The Cattle (Beefsteak) Raid

On 14 Sept. 1864, during the siege of Petersburg, about 3,000 Confederate cavalrymen under Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton began a 100-mile ride behind Union lines, passing near here the next day. Arriving at Coggins Point on the James River on 16 Sept., Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Rosser's brigade captured nearly 2,500 cattle from the Federals. Two miles northwest of here at Belsches Mill, the Confederates repulsed Union troops sent to recapture the cattle. One mile southwest of here, a detachment brought the herd across the Nottoway River. The raid yielded about two million pounds of beef for hungry Confederate troops.