Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

Any considerable artillery fire at the works where Smith was to attack could instantly be seen from our observatory, and there I spent the earlier part of the 15th, the morning of his march, in watching for his demonstration. Hour after hour passed and nothing was seen or heard. But the observatory gave me an opportunity of examining the line of rebel intrenchments opposite to my line across the James, and the neck between, also the lines of the enemy. fully convinced myself that the enemy's lines had been abandoned on the night before, and I ordered a demonstration to be made by the few men I had left for the purpose of ascertaining that fact and found that it was true. I could not get that reconnoissance made in force because General Terry was impressed with the idea, which all had, that Lee's troops would be coming down by the thousands within three miles of that line upon the railroad in such force as to be able quite to sweep away the small force with which I held my line, having withdrawn all I could to go with Smith. Now I knew that Lee had not come to Richmond.

I communicated that fact to General Grant and asked him to order one of his corps — and it was unfortunately Wright's corps which he did order — to land at Bermuda and in conjunction with my forces seize and destroy the Petersburg railroad. I did not suppose that we could successfully hold it against Lee's whole army, when it advanced, but I knew that we could delay his advance for hours so as to give Smith time to take Petersburg and allow Hancock's corps, as well as other corps of Grant's army, to get up into that city and hold Swift Creek and Mattoax Bridge over the Appomattox, which, if done, would be substantially an end of the war. Therefore I sent order after order by my staff officers to Smith to attack and so get the Appomattox between himself and Lee. While I thought I could detect some slight skirmishing where Smith's forces should be by the smoke of musketry, and now and then a piece of artillery, yet no movement was being made which deserved the name.

About seven o'clock I observed a semblance only, so far as the smoke of the fighting was concerned, of an attack, and a little later on I got a despatch from Smith saying that he had captured a wide line of intrenchments from Battery Five to Battery Nine of the line, which he had occupied, and I knew this was the capture of the single line of the Petersburg defences.