CHAPTER VIII.
Forward Movement of the Army of the Potomac—Capture of Petersburg and Richmond—Pursuit of Lee’s Army—Battle of Sailor’s Creek.
General Grant was now tightening his grip on the rebel lines, and he ordered a forward movement of all the forces concentrated around Petersburg, with the intention of capturing that city and Richmond also. On the 29th, in a communication to General Sheridan, he says: “Our line is now unbroken from the Appomattox to Dinwiddie. We are all ready, however, to give up all, from the Jerusalem Plank Road to Hatcher’s Run, whenever the forces can be used advantageously.... I now feel like ending the matter, if it is possible to do so, before going back. I do not want you, therefore, to cut loose and go after the enemy’s roads at present. In the morning push around the enemy, if you can, and get on to his right rear.... We will act all together as one army, until it is seen what can be done with the enemy.”
The rain fell in torrents from the night of the 29th to the morning of the 31st, and the roads were almost impassable. Sheridan advanced from Dinwiddie Court House, on the 30th, towards Five Forks, and found the enemy there in full force, and, reinforced by the rebel cavalry, forced him back to Dinwiddie Court House. Here General Sheridan, instead of retreating with his command to the main army, deployed his cavalry on foot, leaving only mounted men enough to take charge of the horses, and compelled the enemy to deploy over a vast extent of wooded and broken country, making his progress slow. Two divisions of the Fifth Corps and General Mackenzie’s cavalry were sent to Sheridan’s assistance.
Thus reinforced, General Sheridan on the morning of the 1st of April drove the enemy back on Five Forks, where he assaulted and carried his strongly fortified works, capturing all his artillery and between five and six thousand prisoners.
Our battery marched at twelve P. M. to Fort Fisher, where the signal gun was to be fired at four A. M. and answered on our left by troops at Hatcher’s Run and on the right of our lines near Yellow House, which were signals for a general advance of our army on the works of the enemy. We received orders to join the First Brigade, First Division, of the Sixth Corps. This gallant corps had already won imperishable renown on many sanguinary fields under the lamented Sedgwick, and now, under Wright, its able corps commander, still maintained its well-earned reputation.
Our division commander, Gen. Frank Wheaton, a native of Rhode Island, was a brave and accomplished officer, respected and esteemed by every soldier of his command. The following sketch is taken from Bartlett’s Memoirs of Rhode Island Officers: “He is the son of Dr. Francis L. Wheaton [himself a surgeon in the war] and Amelia S. (Burrell) Wheaton. He was born in Providence, received his education in the public schools in his native city, and on graduating from the high school entered on a partial course of study in Brown University preparatory to his destined pursuit in life, that of civil engineering.
“In 1854, he went on a survey as chief of a party of reconnaissance to meet the Mexican commissioner, Senor Salazar.
“In June, 1855, two weeks after the survey had been completed, Mr. Wheaton received from President Pierce the appointment of first lieutenant of cavalry. On the first of March, 1861, he was promoted to a captaincy, and on the breaking out of the war was detailed with Captain Sitgreaves, Topographical Engineers, to muster into service the United States troops in Albany.
“In June, 1861, Captain Wheaton was appointed by Governor Sprague lieutenant-colonel of the Second Rhode Infantry. On the death of Colonel Slocum he was immediately promoted to the colonelcy of his regiment. In November, 1862, he was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers. He commanded a brigade of the Sixth Corps, and was with it in its various campaigns and battles, until the battle of Winchester, Va., Sept. 19, 1864, when, by order of General Sheridan, he was assigned to the command of the First Division, Sixth Corps. One month later he was recommended for promotion for services rendered at the battle of Cedar Creek, Va., and was breveted major-general of volunteers. After the battle of the Wilderness he received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel in the regular army, and later on received the brevet of colonel for distinguished services at the battle of Cold Harbor.
“On the 2d of April, 1865, the rebel lines before Petersburg, Va., were successfully assaulted by the Sixth Corps, the First Division of which was commanded by General Wheaton. For his services on this occasion he received the brevet of brigadier-general in the United States army. But the crowning honor of his career was the brevet of major-general in the regular army, conferred upon him for the masterly manner in which he defeated and drove back the rebel General Early, at Fort Stevens, within the city of Washington, on the night of the 12th of July, 1864. He was the immediate commander, on this occasion, of the United States forces, consisting of twelve regiments. At the close of the war he was ordered to the frontier, and, as brevet major-general of volunteers, commanded a district including the territories of Nebraska, Dacotah, and Montana. In November, 1865, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Thirty-ninth United States Infantry, and subsequently colonel Second United States Infantry, and is at the present time a brigadier-general in the United States army.”
We will now return to the position occupied by our battery near Fort Fisher on the morning of April 2d. General Grant had issued orders for an assault on the enemy’s lines by General Wright with the Sixth Corps, and General Parke with the Ninth Corps, while General Humphreys with the Second, and General Ord with the Army of the James were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to take any advantage that could be taken from weakening in their front.
At half past four o’clock in the forenoon, our battery moved forward with the division, and, after crossing the rifle-pits, the right section of the battery was ordered into action in front of Fort Fisher, between two chimneys, and were soon engaged with a rebel battery, compelling it to retire. Then we poured an enfilading fire on a rebel fort, silencing its guns. The section then moved to our left, to the assistance of our infantry, who were hotly engaged with the enemy. The section was subsequently ordered to return to Fort Fisher. Here we found Generals Grant, Meade, Wheaton, Parke, Getty, and Sheridan, intently observing the movements of our troops, and the result of the battle. Our whole battery then moved nearer to a rebel fort in our front, opened fire upon it, and finally succeeded in silencing the enemy’s guns.
During the day the battery occupied seven different positions, the last one being in the rear of the Whitworth House. The enemy placed a rifle battery in position on the left, and obtained an enfilading fire at one thousand seven hundred yards, being beyond the extreme range of our guns. The battery was subsequently ordered to withdraw from this position, and went into park in rear of the First Division headquarters for the night. In this day’s action, three men of our battery were killed: Privates Gerritt S. Hill (an attached man from the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery), Thomas Carter, and Charles Vaslett; wounded severely, Private Eben Tongue; wounded slightly, Sergt. Esek S. Owen, Corp. John P. Campbell, 2d, and Privates William H. Stone, Gideon W. Arnold, and George W. Freeborn. Private Charles Tweedale was made permanently deaf. Our Battery Guidon, Horace F. Floyd, had his horse killed by a shell. The horse fell on Comrade Floyd, injuring him severely. Ten horses were killed in this action.
General Wheaton, in his report to Major Whittlesey, says:
“During our advance towards Petersburg, Capt. Crawford Allen, Jr.’s Battery H, of the First Rhode Island Artillery, was admirably handled and his losses were severe. His guns were always in front, frequently in advance of the skirmishers; and, as our lines moved forward, he invariably forced the enemy’s batteries to retire, and followed them closely. Earlier in the day, when the assault commenced, Captain Allen very handsomely compelled a section of the enemy’s artillery to retire. If these guns, occupying one of their intrenched works and thoroughly enfilading our lines, had not been silenced, they might have materially retarded our advance.”
While the Sixth Corps under Wright swung around to the left and moved to Hatcher’s Run, sweeping everything before them, the other corps were not idle. Ord and Humphreys succeeded in capturing the intrenched picket lines in their front. Ord took possession of the enemy’s intrenchments, the Second Corps soon followed, and the outer works were in the hands of the Union troops. Sheridan had also been successful on his part of the line. He met the enemy at Sutherland Station, and, with the assistance of Miles’ division of the Second Corps, captured the place, taking a large number of prisoners and some pieces of artillery, and putting to flight portions of three Confederate corps.
General Grant, in a dispatch to Col. T. S. Bowers at City Point well describes the situation of our army on the afternoon of the 2d of April. He says: “We are now up and have a continuous line of troops, and in a few hours will be intrenched from the Appomattox below Petersburg to the river above.... The whole captures since the army started out gunning will amount to not less than twelve thousand men, and probably fifty pieces of artillery.”
An assault was ordered to be made the following day at six A. M.; but the enemy evacuated Richmond and Petersburg on the morning of the 3d, and retreated toward Danville. General Sheridan with his cavalry, followed by General Meade with the Second and Sixth Corps, started in pursuit. General Ord proceeded to Burkeville along the South Side Road, the Ninth Corps following closely. Battery H moved with the First Division of the Sixth Corps. We crossed the South Side Railroad, passing a station on the road which read “Black and White Station,” meaning that both white and black persons could take the cars at that point. We marched about fifteen miles and encamped for the night at about ten P. M.
On the morning of the 4th of April we again started in full pursuit of the enemy. Our corps being in the centre of the other corps we marched on parallel roads. We here received an official dispatch that our forces were in possession of Richmond and Petersburg. We encamped that night about eleven P. M.
President Lincoln, who had been at City Point for several days, on the morning of the capture of Petersburg, received a dispatch from General Grant inviting him to ride out to Petersburg and he would meet him there. He found Grant in the captured city occupying the piazza of a deserted house. Mr. Lincoln warmly congratulated the general on the recent victory, thanking him and his army for the good results accomplished, and said: “Do you know, general, that I have had a sort of sneaking idea for some days that you intended to do something like this.” General Grant had with him at this time the officers of his staff and only a small escort of cavalry, all the troops having been sent in pursuit of General Lee and his fleeing army.
April 5th still found our division pursuing the Confederate forces. We did not meet many rebels, only a few prisoners captured by our cavalry at the front. After a short march we bivouacked for the night. On the morning of this date General Grant addressed the following communication to General Sherman: “All indications now are that Lee will attempt to reach Danville with the remnant of his force. Sheridan, who was up with him last night, reports all that is left, horse, foot, and dragoons, at twenty thousand, much demoralized. We hope to reduce this number one-half. I shall push on to Burkeville, and if a stand is made at Danville will go there. If you can possibly do so, push on from where you are, and let us see if we cannot finish the job with Lee and Johnston’s armies. Whether it will be better for you to strike for Greensboro’, or nearer to Danville, you will be better able to judge when you receive this. Rebel armies now are the only strategic points to strike at.”
On the morning of the 6th of April, Sheridan with his cavalry advanced on the road running from Deatonsville to Rice Station. Before long the enemy’s trains were discovered on this road, but little impression could be made upon them they were so strongly guarded. Leaving a sufficient force there to harrass the retreating column, he shifted the rest of his cavalry toward the left, across-country, but still keeping parallel to the enemy’s line of march. After crossing Sailor’s Creek he again attacked the enemy vigorously, destroying several hundred wagons, made many prisoners and captured sixteen pieces of artillery. But the most important fact was that he had prevented a corps of Confederate infantry, under Ewell, from joining Longstreet. The separation of these two rebel commands from each other led to the battle of Sailor’s Creek, a hard fought combat, in which infantry, artillery, and cavalry were all brought into action. This small creek, which is a tributary of the Appomattox, flows in a northwesterly direction across the road leading from Deatonsville to Rice’s Station. Sheridan sent Merritt with his division to the left on the Rice’s Station Road, west of the creek, making havoc with the enemy’s wagon trains, while Crook struck them further on and planted himself square across the road. This blocked Ewell’s progress, and he endeavored to make a stand here with a portion of his forces under Anderson, while the main body should escape through the woods in a westerly direction toward Farmville. But Crook at once assaulted Anderson’s front, overlapping his right, and Merritt attacked to the right of Crook. The enemy were thus held until the arrival of the Sixth Corps, under Wright, who were advancing “as fast as legs could carry them.”
Grant had directed that the Sixth Corps should follow Sheridan’s route of march since the discovery in the morning that Lee had evacuated Amelia Court House. In a note to Sheridan he said: “The Sixth Corps will go in with a vim any place you may dictate.”
On that morning our brigade with Battery H, led the advance of our division on the march, expecting every moment to encounter the enemy. When our corps reached Sailor’s Creek in the afternoon Seymour’s division was placed in position on the right of the road, while our division (Wheaton’s) formed on Seymour’s left. Both divisions moving forward together assailed the enemy’s front and left, together with Stagg’s brigade of cavalry which had been placed between Wheaton’s left and Devin’s right, while Merritt and Crook resumed the fight from their positions in front of Anderson.
Our battery went into action with our division, and fired fifteen rounds. We then changed our position to the brow of a hill overlooking the creek, where we remained until the close of the engagement. Generals Sheridan, Wright, and Custer were on this hill observing the progress of the battle. The enemy had now little chance of escape, and fought like tigers, but were pressed vigorously by Seymour and Wheaton, our forces gaining ground at all points except where Seymour’s left was checked. Here the enemy made a counter-charge, surging down almost to the creek, but our artillery, supported by Getty, who had arrived upon the ground, opened such a terrible fire upon them that they fell back to their original position. Ewell seeing that he was completely hemmed in on all sides, surrendered all those under his immediate command.
Anderson’s troops (rebel) had by this time become disorganized, and he with two thousand of his men escaped through the woods toward the Appomattox River, before they could be entirely surrounded. The fight was now over and night had fallen, but the cavalry and a part of the Sixth Corps pursued the enemy a few miles, anxious to complete a victory which had annihilated one corps of Lee’s army, and had compelled Longstreet to move to Farmville, and take a road north of the Appomattox River, instead of continuing toward Danville. The result of this victory was the capture of six general officers (including General Ewell) and seven thousand men. Sheridan immediately sent a staff officer to General Grant apprising him of the situation. At midnight he dispatched a message to Grant giving the names of the generals captured. He also wrote in the same dispatch: “If the thing is pressed, I think that Lee will surrender.” General Grant on receiving this message transmitted it by telegraph to President Lincoln, who was at City Point. The President in his quaint way telegraphed this characteristic reply: “Let the thing be pressed.”