The Battle of First Deep Bottom

This Civil War history examines a complex and pivotal, yet often-overlooked, battle of the Petersburg Campaign. On July 26, 1864, Union general Winfield Scott Hancock’s corps and three cavalry divisions under Philip H. Sheridan crossed to the north side of the James River at the Deep Bottom bridgehead. What was supposed to be a raid on Confederate railroads and possibly even a breakthrough to the Confederate capital of Richmond turned into a bloody skirmish. Richard H. Anderson’s Confederate for