February 26th, the left section of our battery, under Lieutenant Horton, was ordered to Hatcher’s Run to participate in a movement in conjunction with portions of the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Corps. He returned to the battery with his section on the 28th.
Early in March President Davis and General Lee had a consultation about the situation of affairs in and about Richmond and Petersburg, and they came to the conclusion that they must evacuate those places as soon as possible. General Lee determined to make an attack upon our lines around Petersburg to aid him in his plan of escape by the Danville Road. Near daybreak on the morning of the 25th, General Gordon (Confederate) made an attack on Fort Stedman and Battery Ten, nearly east of Petersburg, where our lines were the closest together. They captured our pickets and sent them to the rear as prisoners. Then they came upon our main line, where our men were sleeping, surprising them, capturing many and putting to flight the residue. Then turning to the right and left they took possession of Fort Stedman and Battery No. Ten. They also charged and carried Batteries Eleven and Twelve to our left, which they turned upon City Point.
In the absence of General Meade, who was at City Point, General Parke, commander of the Ninth Corps, took command. He ordered Hartranft with his division to the right of the breach, where he headed the rebels off in that direction and drove them back into Fort Stedman, while Wilcox with his division drove the enemy back into the intrenched lines which they had captured, and Batteries Eleven and Twelve were retaken by our forces. General Parke threw a line around outside of the captured fort and batteries, and the Confederates, being completely hemmed in, surrendered themselves as prisoners. General Meade, who had now arrived, at once ordered an advance along the front of the other corps holding our works on the left. Our forces succeeded in wresting from the enemy their intrenched picket line, which was held and strengthened by our troops.
While heavy firing was going on in our front, from the position of our battery near Fort Fisher we witnessed a grand and imposing sight as our infantry marched out of our lines and moved forward to the attack. This movement was observed by President Lincoln and several members of his Cabinet.
On the 28th of March our battery was ordered to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.
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.