Third Battle of Petersburg

Davis immediately began preparations for the Confederate government and such archives as could be transported to leave Richmond for Danville that night via the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Facing Parke was a strong Confederate position along the Jerusalem Plank Road dominated by Fort Mahone (strengthened from the former Battery 29 and named after Major General William Mahone; also known as "Fort Damnation"), covered by batteries in six redoubts and manned by the forces of Major General John B. Gordon. The Confederates had built a strong secondary line about behind their main line. Union Fort Sedgwick was about from Fort Mahone.

Although lightly manned, the positions between Batteries 25 and 30, especially Fort Mahone (Battery 29), where Parke was to attack, had been considerably strengthened since their initial construction.

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. They captured 249 officers and men, about half of Colonel Edwin L. Hobson's brigade in the process. Parke was still quite concerned about trying to assault these works and pointedly asked that the offensive be cancelled since the element of surprise had been lost. Early artillery fire starting at 10:00 p.m. on April 1 and the attack on the picket line and subsequent skirmishing had put the defenders on alert.

When Parke did not receive a favorable reply to his request for cancellation of the assault, he prepared to send 18 regiments forward. Brigadier General Robert B. Potter's division was to the west of the Jerusalem Plank Road. Brigadier General (Brevet Major General) John F. Hartranft's division was to the east on the right of Fort Sedgwick. Thomas P. Beals, with three companies of the 31st Maine Infantry Regiment, led the attack of Potter's division on Battery No. 28 after the pioneers chopped through the chevaux-de-frise.

The Union attackers captured Miller's salient but then had to fight from traverse to traverse along the trenches.

The Confederates withdrew west from Fort Mahone to a position between the fort and Battery No. 30 occupied by the 53rd North Carolina of Colonel David G. Cowand's brigade. The Confederates jumped on top of a large traverse between the fort and the battery to fire down on the Union attackers.

Confederate counterattacks led to bitter fighting, traverse to traverse, as the afternoon continued. Soldiers from both sides jumped on top of the traverses, which often were ten feet tall and twenty feet thick, to fire into the crowd on the other side.

Grimes made a second push at 1:00 p.m. to recapture the lost ground, which led Parke to call for reinforcements from the VI Corps. Confederate casualties are unknown, although General Humphreys reported that Parke claimed 800 prisoners, 12 guns and some flags were captured along with the Confederate works. Major General Gordon asked General Lee if it was worth trying to recapture about 200 yards of the forward line and a portion of Fort Mahone still held by Parke. In accordance with Lee's evacuation timetable, Gordon began to remove his men from the trenches at 9:00 p.m. The attack captured the Confederate redoubts, their artillery and the majority of their garrisons. At about 7:30 a.m. Mott captured the Confederate picket line at Burgess's Mill and at 8:30 a.m. Mott sharply attacked the Confederate trenches on their right flank, which then were rapidly evacuated.

At 9:00 a.m., Humphreys received word from Miles that he was returning and had reached a point about west of Claiborne Road on White Oak Road. and John R. Cooke's brigades of Hill's corps, under Major General Henry Heth, and Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson's command consisting of Bushrod Johnson's and George Pickett's divisions and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry. General Meade did not approve of this action and ordered Humphreys to move his men toward Petersburg and connect with General Wright.

Humphreys met Miles's division at Sutherland's Station only to find that it had just come up on Heth's division and was forced to give battle. Later, Humphreys said he met Sheridan at the time he met Miles and that Sheridan said Miles was still under his command. The entire Confederate force at Sutherland's Station was estimated by a staff officer at about 4,000 men. Then, Miles attacked MacRae and McGowan again with Madill's brigade, now under the command of Colonel (Brevet Brigadier General) Clinton McDougall and Colonel Robert Nugent's brigade.

When McGowan's men finally gave way, Cooke's brigades collapsed from east to west although Cooke's own brigade was farthest from the end of the line and withdrew in better order than the other survivors who managed to escape. The Confederates who did not become casualties or prisoners retreated toward the Appomattox River, moving mostly in disorder toward Amelia Court House. But most of Miles men were too exhausted to pursue the Confederate fugitives. Besides, Miles understood that Sheridan had ordered his men to drive the enemy toward Petersburg, so he turned his division in that direction. Miles and Hays camped near Sutherland's Station to protect the railroad. Humphreys later wrote that the whole Confederate force probably would have been captured if the II Corps had been able to continue to Sutherland's Station that morning.

Other than the 600 taken prisoners, Confederate casualties at Sutherland's Station are unknown. Miles had 366 casualties.

Casualties

The Union forces lost 3,936 men on April 2, 1865. Confederate casualties were at least 5,000, most of whom were taken prisoner. Casualties at the other main actions of the day are noted above.

File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 03 Page 296.jpg|Confederate Casualty trenches at Petersburg April 1865

File:Dead soldier in trench - NARA - 530524.tif|Dead Confederate soldier at Petersburg, Virginia, April 1865.

File:Dead soldier in the trenches before Petersburg - NARA - 525029.tif|Dead Confederate soldier at Petersburg, Virginia, April 1865.

File:Dead confederate with gun.jpg|Dead Confederate soldier at Petersburg, Virginia, April 1865

File:Deadconfederate.jpg|Dead Confederate soldier at Petersburg, Virginia, April 1865

File:The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 03 Page 295.jpg|Confederate Casualty trenches at Petersburg April 1865

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Aftermath

thumb|300px|National Park Service marker for Fort Gregg

Wright's breakthrough severed the South Side Railroad near Petersburg. The Union Army had access to the Appomattox River and were free to cross the next day to threaten Lee's communications on the north side of the river. Artillery preceded infantry. Wagon trains were to move on separate roads. Most trains and troops crossed to the north side of the Appomattox River by the railroad or railroad bridges. Amelia Court House was the designated assembly point for Lee's Army. Most of the army moved west on the north side of the Appomattox River but most of Anderson's command, including Pickett's and Bushrod Johnson's divisions and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry moved on the south side of the river. Before the withdrawal, the Confederates disabled all heavy artillery but took about 200 light artillery pieces with them along with over 1,000 wagons.

By 11:00 p.m., Jefferson Davis, most of his cabinet, such records, boxes and baggage as could be carried and all the gold in the Confederate treasury left Richmond on a Richmond & Danville Railroad train headed for Danville, Virginia.

Generals Meade and Grant set up temporary headquarters along the Boydton Plank Road at Bank's house just north of the VI Corps breakthrough.

In preparation for a final assault on the Confederate lines and presumed capture of the city, Grant ordered a "furious bombardment" to begin at 5:00 a.m. the next day to be followed by an assault at 6:00 a.m. At 3:00 a.m., however, the Union commanders found out that Lee had abandoned his entrenchments, making a further assault on the Richmond and Petersburg lines unnecessary. Grant also wanted Sheridan to push the Fifth Corps and his cavalry north of the Appomattox as quickly as possible on April 3. When the meeting concluded about 90 minutes later, Lincoln started his return to City Point and Grant moved west to catch up with his army in pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The retreat that led to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865 had begun.

Footnotes

Notes

References

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Bonekemper, Edward H., III. A Victor, Not a Butcher: Ulysses S. Grant's Overlooked Military Genius. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2004. .
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External links

Battle of Five Forks in Encyclopedia Virginia.
Animated history of the Siege of Petersburg and Surrender at Appomattox.
National Park Service battle description (88).
National Park Service battle description (89).
CWSAC Report Update.
Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier includes a presentation of the breakthrough at Boydton Line and other museum exhibits.
Capture of Fort Mahone by the 48th Pa Infantry regiment April 1865
Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 25, issue 5, account of Fort Mahone, pp. 226-29
April 1865 pictures of Battle of Petersburg April 2, 1865 and present day views.
Pictures of Confederate trenchs at Petersburg after their capture April 1865