Second Battle of Ream's Station | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Contemporary engraving showing the final repulse of the Confederate assault | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Winfield S. Hancock |
A. P. Hill Henry Heth | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
9,000[1] | 8,000–10,000[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2,747 (Killed 140 Wounded 529 Captured 2073)[3] | 814 [3] |
The Second Battle of Ream's Station (also Reams or Reams's) was fought during the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War on August 25, 1864, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock began destroying part of the Petersburg Railroad, which was a vital supply line for Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army in Petersburg, Virginia. Lee sent a force under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill to challenge Hancock and the Confederates were able to rout the Union troops from their fortifications at Reams Station. However, they lost a key portion of the railroad, causing further logistical difficulties for the remainder of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.