Grant's Crossing
N 37° 19.910 W 077° 06.394
18S E 313372 N 4133765
Marker noting Grant's crossing of the James on June 14-15, 1864.
Waymark Code: WM6F7N
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/25/2009
Views: 7
In mid-June 1864, Grant abandoned his works at Cold Harbor and marched to Petersburg, a vital rail center. A mile south of here, at Wilcox Wharf (now Lawrence Lewis, Jr. Park), steamboats ferried the troops and wagons of two corps across the James River on 14-15 June. Three miles downstream, at Weyanoke Point, Union engineers built a 700-yard-long pontoon bridge in seven hours on 14 June. For three days parts of the two corps, as well as supply, ammunition, and ambulance wagons, crossed the bridge in a column 50 miles long. Engineers then dismantled the bridge. Grant's attack on the Confederate lines at Petersburg failed, and the armies settled into a ten-month siege.
Marker Number: V 9
Marker Title: Grant's Crossing
Marker Location: Rt. 5/John Tyler Memorial Highway
County or Independent City: Charles City County
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: Department of Historic Resources
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