September 17, 1864: Beefsteak for the Confederate Army
Note: Here is the best map I could find of Hampton’s Beefsteak Raid. There are surprisingly few of these out there.
Brief Summary: After an eventful September 16, 1864, Hampton had a relatively easy time on September 17, the last day of his beefsteak raid. On this day 150 years ago, Hampton’s men shepherded almost 2,500 stolen Yankee cattle back into Confederate lines southwest of Petersburg. The Federals failed to mount a concerted, or even determined, pursuit.
At the cost of just over 60 casualties all told, Hampton had captured hundreds of Yankee troopers, embarrassed the Federal high command, and most importantly, had secured 2,468 cattle for the nearly starving Confederates in Lee’s trenches.
Meade had feared just such as attack when two of his cavalry divisions had been sent with Phil Sheridan to the Shenandoah Valley. Gregg’s remaining division from the Army of the Potomac as well as Kautz’s understrength division from the Army of the James simply could not hold all of the key points they needed to in enough force to dissuade the Confederates from just such an attack.
Despite Confederate post-war claims of the herd feeding Lee’s army “for two months” or “to the end of the campaign,” in reality they only provided rations for several weeks. Lee’s supply issues were too great for the raid to make a major, game changing difference. It was one of the last hurrahs for the proud Army of Northern Virginia.
Meanwhile, Grant was already planning to tighten the noose around Petersburg and Richmond even more at the end of the month…
To Learn More, Read the Following:
Books:
- Blue & Gray Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 3 (2005): The Petersburg Campaign: Beefsteak Raid & Applejack Raid
- Beefsteak Raid by Edward Boykin
- Hampton and His Cavalry in ’64 by Edward L. Wells
Best Posts Freely Available on this site:
- 150 Years Ago Today: Hampton’s Beefsteak Raid: September 14, 1864
- 150 Years Ago Today: Hampton’s Beefsteak Raid: September 15, 1864
- 150 Years Ago Today: Hampton’s Beefsteak Raid: September 16, 1864
- Beefsteak Raid by Edward Boykin
- Blue & Gray Magazine, Vol. XXII, No. 3 (2005): The Petersburg Campaign: Beefsteak Raid & Applejack Raid
- CLARK NC: 1st North Carolina Cavalry at the Siege of Petersburg
- CLARK NC: 2nd North Carolina Cavalry at the Siege of Petersburg
- LT: September 18, 1864 Daniel Personius
- Map: Action at Ebenezer Church: September 16, 1864
- MAP: The Cattle Raid, September 16, 1864 (Newspaper Map)
- MAP: Hampton’s Plan of Attack, Beefsteak Raid: September 16, 1864
- NP: September 20, 1864 Richmond Examiner: Hampton’s Dash Upon the Enemy, Sept. 14-17
- NP: June 8, 1882 Anderson (SC) Intelligencer: Butler’s SC Cavalry Brigade at the Siege of Petersburg
- NP: October 7, 1894 Charleston (SC) News and Courier: A Brilliant Cavalry Coup
- NP: July 25, 1896 The Evening Star (Washington, DC): Pierce Young and the Beefsteak Raid
- NP: October 5, 1902 The State (Columbia, SC): Hampton’s Cattle Raid in 1864
- NP: November 1, 1908 Charleston (SC) News and Courier: Butler and His Cavalry
- NP: September 20, 1914 Charlotte NC Observer: Hampton’s Cattle Raid
- NP: September 14, 1964 Petersburg Progress-Index: Siege Centennial, Part 28: Hampton’s Great Cattle Raid
- OR XLII P1 #2: Report of Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Morgan, Chief Commissary of Subsistence, September 16, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #3: Report of Captain John H. Woodward, Commissary of Subsistence, September 16, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #6: Itinerary of the Army of the Potomac and Army of the James, August 1-December 31, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #10: Report of Surg. Thomas A. McParlin, U. S. Army, Medical Director, Army of the Potomac, August 1-December 26, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #12: Reports of Major Benjamin F. Fisher, Chief Signal Officer, AotP, August 1-October 31, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #14: Report of Brigadier General Henry W. Benham, commanding Eng/AotP and Defenses of City Point, August 1-November 19, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #230: Report of Brigadier General Henry E. Davies, Jr., commanding 2/Cav/AotP, September 16-17, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #231: Report of Asst. Surg. Elias J. Marsh, Surgeon-in-Chief, 2/Cav/AotP, July 30-Dec 12, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #335: Reports of Brigadier General August V. Kautz, commanding Cav/AotJ, Sept 16-17, Oct 7, and Dec 10, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #338: Reports of Lieutenant Colonel Ferris Jacobs, Jr., 3rd NY Cav, Sept 16-17 and Oct 7, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #341: Report of Major Samuel Wetherill, 11th PA Cav, commanding 2/Cav/AotJ, September 16-17, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #344: Report of Major Franklin A. Stratton, 11th PA Cav, September 16-17, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #348: Report of Captain George B. Easterly, 4th WI Btty, Aug 1-Sept 30, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #351: Reports of General Robert E. Lee, commanding Army of Northern Virginia, Aug 16-Dec 27, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #374: Reports of Major General Wade Hampton, C. S. Army commanding Cav/ANV, Aug 25, Sept 14-17, Sept 29-Oct 1, Oct 27-28, and Dec 7-11, 1864
If you have other resources you’ve found useful, feel free to post them in the comments section.