THE DEATH-KNELL OF THE CONFEDERACY
The Final Battles at Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House, Virginia
April 8 - 9, 1865
On the evening of April the 8th, General Robert E. Lee and the
remnants of his once-proud Army of Northern Virginia arrived in
Appomattox County one step ahead of the pursuing Federal Army.
Lee's hope was to reach Appomattox Station on the South Side
Railroad where supply trains awaited. Having moved ahead of the
rest of Lee's army, Gen. R. Lindsay Walker led a detachment of
reserve artillery to bivouac near the station. It was not long after
their arrival -- around 4:00 -- that Federal cavalry, riding hard from
the south, attacked the waiting supply trains and then assaulted
Walker. This cavalry, under command of Gen. Philip Sheridan, was
merely a harbinger of the fast approaching Federal columns.
Sheridan's horsemen repelled Walker's detachment -- Lee's much-coveted supplies were now in enemy hands.
In the meantime, the majority of Lee's forces were setting up a
temporary camp one mile north of Appomattox Court House -- the
small town lying between the Confederates and the station. Word of
the victorious Federal advance soon reached the camp. The
beleaguered Confederates realized that Grant's men had the upper
hand. A Confederate trooper reflected: "I felt myself now to be near
physical collapse... expecting to go into battle in the morning."
The expectation was validated when, at 2:00 A.M. on the morning of
April 9th, Lee ordered General Gordon's II Corps to move into line of
battle west of Appomattox Court House. Lee had met with Generals
Gordon, Longstreet, and his nephew, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee earlier that
evening and decided to throw a portion of his infantry against
Sheridan's men. He certainly did not expect to have to fight Federal
infantry, believing that he had outmarched most of Grant's troops
moving west from Farmville.
At 9:00 that morning, Gordon's II Corps was ordered forward to
break through the Federal cavalry and proceed to the west -- in the
process recapturing the station. Protecting Gordon's right flank was
Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. Gordon's Corps, "fought to a frazzle" during
the previous week, was a mere shadow of it's former strength. The
combined force of the infantry and the cavalry numbered no more
than 9, 000 men. "Fitz" Lee's cavalry spearheaded the advance, and
the lines of scattered, grey-clad infantrymen lurched forward; most
men somnolent from their early rising yet nervous with the
anticipation that manifests itself before an impending battle. As the
line moved up the sloping ridge along the Richmond-Lynchburg
Stage road, the enemy came into view.
Situated on the crest of the hill and beyond were two cannon of
Federal artillery and a brigade of cavalry under General Charles H.
Smith. Smith had been ordered by his division commander, Gen.
George Crook, to hold his position as long as possible. The
Confederates, as exhausted as they were, advanced through the
artillery and Smith's men fled in their wake -- only to be supported at
the last moment by Mackenzie's and Young's cavalry brigades. The
combined force once again slowed the Confederate advance, but
most of "Fitz" Lee's cavalry skirted the Federals and escaped
westward toward Lynchburg.
It now became apparent to Gordon that Lee had grossly
underestimated the Federal strength. In truth, Grant had not only
positioned more cavalry in front of Lee during the night, but had
also force-marched almost three entire corps of infantry along the
South Side Railroad to arrive at Appomattox Station during the
night. Most of the Army of the James (under Gen. Edward Ord) -- the
XXIV and elements of the XXV (United States Colored Troops)-- had
moved to block Lee's western escape route with the Army of the
Potomac's V Corps in tow. Gordon and his battle-worn foot soldiers
now faced advancing lines of dark blue-clad Federal infantry -- men
of the XXIV and XXV Corps. As Gordon's men began to skirmish with
the Federal Infantry, two Cavalry divisions converged on the
Confederate lines alongside infantry of Griffin's V Corps. It was only
a matter of time before Gordon's men broke. The Confederates
withdrew from their advanced positions and General Lee ordered
truce flags sent out at about 11:00 that morning.
Meanwhile, back at his camp, Lee was deep in decision. Not only had
Gordon been defeated to his front, but Federals of the II and VI corps
had pinned Longstreet's rearguard in from the north. Grant had
surrounded Lee on three sides, leaving the northwest as his only
unimpeded route. Lee knew that there was no hope of supplying his
army by retreating in that direction. He was in "checkmate": he had
no other options left. The disconsolate Lee sent word to Grant that
he was prepared to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia.
Casualties of these two battles have been estimated at nearly 500 total dead and wounded.
* Appomattox Court House N.H.P. Staff
joe_williams@nps.gov