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The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Dinwiddie County is a county located in the US state &mdash officially " Commonwealth " &mdash of Virginia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6 1831 &ndash August 5 1888 was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War George Edward Pickett ( January 16, January 25 or January 28, 1825 &ndash July 30, 1875) was a career U Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Petersburg is an Independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River. Dinwiddie County is a county located in the US state &mdash officially " Commonwealth " &mdash of Virginia. The Appomattox Campaign ( March 29, 1865 &ndash April 9, 1865) was a series of battles fought in Virginia that culminated in the surrender Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan against Confederate Major General George E. Pickett of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6 1831 &ndash August 5 1888 was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War The War Department was established by the Confederate Congress in an act on February 21, 1861. George Edward Pickett ( January 16, January 25 or January 28, 1825 &ndash July 30, 1875) was a career U Robert Edward Lee (January 19 1807 &ndash October 12 1870 was a career United States Army officer, an Engineer, and among the most celebrated The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Pickett's loss at Five Forks triggered Lee's decision to abandon his entrenchments around Petersburg and begin the retreat that led to his surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9. Appomattox Court House is a village located three miles (5 km east of Appomattox, Virginia, USA (25 miles east of Lynchburg Virginia, in the Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans)
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Background
Following the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House on March 31, Pickett learned of reinforcements arriving from the Federal V Corps and wanted to pull back to a position behind Hatcher's Run. The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House was a minor engagement in the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was the immediate prelude to the decisive Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor The V Corps ( Fifth Corps) was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. However, Lee ordered Pickett to stop short of Hatcher's Run and hold the crossroads of Five Forks with his infantry division and three cavalry divisions. "Five Forks" referred to the intersection of the White Oak Road, Scott's Road, Ford's (or Church) Road, and the Dinwiddie Court House Road. Lee's dispatch stated:
Hold Five Forks at all hazards. Protect road to Ford's Depot and prevent Union forces from striking the Southside Railroad. Regret exceedingly your forces' withdrawal, and your inability to hold the advantage you had gained.
Pickett's troops built a log and dirt defensive line about 1. 75 miles (2. 8 km) long on the White Oak Road, guarding the two flanks with cavalry. Sheridan's plan of attack was to pressure the entire line lightly with his cavalry troopers, pinning it in position, while he massed all of the V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, on the Confederate left flank. Gouverneur Kemble Warren ( January 8, 1830 &ndash August 8, 1882) was a Civil engineer and prominent general in the Faulty maps and intelligence led Sheridan to believe that the enemy's left flank was much farther east than it actually was.
Muddy roads and tangled underbrush slowed the Union approach, and Warren was not ready to attack until about 4 p. m. Sheridan blamed Warren's personal leadership for the delay. (Sheridan had a poor opinion of Warren from earlier in the campaign and had received confidential permission from Ulysses S. Grant to relieve Warren if he saw fit. Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States ) But Sheridan's own cavalry had similar problems and ended up with little action in the battle.
Battle
Sheridan's attack planned for Warren to advance in a two-division front with the third division following in reserve. The right front division, under Maj. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford, was to strike at an angle near the end of the enemy's works, and the left front, under Maj. Samuel Wylie Crawford ( November 8, 1829 &ndash November 3, 1892) was a United States Army surgeon and a Union general Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres, was to strike the line head-on. Romeyn Beck Ayres ( December 20, 1825 &ndash December 4, 1888) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. But because of the faulty intelligence, the real flank was well to the west of where Sheridan thought, so Crawford's division missed the line completely as it moved forward, and Ayres's men were subjected to enfilade fire from the left as they brushed past it. Enfilade and defilade are concepts in Military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire
The two Union divisions floundered in confusion as they frantically attempted to reorient themselves through the heavy thickets of underbrush. The reserve division, under Maj. Gen. Charles Griffin, halted rather than add to the confusion. Charles Griffin (December 18 1825 – September 15 1867 was a career officer in the United States Army and a Union general in the American Civil War. Warren, who chose to remain in a central location, sent all of his aides galloping off with messages to reorient the attack, but they were ineffective, so he rode out to take personal command. Meanwhile, Sheridan, riding with Ayres's vanguard, personally led the charge that breached the left flank of Pickett's line, an exploit that has been depicted heroically in paintings and lithographs of the era.
As the Confederates attempted to organize a new defensive line, Griffin's division moved in on Ayres's right and attacked. Then Warren ordered Crawford's division to join the fight from the north. Sheridan's cavalry swept around Pickett's right flank but was unable to prevent several Confederates from escaping. However, it was a decisive Union victory, in which nearly a third of Pickett's 9,200 men were casualties.
Aftermath
Pickett's unfortunate military career suffered another humiliation—he was two miles (3 km) away from his troops at the time of the attack, enjoying a shad bake north of Hatcher's Run with Maj. The shads or river herrings comprise the Genus Alosa, Fishes related to Herring in the family Clupeidae Gens. Fitzhugh Lee and Thomas L. Rosser. Thomas Lafayette (Tex Rosser ( October 15, 1836 &ndash March 29, 1910) was a Confederate General during the American He had neglected to inform his men of the generals' absence, leaving them leaderless. Atmospheric conditions muffled the sounds of battle sufficiently that Pickett was unaware of the fighting. By the time he returned to the battlefield, it was too late.
The loss of Five Forks threatened Lee’s best escape route, the South Side Railroad. The next morning, Lee informed President Jefferson Davis that Petersburg and Richmond must be evacuated, and Grant launched an all-out assault (the Third Battle of Petersburg) on the thinly manned Confederate entrenchments. Jefferson Finis Davis ( June 3, 1808 &ndash December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Breakthrough at Petersburg or the Fall of Petersburg, was a decisive Union assault on the Confederate
Union Brig. Gen. Frederick Winthrop was killed at Five Forks, and Col. Willie Pegram, a highly regarded Confederate artillery officer, was mortally wounded. William Ransom Johnson Pegram, known as "Willie" or "Willy" ( June 29, 1841 &ndash April 2, 1865) was an important young Sheridan was dissatisfied with the performance of the V Corps in the approach to Five Forks, and he relieved Warren of his command.
The battlefield is preserved as a unit of Petersburg National Battlefield. Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service unit preserving sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg.
References
- Trudeau, Noah Andre, The Siege of Petersburg, National Park Service Civil War Series, Eastern National, 1995, ISBN 0-915992-82-5.
- National Park Service battle description
External links
- Battle of Five Forks is at coordinates Coordinates:
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