“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.