Abstract:
Halifax Woods was only eighteen years old when General Hoke asked him to dress as a Union soldier and pass through the enemy lines in May of 1864. Woods's mission was to report to Union officers that Confederate troops were advancing on the James River. Woods carried out this scheme and quickly rode away before Union officers could question his story. The Union's plans to advance were slowed while the report was checked and discovered to be false. This delay led to the Battle of Drewry's Bluff and an advance on Richmond was stopped.