On September 13th John Horn talked to the Round TAlbe about "The Wilson-Kautz Raid, June-July 1864" 

For for Info: WWW.ChicagoCWRT.ORG

Grant wasted no time after his Petersburg assaults of June 15-18, 1864, failed to capture the city. He launched his second offensive against Petersburg hours later. Among other things, he sent his cavalry on a raid to cut the Confederate railroads south of Petersburg. This would slow any reinforcements sent from the south and west to the enemy at Petersburg and Richmond. Grant also hoped that in case his infantry failed in its mission a lack of provisions would force the foe to abandon those cities. But at Petersburg Grant faced Lee and not Floyd as at Fort Donelson in 1862 or Pemberton as at Vicksburg in 1863. Lee, his cavalry commander Hampton, and Mahone smashed Grant's cavalry raiders at the battles of Sappony Church and First Reams Station. Born and reared in Chicago, John Horn has practiced law there since 1976. He has written three books and co-edited another about Petersburg, Virginia's soldiers, and the siege of that city. His most recent book, The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War: A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown's Hanging to Appomattox, 1859- 2 

1861 (Savas Beatie), won the 2019 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. He has published articles in Civil War Times Illustrated, America's Civil War, Gettysburg Magazine, and North and South Magazine. He blogs at johnhorncivilwarauthor.blogspot.com.