Battle of Globe Tavern - Background

Background

Further information: Union order of battle

As the siege of Petersburg began to take hold, Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant continued to look for ways to sever the railroad links supplying the city of Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, and the Confederate capital of Richmond. One of these critical supply lines was the Weldon Railroad, also called the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, which led south to Weldon, North Carolina, and the Confederacy's only remaining major port, Wilmington, North Carolina. In the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road, June 21–23, 1864, the II Corps was able to destroy a short segment of the Weldon before being driven off by the Third Corps of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

In August, the II Corps operated north of Petersburg, threatening Richmond and its railroads in the Second Battle of Deep Bottom. Simultaneously, Grant planned another attack against the Weldon. The V Corps supported by units from the IX Corps, II Corps, and a small cavalry division commanded by Brig. Gen. August Kautz, was chosen for the attack under the overall command of the V Corps commander, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren. While the overall Confederate commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee, was observing at the Deep Bottom battle, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard was the senior commander at Petersburg. Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill commanded the Third Corps, Beauregard's primary infantry force.

In preparing his attack, Grant was encouraged by a message he received August 17 from President Abraham Lincoln:

I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are. Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.

Grant remarked to his staff, "The President has more nerve than any of his advisors."

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