The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, also known as the First Battle of the Weldon Railroad, was the first of a series of battles during the Siege of Petersburg to extend the Union siege lines to the west and cut the rail lines supplying Petersburg.
After the failure to capture the city of Petersburg the previous week, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant decided on a siege and the Union army entrenched east of the city, running from near the Jerusalem Plank Road in the south to Bermuda Hundred in the north. The first objective of the Union army was the Weldon Railroad, an important line supplying the Petersburg defenses.
George G. Meade sent the II Corps, temporarily commanded by David B. Birney as Hancock was suffering from wounds incurred at Gettysburg, towards the Weldon R.R. which was to be supported by the VI Corps. On June 21 a division of cavalry under James H. Wilson preceded the infantry and began tearing up track on the railroad as Birney moved the II Corps past the Jerusalem Plank Road. The VI Corps was supposed to be relieved in the trenches by units from the XVIII Corps. Confederate forces began firing on the XVIII Corps pinning it down therefore the VI Corps was unable to move to the aid of the II Corps with sufficient amounts of reinforcements.
Robert E. Lee wanted to push the Federals completely away from the Jerusalem Plank Road area. Ambrose Powell Hill's corps moved to the vicinity of Globe Tavern on June 22. William Mahone had been a railroad engineer prior to the war and had in fact worked on the railroad along this exact stretch of track. Using his knowledge of the terrain, Mahone's division was chosen to lead the attack. At 3 p.m. on the 22nd, Mahone's division counterattacked through a ravine running through the II Corps lines and routed the Union division of John Gibbon. The remaining II Corps divisions were unaware of the fighting due to the heavily wooded area until Gibbon's men began streaming through. By that time however it was too late as Mahone's troops were right behind Gibbon and the whole II Corps front fell back. The II Corps formed a line along the Jerusalem Plank Road and repulsed Mahone. An attempt was made by the Union forces to retake their lost ground but was repulsed. Hill's troops withdrew to the Weldon and the Union troops began constructing new trenches along the Jerusalem Plank Road.
The battle was a strategically a draw. The Confederate army was able to retain control of the Weldon R.R. The Union Army was able to destroy some of the Weldon R.R. before being driven off, but more importantly the siege lines were stretched further to the west, a strategy Grant would continue throughout the siege. The Weldon R.R. would eventually fall to the Union Army during the Battle of Globe Tavern.
