Wilson-Kautz Raid

A map depicting the circuitous route taken by Union cavalry forces in the Wilson-Kautz Raid

Date	June 22 – July 1, 1864
Location	Brunswick, Charlotte, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, and Sussex counties of Virginia
Result	Inconclusive

Belligerents

United States (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

James H. Wilson
August Kautz

William Mahone
William Henry Fitzhugh Lee
Wade Hampton

Strength

2 Union cavalry divisions (5,000)

Lee's Confederate cavalry division (?), Hampton's cavalry division (4 brigades), Mahone's infantry division (?)

Casualties and losses

1,500 and 12 guns

The Wilson–Kautz Raid was a cavalry operation in south central Virginia in late June 1864, during the American Civil War. Occurring early in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, the raid was conducted by Union cavalry under Brigadier Generals James H. Wilson and August Kautz, who were ordered to cut railroads between Lynchburg, Virginia, and the vital Confederate rail supply center at Petersburg. While the raid had the intended effect of disrupting Confederate rail communications for several weeks, the raiding force lost much of its artillery, all of its supply train, and almost a third of the original force, mostly to Confederate capture.

Immediately following the Overland Campaign, Union Army commander Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant proposed to encircle both the Confederate capitol at Richmond and its strategic supply center ten miles south at Petersburg. While infantry began the entrenchment activities of investment, Grant determined to take advantage of new positions to launch light operations with the objective of disrupting rail activity.

On June 22, 5,000 Union cavalry and 16 artillery pieces were pulled from the siege of Petersburg and sent, under the command of Brig. Gens. James H. Wilson and August V. Kautz, to destroy the lines of supply.

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