also the Confederacy's last open seaport - Wilmington, North Carolina. Lee was now forced to off-load supplies from rail cars farther south and haul them by wagon thirty miles up Boydton Plank Road to Petersburg.
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Back to Battles of the Siege
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![Hike in light clothing walks down sandy trail through dense shrubs. Hike in light clothing walks down sandy trail through dense shrubs.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090511201532im_/http://www.nps.gov/ner/customcf/apps/CMS_HandF/Pictures/FIIS_WildernessHike_DYK.jpg) |
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Did You Know?
You can hike into New York State's only federally-designated wilderness area on Fire Island. Day trips into the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness provide an opportunity to sample the sensation of being miles away from civilization.
more...
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Last Updated: October 07, 2007 at 14:36 EST |