Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road

Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road

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The Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road once brought prosperity to the small village of Appomattox Court House, but in April of 1865 it brought the war to Southside Virginia. After a grueling 90-mile retreat from Richmond and Petersburg, the Army of Northern Virginia marched into Appomattox County with Federal forces in close pursuit to the east and south. On the afternoon of April 8, Brig. Gen. Reuben Lindsay Walker led the Confederate reserve artillery, totaling approximately 100 guns, through the village along this road. Their next destination lay three miles to the southwest at a railroad depot known as Appomattox Station. Four trains filled with rations and supplies awaited Lee’s army at Appomattox Station, but a Federal cavalry division under Maj. Gen. George Custer dashed into the station and captured three of the trains before the Confederates could secure them. Shortly after being alerted of the Federal cavalry’s presence, Walker’s guns swung into action, and a battle ensued half a mile to the north of the train station. The Battle of Appomattox Station took place in the dark, between 8:00 and 10:00 P.M. amid dense terrain which was unsuited for both cavalry and artillery combat. After a series of charges, Custer’s cavalry prevailed, capturing around 1,000 Confederate prisoners and 25 pieces of artillery. Immediately following this engagement, a patrol of the 15^th New York Cavalry led by Lt. Col. Augustus Root probed ahead along the Stage Road in search of the main body of the Army of Northern Virginia. As they made their way past the courthouse in the dark, Root’s men received a volley from the 5^th Alabama Battalion, advancing from the east side of the village. Root was killed near the courthouse in the exchange of fire and the rest of the Federal patrol fell back up the road to report their findings.Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan dispersed portions of the Federal Cavalry Corps along the ridges to the west and south of Appomattox Court House and prepared to delay the Confederate retreat until reinforcements arrived. While Sheridan deployed his troopers, a column of 25,000 Federal infantry of the Army of the James and the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac raced toward Appomattox Court House from the southwest. Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord commanded the Army of the James, which included about 5,000 United States Colored Troops, and he urged his men onward, telling them that their “legs would win the day.” His men marched 30 miles on April 8 before stopping for a brief rest at midnight, just five miles from Appomattox Court House. After three hours of sleep, the army resumed its march, eager to cut off Lee’s final avenue of escape along the Stage Road.