Battle of White Oak Road

The Battle of White Oak Road, also known as The Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Ridge was fought on March 31, 1865, during the American Civil War. It set the stage for the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Five Forks the following day.

On March 30, 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee shifted reinforcements to meet the Federal movement to turn his right flank, placing Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's cavalry divisions at Five Forks and transferring Maj. Gen. George Pickett's division from the Bermuda Hundred front to the extreme right. Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren pushed the V Corps forward and entrenched a line to cover the Boydton Plank Road from its intersection with Dabney Mill Road south to Gravelly Run. Maj. Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres division advanced northwest toward White Oak Road. On March 31, in combination with Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's thrust via Dinwiddie Court House, Warren directed his corps against the Confederate entrenchments along White Oak Road, hoping to cut Lee's communications with Pickett at Five Forks. The Union advance was stalled by a crushing counterattack directed by Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson, but Warren's position stabilized and his soldiers closed on the road by day's end. This battle set the stage for the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1.