The Wilson–Kautz Raid was a cavalry operation in south central Virginia in late June 1864, during the American Civil War. Occurring early in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, the raid was conducted by Union cavalry under Brigadier Generals James H. Wilson and August Kautz, who were ordered to cut railroads between Lynchburg, Virginia, and the vital Confederate rail supply center at Petersburg. While the raid had the intended effect of disrupting Confederate rail communications for several weeks, the raiding force lost much of its artillery, all of its supply train, and almost a third of the original force, mostly to Confederate capture.
Immediately following the Overland Campaign, Union Army commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant proposed to encircle both the Confederate capitol at Richmond and its strategic supply center ten miles south at Petersburg. While infantry began the entrenchment activities of investment, Grant determined to take advantage of new positions to launch light operations with the objective of disrupting rail activity.
On June 22, 5,000 Union cavalry and 16 artillery pieces were pulled from the siege of Petersburg and sent, under the command of Brig. Gens. James H. Wilson and August V. Kautz, to destroy the lines of supply.
Battle of Staunton River Bridge (June 25, 1864) 36°53′14″N 76°42′13″W
Despite pursuit and harassment from Confederate cavalry under the command of Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee, the Union cavalry succeeded in destroying 60 miles of railway in the first three days. Approaching the bridge over the Staunton River, Union scouts saw what appeared to be Confederate reinforcements arriving by railcar, but was instead part of an elaborate ruse intended to delay attack from the rapidly advancing Union cavalry force. Confederate detachment commander Captain Benjamin L. Farinholt utilized the time to assemble a force of "Old Men and Young Boys" drawn from neighboring counties which included regulars, reservists, local volunteers and six cannon. When the expected Union cavalry charge finally occurred, Farinholt's force, deployed in prepared positions, repulsed the superior force. A few hours later, Lee's pursuing cavalry caught up with Wilson's rear guard. Despite the earlier success, Kautz was unable to destroy the railroad bridge, and the force turned back to the east.
Battle of Sappony Church (June 28, 1864) 36°56′45″N 77°27′11″W
After more than a week of continuous operation in enemy-held territory, Wilson's and Kautz's brigades crossed the Nottoway River, reached the Stony Creek Depot on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and were within ten miles of friendly lines. Before they reached Stony Creek, they met an attack from Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's cavalry division astride their path. Lee's cavalry brigade again caught the Union force in the rear, and the Federals were forced northward toward the crossing at Ream's Station.
The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.
This page covers Wilson-Kautz Raid: Stony Creek Station (1864). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside historic sites, land records, and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Wikipedia source.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the US, drawing on NRHP records, battlefield archives, census history and geological data to tell the full story of a place.