Steak Night: The Great Beefsteak Raid of 1864

In recent parlance, the Great Beefsteak Raid presents an excuse to step out with friends, celebrate at a local Steak House annually, and raise a glass to one of many adventuresome stories our American heroes have posted over the years. In this particular adventure – all involved were U.S. compatriots. Some wore blue, some wore grey and some burned meat at the campfire afterwards, and some did not.

OVERVIEW:
The Beefsteak Raid was an incredibly daring adventure that occurred from 14-17 September 1864 during the U.S. Civil War. Confederate Cavalry leader Wade Hampton led 3,000 horsemen 100 miles behind General Grant’s federal lines and stole over 2500 cattle and successfully moved them back to Confederate lines where the rebels enjoyed steaks for a few days.

General Grant was away in Winchester, Virginia conferring with General Sheridan at the time. He was none too pleased to learn his prize herd had been stolen. When a reporter asked him, “General, when are you going to finally whip Bobby Lee?” Grant responded, “NEVER, if we f’%$king keep feeding his army.”

President Lincoln’s response was a bit more printable, “Well now, that’s some of the slickest cattle rustling I ever heard of.”

This astonishing tale was re-created in the 1966 movie entitled “Alvarez Kelly” starring Richard Widmark as the Confederate Colonel Rosser and William Holden as Alvarez Kelly, a fictional character thrown into the mix for dramatic effect.

This is how the tale unfolded:
September 5, 1864 – Major General Wade Hampton, commanding cavalry for the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, received information that the Federals were loosely guarding a herd of cattle capable of feeding the hungry Confederates.

The Confederates were locked in a siege contest with Northern forces led by General Grant around Petersburg, Virginia at the time. The rebels needed to come up with new ways to feed themselves, or succumb to starvation. General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate army commander, urged Hampton to target the Federal supply base at City Point, eight miles northeast of Petersburg at the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers. Lee stated, “I judge that the enemy is very open to attack at City Point. A sudden blow in that quarter might be detrimental to him.”

General Hampton sent one of his top scouts, Sergeant George D. Shadburne, behind enemy lines to reconnoiter the area. Shadburne reported the following, “At Coggins’ Point (six miles below City Point on the James) are 3,000 beeves, attended by 120 men, and 30 citizens without arms.” Such a catch could feed the Confederate army for weeks. Gen. Robert E. Lee had been urging Hampton to attack the enemy’s vulnerable rear, and Hampton saw this as a perfect opportunity to both harass the Union army and provide much-needed food for the troops. When Hampton informed Lee of his plan, Lee gave his approval, but voiced his concern: “The only difficulty of importance I see to your project is your return.” You can just imagine what Hampton was thinking to himself, “Yes, getting back from behind enemy lines with 2500 cattle is indeed the trick isn’t it?”

The Confederates were cognizant of Federal operations and waited until Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, the overall Federal commander, left his headquarters for Winchester, Virginia before striking. The Confederate horsemen moved out at 1 a.m. on September 14th.

Their force consisted of 4,000 men in three brigades, including several certified Texas cattle herders and sheep dogs.

Shadburne guided them and deceived the Federal scouts by riding southwest, beyond the Federal left flank below Petersburg, to Dinwiddie Court House.

The Confederates then turned and rode southeast for 11 miles before turning northeast toward Coggins’ Point. By day’s end, they arrived at Wilkinson’s Bridge over Rowanty Creek. Engineers remained behind to shore up the bridge to support the weight of heavy cattle on the return journey.

The next day, Hampton’s men continued northeast for 18 miles to the Blackwater River, where another body of engineers repaired Cook’s Bridge and remained there to reinforce it as well.

At midnight, the main body of Hampton’s cavalry crossed the river and prepared to attack Federal pickets at Sycamore Church, four miles from Coggins’ Point, at dawn.

The Raid
At 5 a.m. on September 16, Hampton’s force attacked with a three-prong strike, with the center directed toward the cattle and the outer two prongs blocking the Federal cavalry from interfering with their escape.

Brigadier General Thomas L. Rosser’s Brigade led the dawn assault.

They overwhelmed elements of the 1st D.C. and 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and then surrounded the cattle before the Federals could stop them.

With help from shepherd dogs and a compliment of seasoned Texas cowboys, the Confederates rustled all 2500 head of cattle.

They also made off with 11 supply-filled wagons and 304 prisoners while losing just 61 men (10 killed, 47 wounded, and four missing).

Federal gunboats were summoned from City Point but arrived too late to stop Hampton’s men, who herded the cattle back along the same route they had taken to get there. The bridges held and Rosser’s Confederates stopped to fight off Federal pursuers at Ebenezer Church that afternoon. The rest of the Confederates continued pushing the herd on a line that stretched nearly seven miles.

After an all-night ride, Hampton’s men delivered the cattle at 9 a.m. the next day.
This was the largest cattle-rustling action in American history, netting nearly two million pounds of beef at a time when Richmond was in dire need of provisions to feed the Confederate army. This greatly helped the defenders outside Petersburg, who taunted the Federals with their own beef across the lines. It also earned Hampton’s cavalry the nickname “The Cowboys.”

So this year around the 14th through the 17th of September, kindly take the time to swing by your local steak house or burn some meat on your grill and raise your glass to “The Cowboys” of the Great Beefsteak Raid of 1864.

(Editor’s Note: LanceLot Lynk is a pen-name used by regular contributor John Morgan)