Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road
| Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
A drawing of the action on the 27th, by Alfred Waud. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Benjamin F. Butler | James Longstreet | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
X Corps XVIII Corps | Longstreet's corps | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,603 | 100 | ||||||
The Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road (also known as the Second Battle of Fair Oaks) was fought on October 27–28, 1864, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
In combination with movements against the Boydton Plank Road at Petersburg, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler attacked the Richmond defenses along Darbytown Road with the X Corps. The XVIII Corps marched north to Fair Oaks where it was soundly repulsed by Maj. Gen. Charles W. Field's Confederate division. Confederate forces counterattacked, taking some 600 prisoners. The Richmond defenses remained intact. Of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's offensives north of the James River, this was repulsed most easily. The Medal of Honor was awarded to First Lieutenant William Rufus Shafter for his actions. Union casualties were 1,603, Confederates fewer than 100.