Second Battle of Fair Oaks

Sunday, October 30, 1864

On Wednesday the Thirteenth New Hampshire received orders to prepare three days rations and to be on the march by 5:00 A.M. the following morning. The purpose of the objective was to turn the Confederate flank south of Petersburg and gain control of the railroads. On Thursday the Thirteenth departed from Fort Harrison, marched nearly fifteen miles, and deployed as skirmishers along the Williamsburg Pike near Fair Oaks. A Union advance against the Confederates under General James Longstreet was repulsed at a heavy cost, and the Union army retreated after nightfall under the cover of darkness. The Union had advanced to within four miles of Richmond before retreat. In the short, ill-fated encounter the Union suffered casualties of 1,100 killed, wounded, or missing. The Thirteenth New Hampshire suffered casualties of two men wounded and five men captured. The Thirteenth formed a new camp to the right of Fort Harrison, where they ended the week on picket duty.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 498-508.

Inspection at Fort Harrison

Sunday, October 23, 1864

During the week the Thirteenth New Hampshire were employed in bolstering the defenses of Fort Harrison. Many starving Confederate soldiers deserted and approached the camp for food. On Saturday General Ulysses S. Grant inspected the fort's defenses.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 495-497.

General Grant Visits Fort Harrison

Sunday, October 16, 1864

During the week Generals Ulysses S. Grant, George Meade, and Benjamin Butler visited Fort Harrison to inspect the troops and the defenses around the fort. General Grant encouraged the Confederates near the fort to desert; when some of the Confederates accepted the invitation, they were fired upon by their own men. Today the Thirteenth transferred their camp to the opposite side of Fort Harrison. The Second Brigade Band performed for the soldiers, encouraging and brightening the mood at camp.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 493-495.

Defense of Fort Harrison

Sunday, October 9, 1864

During this week the Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment worked day and night to strengthen the entrenchments at Fort Harrison. The Thirteenth toiled under extreme conditions of exposure and deprivation under Confederate artillery fire. Rumors circulated around the camp that General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis were in the vicinity to examine the strength of the defenses around Fort Harrison.¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 490-493.

Capture of Fort Harrison

Sunday, October 2, 1864

On Wednesday the Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment was ordered to march with two days cooked rations to New Market Heights. On Thursday the Thirteenth New Hampshire was engaged in the attack and capture of Fort Harrison. Today the Thirteenth New Hampshire was deployed as part of the fort's garrison, exhausted from the three-day siege. ¹

References:
¹S. Millett Thompson, Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 : A Diary Covering Three Years and a Day (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888), 456-490.