478 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period v. 



f 



three arms, and after tremendous loss of life and horse- 

 flesh, all to no purpose, would have retired on the main 

 body, leaving the disputed ground to the enemy, and 

 causing the whole three days' work by which it had been 

 gained to be done over again at some future time." ' 



The defensive power of Sheridan's cavalry was 

 evidently the means of enabling the corps on his right to 

 rally and regain their position, and prevented a defeat, 

 and this defensive power could not have been effectively 

 secured under any other system of tactics or arma- 

 ment. Grant, in his final report, speaking of Sheridan's 

 conduct on this occasion, said : " Here General Sheridan 

 displayed great generalship. Instead of retiring with 

 his whole command on the main army to tell the tale of 

 superior forces encountered, he deployed his cavalry on 

 foot, leaving only mounted men enough to take care of 

 the horses. This compelled the enemy to deploy over a 

 vast extent of ground, woods, and broken country, and 

 made his progress slow." * 



On the morning of the 1st April Sheridan had 

 planned a movement to turn the Confederate flank and 

 cut off a portion of their line ; this was frustrated by 

 the slowness of Warren's corps in moving up, and by 

 the Confederates rapidly retreating towards their position 

 at Five Forks. He the i made a feint with his cavalry 

 to turn their right, while the 5th corps turned them on 

 the left and cut off their communication with Petersburg 

 and the remainder of Lee's army. 



General Merritt, with three brigades, drove the Con- 

 federate right, by several impetuous mounted charges, 

 into their outer lines of temporary works, then dis- 

 mounting they attacked these lines and drove the enemy 

 out of them. Everything was now ready for the general 

 attack. The 5th corps was ordered to swing the right 

 forward, and, turning the Confederate left, sweep it into 

 the main works at Five Forks. This was soon done, 

 and the Federal infantry pressing on attacked the 

 works from the east. At the same time the cavalry 

 having, as we have said, driven the enemy into hia 

 ' Havelook, 79. « Ibid. 82. 



