The Defense of Forts Gregg and Whitworth
The breakthrough by Wright,
and its exploitation by Gibbon and Humphreys (see below for this part of the
story), threatened the integrity of the entire Confederate position at Petersburg.
If the victorious Federal troops could enter the town from the west side
and seize the bridges over the Appomattox River, then Lee's army --- that
portion in the Petersburg lines, at least --- would be forced to surrender
immediately. The lines around Petersburg itself, to the east and south, were
holding firm, but the lines to the west, that connected the southern face
of the defenses with the Appomattox River, needed to be held.
Lee had ordered Longstreet to bring as many troops down from Richmond as he thought could be spared, but these men needed time to arrive and take up their positions. To buy them the requisite time, two detached forts --- known variously as Fort Gregg or Battery Gregg and Fort Whitworth or Battery Whitworth (sometimes also know as Fort Baldwin) --- were occupied by troops from Harris's Mississippi Brigade, together with some men from Lane's North Carolina brigade and Edward Thomas's Georgia brigade. The artillery in Fort Gregg was manned by men of the famed Washington Artillery of New Orleans, veterans of most of the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, along with some Maryland gunners.
The Federal advance, with Wright on the left, along the Appomattox River, and Gibbon (see illustration 1) on the right, began to appear in front of the western leg of the Dimmock Line at around 11:00 a.m. Wright felt that VI Corps was not ready for any further combat that day; his men had been up for almost 18 hours straight, and had been fighting and marching since before 5:00 that morning. Gibbon's men would have to make the effort to breach the enemy line. This was exactly what Gibbon wanted; since taking over the newly formed XXIV Corps in January, he had not yet had the opportunity to lead them in combat. He had available two divisions under Brig. Gen. J. W. Turner (illustration 4) and Brig. Gen. R. S. Foster (illustration 2), supported by Brig. Gen. William Birney's division of black troops from XXV Corps. While one of Turner's brigades threatened Fort Whitworth, Foster's division and the rest of Turner's would attack Fort Gregg.
The Federal advance finally rolled forward at 1:00 p.m., with Foster's division in the lead. The fort's garrison was too small to break up the attack, but too strong to be overrun by raw force. The attacking Federals were forced to huddle against the steep sides of the earthwork, unable to climb over the top and subjected to a fierce fire from the cannons in Fort Whitworth to the north and Battery 45, in the Dimmock Line, to the east. Turner's two brigades were then thrown against Fort Gregg (General Potter and Col. Curtis)-(illustration 5) and the Federal numbers carried the day; the blue wave swarmed over the small earthwork and overwhelmed the garrison. Out of perhaps 300 defenders, 56 were killed and 200 were wounded. Fort Whitworth was evacuated at about the same time that Fort Gregg was overrun --- in fact, Brig. Gen. Harris (illustration 3) was livid that the cannons in Fort Whitworth were ordered withdrawn, as he believed that they had done much to punish the Yankees attacking Fort Gregg, just a few hundred yards to the south.
Lee had ordered Longstreet to bring as many troops down from Richmond as he thought could be spared, but these men needed time to arrive and take up their positions. To buy them the requisite time, two detached forts --- known variously as Fort Gregg or Battery Gregg and Fort Whitworth or Battery Whitworth (sometimes also know as Fort Baldwin) --- were occupied by troops from Harris's Mississippi Brigade, together with some men from Lane's North Carolina brigade and Edward Thomas's Georgia brigade. The artillery in Fort Gregg was manned by men of the famed Washington Artillery of New Orleans, veterans of most of the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, along with some Maryland gunners.
The Federal advance, with Wright on the left, along the Appomattox River, and Gibbon (see illustration 1) on the right, began to appear in front of the western leg of the Dimmock Line at around 11:00 a.m. Wright felt that VI Corps was not ready for any further combat that day; his men had been up for almost 18 hours straight, and had been fighting and marching since before 5:00 that morning. Gibbon's men would have to make the effort to breach the enemy line. This was exactly what Gibbon wanted; since taking over the newly formed XXIV Corps in January, he had not yet had the opportunity to lead them in combat. He had available two divisions under Brig. Gen. J. W. Turner (illustration 4) and Brig. Gen. R. S. Foster (illustration 2), supported by Brig. Gen. William Birney's division of black troops from XXV Corps. While one of Turner's brigades threatened Fort Whitworth, Foster's division and the rest of Turner's would attack Fort Gregg.
The Federal advance finally rolled forward at 1:00 p.m., with Foster's division in the lead. The fort's garrison was too small to break up the attack, but too strong to be overrun by raw force. The attacking Federals were forced to huddle against the steep sides of the earthwork, unable to climb over the top and subjected to a fierce fire from the cannons in Fort Whitworth to the north and Battery 45, in the Dimmock Line, to the east. Turner's two brigades were then thrown against Fort Gregg (General Potter and Col. Curtis)-(illustration 5) and the Federal numbers carried the day; the blue wave swarmed over the small earthwork and overwhelmed the garrison. Out of perhaps 300 defenders, 56 were killed and 200 were wounded. Fort Whitworth was evacuated at about the same time that Fort Gregg was overrun --- in fact, Brig. Gen. Harris (illustration 3) was livid that the cannons in Fort Whitworth were ordered withdrawn, as he believed that they had done much to punish the Yankees attacking Fort Gregg, just a few hundred yards to the south.
General John Gibbon (illustration
1) XXIV Corps Commander
Major-General R.S. Foster (illustration 2) Commanded 1st division XXIV Corps.
Major-General John Turner's Independent division of the XXIV Corps (illustration 4).
Brigadier-General Potter's 1st brigade Independent division: attacked Fort Gregg
- 34th Massachusetts Infantry
- 116th Ohio Infantry
- 123rd Ohio Infantry
Colonel William B. Curtis' 2nd brigade, Independent division: attacked Fort Gregg
- 23rd Illinois Infantry
- 12th West Virginia Infantry
- 54th Pennsylvania Infantry
General Thomas Maley Harris (illustration 3) Commanded brigade
on Fort Whitworth.
Attack on Fort Gregg (illustration 5) Below photos of Fort Gregg (1st) and then Fort Whitworth
Earthworks of Fort Gregg (near trees) from the Boydton Plank road facing north toward Fort Whitworth
Looking east toward the Fort Gregg earthworks - white monument in center
White monument in front of the earthworks of Fort Gregg
Monument reads: Fort Gregg-Confederate Last Line-April 2, 1865
Picture depicting the fierce fight at Fort Gregg
Inside the earthworks of Fort Gregg
Forts Gregg (south) and Whitworth (north)
On the grounds where Fort Whitworth stood (redoubt)
Banks and rifle pits at Fort Whitworth
The steep sides of the earthwork of Fort Whitworth
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- 10th West Virginia Infantry
- 11th West Virginia Infantry
- 15th West Virginia Infantry
Attack on Fort Gregg (illustration 5) Below photos of Fort Gregg (1st) and then Fort Whitworth
Earthworks of Fort Gregg (near trees) from the Boydton Plank road facing north toward Fort Whitworth
Looking east toward the Fort Gregg earthworks - white monument in center
White monument in front of the earthworks of Fort Gregg
Monument reads: Fort Gregg-Confederate Last Line-April 2, 1865
Picture depicting the fierce fight at Fort Gregg
Inside the earthworks of Fort Gregg
Forts Gregg (south) and Whitworth (north)
On the grounds where Fort Whitworth stood (redoubt)
Banks and rifle pits at Fort Whitworth
The steep sides of the earthwork of Fort Whitworth
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