[240][246][264] By about 10:00 a.m., Ord and Wright were moving 15,000 men in a line facing northeast, with Ord on the right and Wright on the left as they advanced on the city with the idea of attempting to break the western defenses of Petersburg. The surrender of Lee's army. [343] The ford proved too deep for the cavalry to cross when they finished dragging away obstructions and the Union horsemen had to take a long alternate route back to the road. Longstreet's Confederate forces held off the Union Army advance near Farmville, crossed the Appomattox River and continued their retreat on the north side of the river.[392]. [322] The South Side Railroad, the final Confederate supply line to Petersburg, had been permanently severed by the Union Army. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. Sheridan's force of about 10,000 troopers was minus a brigade detached to guard prisoners and nearly 3,000 men who were detached because of a lack of replacement horses for those which died or became disabled or unserviceable in the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864 and the return to Richmond. [29][30][31][32], After discussing the situation with Major General John B. Gordon on March 4, 1865, Lee approved Gordon's proposal to attempt to capture or break a portion of the Union lines. [340] Custer later chased the fleeing Confederates but near dark he ran into substantial infantry opposition from Johnson's division at Sweathouse Creek. [223] The first Union soldier over the Confederate defenses was Captain Charles G. Gould of the 5th Vermont Infantry Regiment of the Vermont Brigade of Getty's division, who moved to the left of the main body through the ravine, down the Confederate picket path and over the plank bridge with three other men. 25. National Park Service historian Chris M. Calkins estimates 6,266 killed and wounded, 19,132 captured; surrendering at Appomattox Court House were 22,349 infantry, 1,559 cavalry, and 2,576 artillery troops. The Union attackers captured 600 prisoners, two guns and a battle flag. [34] In the alternative, Lee could move his entire army to help take on Sherman first and, if successful, turn the combined Confederate force back against Grant. 28 and under artillery fire from the secondary Confederate line, moved along the main line toward Fort Mahone. [41] Both corps were ordered to keep the Confederates in their trenches while the Union advance proceeded. This was the only conference at which Lincoln conferred with his top military officers about post-war policies. [notes 26], An alternative classification is maintained by West Point; in their Atlas of American Wars (Esposito, 1959), the siege of Petersburg ends with the Union assault and breakthrough of April 2. [399] Lee's outnumbered army was now surrounded on three sides. This delay was fatal, and could not be retrieved. [357] Lee also ordered 200,000 rations to be sent from Danville via the railroad. [95][106] In the afternoon, Warren saw Griffin's men take over Confederate outposts but he also saw that any movement further up the Boydton Plank Road by his men would be covered by Confederate artillery and fortifications. [333], Custer's younger brother, Captain Tom Custer, spurred his horse over a hastily thrown up barricade of the still deploying Confederate cavalry and captured 3 Confederate officers and 11 enlisted men, as well as the battle flag of the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry, for which he received the Medal of Honor. The generals had met once before during the Mexican-American War, and they briefly chatted about the experience. [204][205] The Union cavalry was somewhat less successful. At about 5:30 a.m. Hill rode to meet with Lee, then set out to organize the defense along the Boydton Plank Road Line. The Confederates marched west, heading toward Lynchburg, Virginia, as an alternative. Davis declined, noting the failure of a recent peace effort at the, This should not be confused with Hancock Station on the. After the papers were signed, Lee and Grant shook hands. [15], On February 5, 1865, Grant sent a large force of cavalry and the V Corps (Fifth Corps) of infantry toward Dinwiddie Court House and Stony Creek Station to interrupt the Confederate's Boydton Plank Road supply route and capture large numbers of wagons with supplies reported to be en route. The intervening thick, damp woods and an acoustic shadow prevented them from hearing the opening stage of the battle nearby. [290], On the night of April 1, 1865, at 11:00 p.m., Parke sent men from Brigadier General Simon G. Griffin's brigade of Brigadier General (Brevet Major General) Robert B. Potter's division forward from a point near Fort Sedgwick (also known as "Fort Hell") to take Grimes's picket line. 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