Battle of Sailor’s Creek

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When word reached Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant about the victory there by Maj. Gens. Philip H. Sheridan and Gouverneur Warren, he ordered a series of assaults on the main Confederate line defending the long-sought-after railroad center of Petersburg. By early morning of April 2, Grant’s columns had cracked through Lee’s defenses, virtually dividing his force in two. That same day the Confederacy was to lose one of its longest-serving corps commanders, Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill, in a brief confrontation with two Federal soldiers. The day also saw numerous clashes in different sectors of the lines, and the names of Fort Mahone, Fort Gregg and Sutherland Station were to become battle honors for the men of both sides. That night Lee would give orders to withdraw his forces from the three fronts he had protected for almost 912 months.

Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s First Corps, along with Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Reserve Corps, left the Richmond defenses and crossed to the south side of the James River. Major General William Mahone, whose division held the Howlett Line between the James and Appomattox rivers across Bermuda Hundred, moved inland to Chesterfield Court House. General Lee, with Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon’s Second Corps and the remnants of Hill’s Third Corps, moved through the ‘Cockade City’ and crossed to the north bank of the Appomattox. Those cut off at Five Forks, and by the breakthrough in the lines west of the city, stayed south of the Appomattox River. The rendezvous point of all these contingents of Lee’s army would be Amelia Court House on the Richmond & Danville Railroad, about 30 miles to the west.

Initially, plans had called for the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg, with the idea that Lee would take his army to North Carolina and join up with General Joseph E. Johnston’s command operating near Raleigh. To do so, they would obtain supplies and subsistence at Amelia, then would follow the railroad toward Danville and the border. Making an all-night march on the night of April 2-3, Lee was able to gain a lead on the Federals, who took most of that time to occupy the newly captured cities of Petersburg and Richmond.

The Appomattox was the first obstacle encountered by the Southern troops on their march, as they had to recross the river in order to get to Amelia. Plans had been made previously for three bridge crossings, one at Genito, one at Goodes and the other at Bevills. Spring flooding unfortunately made Bevills impassible, and the failure to get pontoons to Genito caused complications there. Eventually, the troops at the latter point planked the Richmond & Danville Railroad bridge near Mattoax to cross.

Most of the other troops then had to pass over both the permanent and pontoon bridges at Goodes. By the morning of the 4th, they were beginning to fill the streets of the county seat village of Amelia Court House. When Lee and his officers reached the area of the railroad station, they opened the cars to find large amounts of ordnance supplies but no food. While waiting for the arrival of the rest of his troops, Lee issued a proclamation asking the local citizens for help and sent out foragers to collect supplies from them. At the same time, he ordered supplies sent up the railroad from Danville.

Grant spent most of the 3rd moving men into Richmond and Petersburg and preparing his troops for the pursuit. His numerous corps were south of the Appomattox River. Sheridan’s cavalry was already pressing the Confederates who had escaped the debacle at Five Forks and continued to fight rear-guard actions with the enemy at such places as Scott’s Crossroads, Namozine Church, Deep Run and Tabernacle Church.

All indicators seem to point to the fact that the Confederates were falling back into Amelia Court House, and the Federals quickly gained a grasp of where Lee’s army was. Realizing that the goal must be Danville and North Carolina, the troopers departed to cut off the railroad in front of Lee. If they could do so, and get enough infantry there to support them, Lee’s plan would be thwarted.

As the forage wagons began returning to Amelia on the 5th, Lee saw little arrive in the way of supplies. He had failed to feed his army and, more important, lost his day’s lead on Grant’s forces. He later lamented that ‘this delay was fatal and could not be retrieved.’ His commanders then set about putting the army in motion, marching down the railroad toward Danville and the next station, Jetersville.

The army had not gone far when there appeared to be trouble up ahead that might possibly change the plans to go directly to North Carolina. Major General W.H.F. ‘Rooney’ Lee, second eldest son of the commander and the leader of the Southern cavalry, reported to his superiors that his men had founddismounted Federal cavalry entrenched across the road. Union infantry was sure to follow.

Robert E. Lee had to decide whether to attack and clear the road or try another alternative. Because of the lateness of the hour and the fact that Lee’s column was well spread out, the general decided to change his original plans. He made a night march, passing to the north of the Federal left flank, and headed west for Farmville on the South Side Railroad. There, he could obtain supplies for his army, then head south, intersecting the Danville rail line near Keysville. To be successful, once again he would have to outdistance Grant’s army.

As the Confederates groped through the night, they had to first ford Flat Creek, then pass through the country resort of Amelia Springs. As the morning of the 6th, a Thursday, dawned, the troops had nearly bypassed the unsuspecting Federals when the crack of skirmish fire was heard across the creek. Elements of Union infantry observed the final contingents of Lee’s column moving along the opposite ridge and immediately set out in pursuit. It was the beginning of a black day for Lee’s army.

The 23-mile route the Confederates followed ran through a couple of hamlets before reaching Farmville. The first was merely a crossroads called Deatonsville. The road then passed through bottomlands traversed by Little Sailor’s Creek, a tributary of the Appomattox River. Continuing westward, the South Side Railroad was reached at Rice’s Depot, and from there the road ran directly to Farmville. The terrain throughout the area was generally rolling with various watercourses — Flat Creek, Big and Little Sailor’s creeks, and the Sandy and Bush rivers — slashing across the landscape. Bordering to the north was the generally unfordable Appomattox River, whose only crossings were at Farmville and three miles northeast, where the High Bridge carried the South Side Railroad.

In the van of Lee’s column was Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s combined First and Third corps, followed by Lt. Gen. Richard Anderson’s small corps of Pickett’s and Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson’s divisions, then Ewell’s Reserve Corps made up of Richmond garrison troops, followed by the main wagon train and finally Gordon’s Second Corps acting as rear guard. It was the Federal II Corps that spied Gordon’s troops passing near Amelia Springs at daybreak on the 6th and set out in immediate pursuit. Following on a parallel road to the south of the one that the Confederates were moving on was fast-riding blue cavalry under Sheridan. Close behind them were Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright’s VI Corps, leaving from their trenches at Jetersville.

Longstreet’s men pushed on through a drizzling rain, but their progress was disrupted when the general received news of a party of Union cavalry and infantry, about 900 strong, heading for the High Bridge to burn the span. They had been sent from Maj. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord’s Army of the James at Burkeville Junction.

Longstreet immediately dispatched Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry to chase down the Union party and prevent any damage to the important crossing. Not only were the Confederates successful in doing so but they captured the entire Yankee lot, although at the high cost of losing Brig. Gen. James Dearing. Dearing was an excellent young general who got into a pistol duel with Federal Brevet Brig. Gen. Theodore Read, a member of Ord’s staff. Read was killed and Dearing received a mortal wound, lingering until April 23. He was to be the last Confederate general to die of a battle wound.

While Longstreet was arriving at Rice’s Depot, the rest of his column became separated from the head of Anderson’s corps. Observant Federal cavalry, led by Brig. Gen. George A. Custer, saw their chance to wreak havoc. Charging into the gap, the troopers managed to put up a roadblock in Anderson’s front. At the same time Ewell, realizing that additional attacks were imminent, decided to send the wagon train on a more northerly route. This he did at a local crossroads called Holt’s Corner, about a mile northeast of the Little Sailor’s Creek crossing. Gordon, heavily pressed by Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys’ II Corps, followed the trains to protect them, and the II Corps kept up its pursuit. The stage was being set for the Battle of Little Sailor’s Creek.

Anderson decided to make his stand at a crossroads bounded by the Harper and Marshall farms, about one mile southwest of the road crossing over the creek. As the wagon train was departing the main column, Ewell took his force to the southwest side of the creek. There, he formed a battle line on a ridge parallel to the creek facing northeast, overlooking the Hillsman farm. General Lee’s eldest son, Maj. Gen. G.W. Custis Lee, had spent most of the war serving as an aide to President Jefferson Davis and commanding Richmond’s Local Defense Troops. Now his troops formed the left of Ewell’s line. Major General Joseph Kershaw’s division formed the right.

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Tags: 19th Century, American Civil War, Civil War Times, Historical Conflicts

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