Battle of Appomattox Station
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Appomattox Station was fought April 8, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign
of the American Civil War
. Maj. Gen.
George Armstrong Custer
's Union
cavalry, en route to Appomattox Station
, clashed with the reserve artillery
of the Confederate
Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
, under Colonel Lindsay Walker
.
The Union army was ordered to take control of the four supply trains that awaited General Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia. The trains carried medical supplies, ammunition, and food vital to the under-equipped Confederate army. The Confederate soldiers were vastly outnumbered, and fought to repulse the Union attack. Many of the Confederates were artillerymen and engineers who were acting as infantry, and had little hand to hand battle experience. The Union army was far better trained and much better organized, all of which led to the Confederate defeat.
The Confederates failed to hold the oncoming Army of the Potomac
back, and as a result, Custer's division captured a supply train and twenty-five guns, driving off and scattering the Confederate defenders. This unique action pitted artillery without infantry support against cavalry. Custer then proceeded to burn three of the captured trains.
". Lee's army, thinned by desertion and casualties, was now much smaller than Grant's. Union forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Five Forks
on April 1, 1865, forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. The Confederate capital fell to the Union XXV Corps
, composed of black troops.
On the afternoon of April 8, 1865, four supply trains awaited Lee's army at Appomattox Station. The news reached Federal Maj. Gen. George A. Custer and he then pushed his division forward with the 2nd New York Cavalry in the lead. The trains were loaded with supplies—clothes, blankets, equipment, ordnance, medical supplies, and food. After moving along the wagon road beside the railroad, Custer's men approached Appomattox Station from the southeast. The Station consisted of only a few houses with a squad of Confederate cavalry guarding the trains. The Confederates then surrendered to the large Union force. Just as the Union army was preparing to leave in the trains, artillery shells began to fall on their forces.
These shells were fired by Confederate Brig. Gen.
Rueben Lindsay Walker's Reserve Artillery, which had advanced to the head of Lee's column in order not to impede the movement of the Army of Northern Virginia. With Walker was an approximate force of 100 cannons, 200 baggage wagons, and the army hospital
wagons. These forces were unprepared and were not expecting to meet any Union resistance.
A fourth train, which had just arrived, started back for Lynchburg
in such a rush that it broke some of the couplings and left most of its cars behind. Walker drew his men into a semicircle and was supported by the only troops in the area, Talcott's Engineers (acting as infantry), Brig. Gen. Martin Gary's Cavalry Brigade, and 75 to 100 artillerymen also acting as infantry. Encounters developed as Federal skirmishers pushed northeast from the Station.
The Confederates were hampered by the surprise of the attack, lack of organization, and no central command, which resulted in mass confusion. Custer's men were not sure what lay ahead and were ordered by him to charge, but the advance became disjointed probes and pushes through the unfriendly terrain toward the opposing force.
to set up a line to the south of Appomattox Court House
and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet
to the north of the Confederate bivouac. Gordon was expected to capture Appomattox Station and capture the supplies that had been lost the day before and create a gap in Union lines for the Army of Northern Virginia to break through. Longstreet, providing rear guard cover for the remaining Army of Northern Virginia, would advance in support after Gordon had created the hole in the Union line.
With Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
's cavalry
on his right, Gordon's men lined up at 2:00 a.m., waiting to attack Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan
's Union cavalry at dawn, shortly before the final advance of the Army of Northern Virginia began. During the night a Union infantry column under Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord
began a forced march from Farmville, reaching Appomattox Station just as Gordon's men left their trenches. Directing his men from a knoll at the rear of the formation, Sheridan moved them to appear to be in serious trouble, fortifying their line while they were retreating. The cavalry moving as if to fortify the center line then took a position behind Union infantry lines.
Martin's battery fought aggressively on the Confederate left, continuously firing while moving forward. Custer's men made two or three assaults, none very aggressive, as the Union soldiers did not want to get too close to the discharges of canister rounds from the Confederate lines. Meanwhile, the Confederate batteries that were not engaged did their best to escape west towards Lynchburg or north towards Oakville. As darkness was coming on, a final concerted charge was made.
Custer's men captured 25 or 30 guns. There are no Confederate casualty reports, so the exact total will never be known—perhaps 100 men killed and wounded in some manner, but nearly 1,000 Confederate soldiers captured, including Brig. Gen. Young Moody, and about 100 wagons. Federal casualties were 48, but Union surgeons commented that they "had never treated so many extreme cases in so short a fight. The wounds were chiefly made by artillery, and were serious; many patients being badly mangled."
As the fighting at Appomattox Station subsided, elements of the 15th New York Cavalry, under the direction of Lt. Col.
Augustus Root, leaped the fence and gained the Lynchburg-Richmond Stage Road and charged into the village of Appomattox Court House, capturing wagons and teamsters along the way. The New Yorkers retreated back along the stage road, gathering prisoners and shooting mules as they went, thus concluding the engagements on April 8.
the night of April 8, and determined that an assault would be made to open the road, believing that only Federal cavalry blocked the way. However, during the night parts of three Federal Corps made a forced march and were close at hand to support the Federal cavalry in the morning.
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
's Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
cavalry, en route to Appomattox Station
Appomattox Station
Appomattox Station is located in the town of Appomattox, Virginia. Before the Civil War, the railroad , bypassed Appomattox Court House village which was built southeast about three miles in 1850...
, clashed with the reserve artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
of the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, under Colonel Lindsay Walker
Reuben Lindsay Walker
Reuben Lindsay Walker was a Confederate general who served in the artillery during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
.
The Union army was ordered to take control of the four supply trains that awaited General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia. The trains carried medical supplies, ammunition, and food vital to the under-equipped Confederate army. The Confederate soldiers were vastly outnumbered, and fought to repulse the Union attack. Many of the Confederates were artillerymen and engineers who were acting as infantry, and had little hand to hand battle experience. The Union army was far better trained and much better organized, all of which led to the Confederate defeat.
The Confederates failed to hold the oncoming Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
back, and as a result, Custer's division captured a supply train and twenty-five guns, driving off and scattering the Confederate defenders. This unique action pitted artillery without infantry support against cavalry. Custer then proceeded to burn three of the captured trains.
Background
In late 1864, Gen. William T. Sherman's army began a march with an unknown destination, laying waste to about 20% of the farms in Georgia in his "March to the SeaSherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
". Lee's army, thinned by desertion and casualties, was now much smaller than Grant's. Union forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against...
on April 1, 1865, forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. The Confederate capital fell to the Union XXV Corps
XXV Corps (ACW)
XXV Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was unique in that it was made up almost entirely of African-American troops, which had previously belonged to the X and XVIII Corps....
, composed of black troops.
These shells were fired by Confederate Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Rueben Lindsay Walker's Reserve Artillery, which had advanced to the head of Lee's column in order not to impede the movement of the Army of Northern Virginia. With Walker was an approximate force of 100 cannons, 200 baggage wagons, and the army hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
wagons. These forces were unprepared and were not expecting to meet any Union resistance.
A fourth train, which had just arrived, started back for Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
in such a rush that it broke some of the couplings and left most of its cars behind. Walker drew his men into a semicircle and was supported by the only troops in the area, Talcott's Engineers (acting as infantry), Brig. Gen. Martin Gary's Cavalry Brigade, and 75 to 100 artillerymen also acting as infantry. Encounters developed as Federal skirmishers pushed northeast from the Station.
Preparations for battle
Lee directed Maj. Gen. John Brown GordonJohn Brown Gordon
John Brown Gordon was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted Confederate generals during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a strong opponent of Reconstruction and is thought by some to have been the titular leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia during the late 1860s. A member of the...
to set up a line to the south of Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...
and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
to the north of the Confederate bivouac. Gordon was expected to capture Appomattox Station and capture the supplies that had been lost the day before and create a gap in Union lines for the Army of Northern Virginia to break through. Longstreet, providing rear guard cover for the remaining Army of Northern Virginia, would advance in support after Gordon had created the hole in the Union line.
With Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...
's cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
on his right, Gordon's men lined up at 2:00 a.m., waiting to attack Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
's Union cavalry at dawn, shortly before the final advance of the Army of Northern Virginia began. During the night a Union infantry column under Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord
Edward Ord
Edward Otho Cresap Ord was the designer of Fort Sam Houston, and a United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of Confederate...
began a forced march from Farmville, reaching Appomattox Station just as Gordon's men left their trenches. Directing his men from a knoll at the rear of the formation, Sheridan moved them to appear to be in serious trouble, fortifying their line while they were retreating. The cavalry moving as if to fortify the center line then took a position behind Union infantry lines.
Battle
Custer's men captured 25 or 30 guns. There are no Confederate casualty reports, so the exact total will never be known—perhaps 100 men killed and wounded in some manner, but nearly 1,000 Confederate soldiers captured, including Brig. Gen. Young Moody, and about 100 wagons. Federal casualties were 48, but Union surgeons commented that they "had never treated so many extreme cases in so short a fight. The wounds were chiefly made by artillery, and were serious; many patients being badly mangled."
As the fighting at Appomattox Station subsided, elements of the 15th New York Cavalry, under the direction of Lt. Col.
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Augustus Root, leaped the fence and gained the Lynchburg-Richmond Stage Road and charged into the village of Appomattox Court House, capturing wagons and teamsters along the way. The New Yorkers retreated back along the stage road, gathering prisoners and shooting mules as they went, thus concluding the engagements on April 8.
Retreat
The Battle of Appomattox Station continued steadily four hours after it had started and lasted until dusk with varying intensity, although more fighting continued in the direction of Appomattox Court House for another five hours. The success of Custer's troopers on the evening of April 8, dispersing and capturing Walker's artillery and securing the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road, was vital—the Federals now held the high ground west of Appomattox Court House, squarely across Lee's line of march. With Lee's line of retreat blocked, his only options on April 9, 1865, were to attack or surrender. Lee elected to attack. He held a council of warCouncil of war
A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by...
the night of April 8, and determined that an assault would be made to open the road, believing that only Federal cavalry blocked the way. However, during the night parts of three Federal Corps made a forced march and were close at hand to support the Federal cavalry in the morning.