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On April 2, 1865, near Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill and his sergeant of couriers, George W. Tucker, were moving through the woods to the northwest of Boydton Plank Road investigating reports of supply wagons wildly retreating and Federal troops behind their lines. 

As historian and author Edward Alexander noted: “The actual details, written by John W. Mauk (who shot Hill) and George W. Tucker (who escorted the general), are confirmed by all reliable reports, correspondence, and trusted sources. Hill left his headquarters in the early morning, rode to Lee’s headquarters west of Petersburg where he was alerted that his lines were broken, and then took off for Henry Heth’s headquarters along the Boydton Plank Road. He followed Cattail Run to avoid detection before riding across an open meadow opposite the John W. Harman house to reach the vacated Pickrell house division headquarters. At the end of the meadow, Hill and Tucker encountered Corporal John W. Mauk and Private Daniel Wolford of the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry, who had ventured all the way to the South Side Railroad after breaking through the Confederate lines near the Hart house that morning. After a short standoff, Mauk and Wolford fired, killing Hill.” (from Emerging Civil War, “The Many Deaths of A.P. Hill” by Edward Alexander, Posted on June 22, 2020)