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Battle of Five Forks

 
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The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and 23 miles south of Richmond, Virginia. The population was 33,740 as of the United States Census 2000....
, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate States Army General Robert E....
 of the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo

In the Battle of Waterloo forces of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Bl?cher and an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington....
 of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
," pitted Union
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
 Philip H. Sheridan
Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to Major general and his close association with Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
 against Confederate
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett
George Pickett

George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
 of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

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 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
Appomattox Court House

File:New Appomattox Court House.jpgFile:Appomattox Court House new and old marker.jpgThe Appomattox Court House is a courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892....
 on April 9.

owing the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House
Battle of Dinwiddie Court House

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 Battle of Five Forks....
 on March 31, Pickett learned of reinforcements arriving from the Federal V Corps
V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
 and wanted to pull back to a position behind Hatcher's Run.






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The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and 23 miles south of Richmond, Virginia. The population was 33,740 as of the United States Census 2000....
, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate States Army General Robert E....
 of the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo

In the Battle of Waterloo forces of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Bl?cher and an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington....
 of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
," pitted Union
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
 Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a 2 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
 Philip H. Sheridan
Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army General officer in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to Major general and his close association with Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
 against Confederate
Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
 Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett
George Pickett

George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
 of Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

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 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
Appomattox Court House

File:New Appomattox Court House.jpgFile:Appomattox Court House new and old marker.jpgThe Appomattox Court House is a courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892....
 on April 9.

Background

Following the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House
Battle of Dinwiddie Court House

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 Battle of Five Forks....
 on March 31, Pickett learned of reinforcements arriving from the Federal V Corps
V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
 and wanted to pull back to a position behind Hatcher's Run. 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:

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
Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a civil engineer and prominent General officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg and is often referred to as the "Hero of Little Round Top." His subsequent service as a corps commander an...
, on the Confederate left flank. 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 Lt. Gen.
Lieutenant General (United States)

In the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a 3 star rank general officer rank, with the U.S....
 Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant , was an United States general and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....
 to relieve Warren if he saw fit.) 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
Samuel W. Crawford

Samuel Wylie Crawford was a United States Army surgeon and a Union army general in the American Civil War....
, was to strike at an angle near the end of the enemy's works, and the left front, under Maj. Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres
Romeyn B. Ayres

Romeyn Beck Ayres was a Union Army general in the American Civil War....
, was to strike the line head-on. 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
Enfilade and defilade

Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. In addition, enfilade fire is used to describe gunfire directed against an "enfiladed" formation or position....
 from the left as they brushed past it.

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
Charles Griffin (general)

Charles Griffin was a career officer in the United States Army and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He rose to command a corps in the Army of the Potomac and fought in many of the key campaigns in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
, halted rather than add to the confusion. 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
Shad

The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers....
 bake north of Hatcher's Run with Maj. Gens. Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee

Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate States Army cavalry General officer in the American Civil War, Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War....
 and Thomas L. Rosser
Thomas L. Rosser

Thomas Lafayette Rosser was a Confederate States Army General officer during the American Civil War, and later an officer in the Spanish American War and railroad construction engineer....
. 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 Confederate President
President of the Confederate States of America

The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the U.S....
 Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis was an United States politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
 that Petersburg and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
 must be evacuated, and Grant launched an all-out assault (the Third Battle of Petersburg
Battle of Petersburg III

The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Breakthrough at Petersburg or the Fall of Petersburg, was a decisive Union Army assault on the Confederate States Army trenches, ending the ten-month Siege of Petersburg and leading to the fall of Petersburg, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia, Virginia....
) on the thinly manned Confederate entrenchments.

Union Brig. Gen. Frederick Winthrop was killed at Five Forks, and Col. Willie Pegram, a highly regarded Confederate artillery officer, was mortally wounded. 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

Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service unit preserving sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg. The Battlefield is centered around Petersburg, Virginia, and also includes outlying components in Hopewell, Virginia, Prince George County, Virginia, and Dinwiddie County, Virginia....
.

External links