Transcript Andy Griles

Midterm Project
Advanced World History
Andrew Griles
October 8th, 2010
Sayler’s Creek Battlefield is located in Amelia,
Prince Edward and Nottoway counties in rural
Southside Virginia. It was renamed “Sailor’s
Creek Battlefield” by the Historical Society in
1985. It was thought to be named originally
by the landowner on which the battle was
fought. It is the sight of one of the most
pivotal battles fought in the civil war on April
6th, 1865.
The Battle of Sayler’s Creek was important to
the heritage of our country for four main
reasons:
1. It was the last major battle before the
surrender of Lee’s army,
2. It is considered the largest surrender in
the field of an army without terms that
followed,
3. Many of the greatest and most illustrious
leaders of both armies clashed together for
the last time on this field of conflict, and
4. In the engagement at the Hillsman’s Farm,
the Confederate army involved both
seamen, Marines, and armed government
employees and heavy artillerymen. It was
Lee’s son’s (George Washington Custis Lee)
only battle during the war.
Events leading to the Battle of Sayler’s Creek:
April 3-5, 1865:
Gen. Lee withdraws his Army from
Petersburg and Richmond, divides them into
three columns and heads towards Amelia
Court House, where his plans were to resupply his army and travel to North Carolina
to join forces with Confederate Gen.
Johnston’s Army of Tennessee. Because of the
rain-soaked and swollen streams, travel was
difficult, and the majority of the wagon trains
were caught and destroyed by the Union
Army.
Lee’s troops arrived in Amelia Courthouse,
but the supplies never appeared and a day was
wasted while the Confederate soldiers
gathered food throughout the countryside.
This delay advantaged the Union cavalry
while they positioned themselves seven miles
below Amelia and blocked Lee’s route south.
Finding his route blocked, Lee ordered his
columns to detour the Union Army along the
South Side Railroad to Farmville where
supply trains from Lynchburg awaited.
The order of the Confederate line of march on
this detour to Farmville was: Gen James
Longstreet’s 1st and 3rd Corps along with it’s
wagon train in the lead; Gen. Richard H
Anderson’s Corps; Gen. R. S. Ewell’s Reserve
Corps, made up of the Richmond Garrison;
and in the rear, the main Confederate wagon
train. Gen. John B. Gordon’s 2nd Corps was
behind the wagons and acted as the army’s
rearguard.
Longstreet’s Corps (with which Lee rode)
passed through the bottomlands without
much difficulty, however for Anderson’s
Corps and Ewell’s Reserve Corps, there was
trouble. The Union cavalry employed hit and
run tactics against them which slowed the
line of march down and caused a widened gap
between Longstreet and Anderson. Anderson
realized this and halted his line to confer with
Gen. Ewell, the senior officer on the field.
It seems Ewell couldn’t make up his mind
about what to do, so Anderson instructed his
men to prepare a defensive line and make
ready to receive an attack. Gordon’s men had
been slowed down by the wagon trains
following Ewell. Fearing for their safety,
Ewell sent the wagon trains on an alternate
route and Gordon’s Second Corps followed
them, leaving Ewell’s men as the rearguard of
the retreating column.
Several columns of the Confederate Army
found the marching pace difficult to keep up
with and soon became separated from the
columns of Lee and Longstreet. The union
cavalry struck the wagons and in a desperate
attempt to save supplies Ewell detoured the
wagon train down Jamestown Road. It was
here that the Union troops began their
assault but the Confederate infantry mounted
a countercharge that forced the Union line
back across the creek. Eventually, the Unions
fired cannons, enveloping Ewell’s troops and
forced them to surrender
Gordon’s troops became bogged down at the
“double bridges” crossing over the
intersection of Big and Little Sailor’s Creeks.
Union troop0s under Gen. Humphreys
attacked Gordon’s forces in a sharp bloody
encounter and by nightfall, the battle had
ended. 300 wagons and 1700 men were
captured. The Confederates fled towards
Rice’s Station across Big Sailor’s Creek.
It has been said that Gordon’s abandonment
of the main body of the army is what caused
the ensuing disaster at Sayler’s Creek for the
Confederates. It has been suggested that
Ewell was at fault for not informing Gordon of
his intentions, and that the rearguard
followed the wagon trains because they had
not received instructions to join the
commands under Anderson and Ewell.
The Hillsman House was a field hospital for
Union officers who were wounded during
battle. Regular servicemen had to be treated
outside and were not allowed to stay inside.
The house was occupied by the Hillsman
family, but they were forced to live in the
basement during the time the Union
occupied it in April 1865.
The Lockett House was another field hospital.
The grounds in front was where the battle
between Humphrey’s Union army and
Gordon’s Confederate Second Corps took
place. For those that escaped capture at
Sayler’s Creek, they existed long enough to
fight again once more on August 9th in
Appomattox Court House before the
confederates surrendered.
Lee lost more that 7700 men and eight
generals. This is the largest number of men
to ever surrender in a single action on this
continent. After such a reduction in troops
and supplies, Lee’s situation was hopeless and
seventy-two hours later he surrendered in
Appomattox.
This is a painting of the Battle at Little Sayler’s Creek. The Union troops are in
the foreground. They are utilizing cannons and are firing towards the
Confederate troops in the background who were without any artillery.
References:
“Thirty-six Hours before Appomattox”; by
Chris Calkins, 1980.
“Lee’s Retreat, The Final Campaigns”
Brochure, Virginia Civil War Trails
“Sailor’s Creek Battlefield 72 hours before the
end” Brochure by Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation