880 



RICHMOND. 



decided that the war should pi) on. Two 

 wards mother effort was made to win the 



1 prize of the Southside Baflmd It was 

 i to throw :\ flanking coluiun along Hatcher 's 

 Run t the right of the Confederate works, take them 

 in reverse, turn north, and seize the ro:id. This move- 

 i as led by Warren, anil included the Second and 

 Filth corps and Gregg's cavalry. 



The cavalry were successful in clearing the ground 

 in trout of Reams' Station, and encamped for the night 

 on Rowanty Creek. Meanwhile the Second corps 

 crossed Hatcher's Run, and, finding the Confederate! 

 in a strong position, threw up temporary earthworks 

 which were soon furiously assailed. The assault was 

 twice repeated, but in vain, and at nightfall the Con- 

 federates wit hdri-w. During the night the Filth corps 

 took position on the Icil of the Second, and other 

 moved up within supporting distance. 

 Severe fighting took place on the 6th. Gregg's cavalry, 

 which now covered the Fifth corps, was heavily 

 assailed by Confederate cavalry, and towards evening 

 pushed back to Hatcher's Run. Ayrcs and Crawford 

 were successively assailed and driven hack, the assault 

 next falling on Humphreys, who held his ground and 

 d the foe in disorder. The troops were now 

 rallied behind the earthworks which had been thrown 

 up on the previous day and stood firm, the result of 

 the conflict being the permanent extension of the 

 Union lines to Hatcher s Kim. The Union loss was 

 nearly 2iH)0, the Confederate about 1000 men. 



Towards the end of March Grant prepared for still 

 more decided and aggressive movements. As a pre- 

 liminary it was important to destroy the Confederate 

 power north of the James, and Sheridan was sent 

 with a strong cavalry force for this purpose. With 

 alHiut 10,000 men that dashing leader rode up through 

 tin- State, the first resistance of importance being met at 

 W.iynesboro, where Early, with J.MH) men, was strongly 

 intrenched. Yet Ouster, in the advance, rode over his 

 inireiichments and captured 17<K> of his men, the re- 

 mainder being thoroughly dispersed. Cottar lost less 

 than a dozen men. About a million dollars worth of 

 Confederate property was destroyed at Wayiieslwjroand 

 in the district to the west of it, and on March 3 Sheridan 

 '1 and took possession of Chariot tesvillc. where 

 he made a thorough destruction of the railroads and 

 railroad property tor eight miles southward. He now 

 pushed for the James River. Here he found the 

 bridges burned and the river too swollen with rains for 

 his pontoons to be available, so he turned eastward, 

 destroyed the James River canal, an important channel 

 of supply to Richmond, burned bridges all over that 

 region, and dashiiiir north -easterly tore up fifteen miles 

 of the Virginia Central Railroad. This done, he swept 

 round by the J'amiinkev River and White House, and 

 rejoined the army on .March L'o. He had ruined L'IKI 

 miles of railway, destroyed many bridges and great 

 quantities of stores, and effectually disabled the Cpn- 

 rederate power north of Richmond, while so alarming 

 the authorities in that city that they began to pack up 

 ready for flight The field of operations was decidedly 

 narrowed by this vigorous raid. 



On Mar.-h ^4 (irant issued orders for a general 

 movement on the 29th. Ix-e. perhaps expecting this, 

 perhaps in pursuance, of some plan which ill success 

 rendered ulmrtive, had devised a counter movement 

 against the Union lines, which was put into effect in 

 the early morning of March L'.'i. It was directed against 

 Fort Steadman. a strong work in the central region uf 

 the intrcnchmcnts, south of the Appomattox. It was 

 in front of the Ninth corps, and formed a salient about 

 100 yards distant from the Confederate intrenchnients. 

 Gen. J. H. Gordon had command of the assaulting 

 column, of 3000 or 4000 men. with strong forces ready in 

 reserve. At 4 A. M., March li.'i. the movement 

 in a stealthy advance over the intervening ground In 

 a few minutes the coluiun. unobserved, u < in trout of 

 the fort, and was dashing up its parapets before the 



I garrison were fairlv aware of their danger. No r. 



; ance was attempted, those who were not made prison- 

 ers lied, and the guns of (hecaptured work were turned 

 upon the neighboring redoubts, compelling thei; 

 evacuation. The moment was come for the supporting 

 column to press forward, disperse the troops in rear of 

 the fort, seize the City Point Railroad, and 

 Grant to some hasty action in defence of his base of 

 supplies. This was not done. For some unknown 

 i he advance was not made, ami the promising 

 opportunity was lost. Gordon was left to bear the 

 brunt of the assault which quickly fell upon his late 

 victorious troops. Fort Ilascall. to the left of Fort 

 Steadmaii, opened on it a terrific fire, under cover of 

 which a heavy column of infantry advanced, and a 

 ned not unlike that which followed the mine 

 explosion. The assailants were in a trap. It was im- 

 possible, to escape, lor the space leading to their own 

 works was swept by artillery fire. ( )f those that sought 

 to fly the greater number fell, and the bulk of the 

 assailants surrendered rather than attempt it. The 

 attack had failed, Lee's army had been depleted to 

 the extent of 4000 men, and Meade, surmising that 

 Lee must have weakened his lines for this move- 

 ment, ordered a general advance of the Second and 

 Sixth corps. As a result the strongly intrenched 

 picket line of the Confederates was seized and per- 

 manently held. 



The attempt to create a diversion in favor of the 

 Confederates had signally failed, and the preparations 

 for the designed movement of the Union army went 

 actively on. A movement in great force was designed, 

 for the general purpose, as Grant states, of placing 

 himself in position to check the flight of Lee's army, 

 which he feared might take place at any moment, and 

 also for the capture of the works covering the South- 

 side Railroad, the possession of which would leave J/ee 

 but a single avenue of supply. Lee's intrenched line 

 now extended south-westward from Petersburg to and 

 for some distance beyond the junction of Hatcher's 



' Run with the Bovdton road, while four miles westward 

 was a detached line of works, stretching along the 

 White Oak road and covering a strategic point at the 

 junction of several highways known as the Five Forks. 

 It was against the latter intrenchments, the extreme 

 right of Lee's works, that the grand turning column 

 began its march, on the morning of March L".i. The 

 Ninth corps, under Gen. Parke, and part of the Army 

 of the James, under Gen. Weitzel, were left to hold the 

 line of Federal intrenchments, and the remainder of 

 the army was put in motion. 



Sheridan was sent with the cavalry with orders to 

 ride round the Confederate lines and seek to destroy 

 the contested railroads, lie rested for the night at 

 Pinwiddie Court House, several miles south of Five 

 Forks. On the morning of the 30th he received orders 

 from Grant to change his plan, push round the enemy 

 to his rear, ami co-operate with the infantry column. 

 The latter, consisting of the Fifth and Second corps, 

 led by Warren and Humphreys, had met some opposi- 

 tion on the U'.ith. Warren losing 370 men, but repulsing 

 the enemy. They rested for the night in front of the 

 Confederate works on the line of the White Oak road. 

 Lee made hasty efforts to protect the imperilled 

 ]x>int, but Icfl the major iiart of his army to defend his 

 works, not knowing but the movement might be a ruse 

 to cover an attack elsewhere. The force sent t. 



Forks numbered abonl 16.000 infantry, with Fitzhugh 

 Lee's cavalry. During all day of the .".nth it rained 

 I'm iously. making the roads utmost impassable, and the 

 Union troops remained in their lines. ( )n the morning 

 of the 31st the rain had ceased, but the ground was 

 still 80 muddy that it wa> deemed inadvisable to move. 



Lee thought otherwise. His situation was ,1, s; 

 and he felt it necessary to repel the line before him. 

 Sheridan was too far distant to cover Warren's left 

 flank, and on this flank, which was entangled in the 

 intricacies of a swampy forest, there fell a sudden and 



