Sunday, March 30, 2025

A Visit to the Five Forks Battlefield

160 years ago today, both the Confederates and the Federals near Petersburg knew that the decisive campaign of the war was about to begin. It the midst of a pouring rain, Union troops fought a battle with Lee's forces at a non-descript country lane called the White Oak Road, which was an important supply line for the besieged Southern army. By the end of the day, the road was in Union hands, so the Confederates shuffled off to the west to set up a defensive line around an intersection called Five Forks.

It had been several years since I last visited the Five Forks battlefield, so I decided to retrace my steps there this afternoon. The visitor's center, a small, nondescript building, was manned by a single ranger. 

He was the only other person I saw in the visitor's center or on the battlefield today. 

I imagine he was eager to see me (or anyone for that matter), and we began discussing what happened here on April 1, 1865. Union cavalry general Philip Sheridan wanted to attack the Confederate lines at Five Forks around noon, but the Federal infantry wasn't ready until 4:00 pm. By the time the sun had set, the Federals were in control of the crossroads. The next day, Grant followed up the success at Five Forks with a major attack all along the Confederate lines. They broke through the entrenchments, and the race for Appomattox Court House was on. 

It was pretty quiet today at the Five Forks battlefield. 


But the place was anything but quiet 160 years ago on April 1. After the battle, Grant divided his army into two separate wings, with one pushing Lee, the other hoping to confront him head on. What developed was a classic envelopment situation: Lee was attacked at his rear, accompanied by an attack on his front. Thus Lee was virtually surrounded at Appomattox. 

There was nothing left to do but surrender.