Battle Of Five Forks  "Hold At All Hazards"  April 1, 1865

"I tell you, I'm ready to strike out tomorrow and go to smashing things!" exclaimed Union cavalry Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. It was March 30, 1865, and he was trying to convince Gen. Ulysses S. Grant not to let the heavy rains delay the offensive against the right of the Confederate line defending Petersburg, VA. Sheridan's cavalry, newly arrived from its victorious Shenandoah Valley campaign, had been sent by Grant along with some infantry units to envelop the Confederate flank and to sever the Southside Railroad, Richmond's last supply line to the South.

For 10 months Grant had used his superior numbers to keep extending the westward the Union lines confronting Petersburg. Each movement stretched the opposing Confederate lines thinner, and Grant felt the time had come for those Rebel lines to break. Accordingly, he instructed Sheridan to continue the advance with his 30,000-man mixed command of cavalry and infantry to the crossroads southwest of Petersburg called Five Forks, which was five miles down White Oak Road from the existing battle lines and three miles south of the railroad.

Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, informed of Union activity near Five Forks, anticipated Grant's intention to cut the Southside Railroad. Union troops on the Rebel right flank would block the withdrawal route from Petersburg that Lee was planning for his army. On March 29, Lee ordered one-third of his army- 14,000 infantry commanded by Gen. George E. Pickett and 5,000 cavalry troops under Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee- to move to Five Forks and drive away the Union force.

When Sheridan's horsemen approached Five Forks around noon on March 31, they were attacked by Pickett's soldiers and pushed back to Dinwiddie Court House. Pickett returned his command to Five Forks and reported his success to General Lee. Lee's returning message said, "Hold Five Forks at all hazards."

Fascinating Fact:  "You're not hurt a bit", Sheridan told a soldier shot through the neck in the Battle of Five Forks. "Pick up your gun and move right on to the front." The soldier did as he was told for a dozen steps, then fell over dead.


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