Peebles' Farm was a Civil War engagement fought in Virginia, 1864. It was a Union victory.
In combination with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's offensive north of the James River, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant extended his left flank to cut Confederate lines of communication southwest of Petersburg. Two divisions of the IX corps under Maj. Gen. John G. Parke, two divisions of the V Corps under Maj. Gen. G.K. Warren, and Brig. Gen. David M. Gregg's cavalry division were assigned to the operation. On September 30, the Federals marched via Poplar Spring Church to reach Squirrel Level and Vaughan Roads. The initial Federal attack overran Fort Archer, flanking the Confederates out of their Squirrel Level Road line. Late afternoon, Confederate reinforcements arrived, slowing the Federal advance. On October 1, the Federals repulsed a Confederate counterattack directed by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. Reinforced by Maj. Gen. Gershom Mott's division, the Federals resumed their advance on the 2nd, captured Fort MacRae which was lightly defended, and extended their left flank to the vicinity of Peebles' and Pegram's Farms. With these limited successes, Meade suspended the offensive. A new line was entrenched from the Federal works on Weldon Railroad to Pegram's Farm.
During the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War, Union forces launched a coordinated push against the Confederate defenses protecting Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. The fighting that unfolded on the western side of this offensive became known as the Battle of Peebles' Farm, also called Poplar Springs Church or Poplar Grove Church.
By September 1864, Grant had devised a strategy calling for coordinated strikes on the opposite ends of Lee's army. Butler's Army of the James was assigned the task of hitting Confederate defenses at Chaffin's Farm on the eastern side. Meanwhile, on the western flank, Warren's V Corps would advance alongside a cavalry division led by Gregg, backed by elements drawn from the IX Corps and II Corps.
Grant sent Warren forward with two goals in mind. He wanted to strike the far end of Lee's line so as to ease the strain on Fort Harrison, a position Butler's men had seized and were now defending against repeated counterattacks. He also hoped to exploit the fact that Lee had thinned his right flank, making it possible to seize back Fort Harrison. Warren's target was the network of works protecting the Boydton Plank Road, a vital artery bringing supplies into Petersburg from the Confederate rail terminus at Stony Creek to the south. Confederate engineers were extending this defensive line toward the Union position at Globe Tavern, and in the meantime a makeshift line ran along Squirrel Level Road while the permanent works took shape. On September 30, just as Lee was pushing to reclaim Fort Harrison, Warren and Gregg set out along Poplar Springs Road, heading for the Squirrel Level defenses near Peebles' Farm and Poplar Springs Church.
Because Lee had already stripped troops from that flank for his push against Fort Harrison, including Maj. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox's Light Division, Warren found himself advancing against a weakened corps under Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. Near one in the afternoon, Brig. Gen. Charles Griffin launched an assault on Confederate positions by Poplar Springs Church. His men seized Fort Archer on the far Confederate flank in short order, and the Squirrel Level line collapsed so rapidly that hardly any prisoners were taken in the process. Rather than push his luck too far ahead of the IX Corps, Warren called a halt so his troops could dig in along the newly won ground. This Union thrust compelled Lee to pull the Light Division back from its march toward Fort Harrison, though Scales' Brigade continued on and was placed temporarily under Hoke's command once it arrived. Meanwhile Maj. Gen. John G. Parke brought the IX Corps up on Warren's left, but the two corps failed to link their flanks securely. Sensing the opportunity, Maj. Gen. Henry Heth readied a counterstrike, which fell around 4:30 and shattered the IX Corps, forcing one entire brigade into surrender. Warren, who had anticipated just such a counterattack, worked to steady the fleeing IX Corps troops and blunted Heth's advance, and the combat gradually subsided.
The next day brought another Confederate attempt on the flank from Heth, but it failed at what became known as the Battle of Vaughan Road, and a cavalry assault led by Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton met the same fate. On October 2, Brig. Gen. Gershom Mott arrived with his II Corps division to bolster the Union hold on the position. Mott led the day's offensive, which sought to reach the Boydton Plank Road. His men swept through Fort McRae without much difficulty but were stopped short of their ultimate objective along the plank road.
Confederate forces gave up fortifications on both flanks as a result of this fighting. Federal troops pushed the siege perimeter beyond Peebles' Farm, moving nearer to their eventual objective, the Boydton Plank Road. With Union soldiers now dug in solidly across the area, the II Corps would try to sever the Boydton Plank Road before the month was out.
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