DK - The American Civil War

The Fall of Petersburg

and Richmond

The war’s central conflict between the armies of Grant and Lee had become bogged down in a bloody

stalemate in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia. When Union troops finally broke through in

April 1865, the Confederate capital of Richmond was doomed, falling barely 24 hours later.

COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY 1865

Wilmington, the only surviving link

to the sea, delivering a particularly

devastating blow.

With only bad news coming from

the Carolinas, Lee knew that it could

only be a matter of time before

General Sherman’s forces would

be able to link up with the Army

of the Potomac and complete his

encirclement. To avoid that scenario,

Lee had to extricate his army as soon

as possible.

Lee turned to Major General John

B. Gordon, commander of the Second

Corps, who devised a strategy that

involved sending armed troops

masquerading as deserters to launch

A

s 1865 dawned, the opposing

armies dug in outside Petersburg

were stymied. In a campaign

that foreshadowed the trench warfare

of World War I, both sides had made

repeated attempts to achieve a

breakthrough without gaining any

decisive advantage.

Union superiority

Yet the situation was much more

serious for Robert E. Lee’s army than

it was for Ulysses S. Grant’s. The

Southern army was outnumbered by

more than two to one, and the odds

were worsening week by week as a

steady stream of desertions further

sapped its manpower. Grant had

been able to use his numerical

advantage gradually to extend his

lines, which stretched Lee’s resources

to the limits. Moreover, the

Confederate supply routes had been

cut one by one, with the loss of

BEFORE

By early 1865, the plight of Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia was becoming
increasingly desperate. If it was defeated,
the Confederate capital would fall.

OTHER CONFEDERATE ARMIES
Late 1864 saw a succession of Southern
defeats throughout Georgia and Tennessee.
General William T. Sherman concluded his
devastating March to the Sea ❮❮ 296–97 with
the capture of Savannah. Meanwhile, General
John Bell Hood’s invasion of Tennessee was
smashed at Nashville ❮❮ 300–301.

LENGTHENING ODDS
Immobilized in the trenches outside
Petersburg ❮❮ 274–75 since June 1864, the
Confederate force confronted a numerically
stronger, better-supplied enemy. With the
odds lengthening week by week, Lee’s only
recourse lay in bold action. But the chances of
success were never good.

a surprise assault on Fort Stedman, a

strongpoint at the eastern end of

the Federal lines. At first the ploy

succeeded, but after four hours’

fighting, Union forces staged a

successful counterattack and

Gordon’s men were driven back

with heavy losses.

Decisive clash at Five Forks

Grant at once determined to take

advantage of this reverse. On March

29, he sent an infantry corps

accompanied by General Philip

Sheridan’s cavalry, newly arrived from

the victorious Union campaign in the

Shenandoah Valley, to probe the

western end of Lee’s lines. Lee took

vigorous measures to counter the

move, and there was hard fighting on

March 30, with neither side managing

to achieve an advantage. The next

Major General George E. Pickett and

Fitzhugh Lee, the senior officers of the

Southern forces in the decisive encounter

at Five Forks, were absent for much of the

fighting, having been invited to a shad

(fish) bake nearby by a fellow general.

Major General John B. Gordon
Gordon was one of Lee’s most trusted lieutenants in the
final stages of the war. He fought in many of the most
important battles, from First Bull Run through Antietam
and Gettysburg, and was wounded numerous times.

The Battle of Five Forks

Union cavalry break the Confederate line, as depicted by

French artist Paul Philippoteaux. General Sheridan

personally led the decisive charge that

broke Pickett’s division. About 3,000

Confederate troops were captured.