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U. S. CIVIL WAR
PHOTOGRAPHS
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PETERSBURG
(PAGE 4 OF 5)
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FIVE FORKS
(See also
Lee's Retreat)
Battle of Five Forks, Va. Charge of Genl. Sheridan April 1st 1865.
Kurz & Allison, Art Publishers,[1886]. Lithograph, hand colored.
Five Forks - June, 1998.
The five roads are numbered in the photo.
The National Park Service building is on the left.
Five Forks - May, 2006.
April 1, 1865
Estimated Casualties: 3,780 total (US 830; CS 2,950)
Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered Pickett with his infantry division and Munford's,
W.H.F. Lee's, and Rosser's cavalry divisions to hold the vital crossroads of
Five Forks at all hazard. On April 1, while Sheridan's cavalry pinned the
Confederate force in position, the V Corps under Maj. Gen. G.K. Warren attacked
and overwhelmed the Confederate left flank , taking many
prisoners. Sheridan personally directed the attack, which extended Lee's
Petersburg lines to the breaking point. Loss of Five Forks threatened Lee's
last supply line, the South Side Railroad. The next morning, Lee informed
Jefferson Davis that Petersburg and Richmond must be evacuated. Union general
Winthrop was killed; "Willie" Pegram, beloved Confederate artillery officer,
was mortally wounded. Dissatisfied with his performance at Five Forks,
Sheridan relieved Warren of command of the V Corps.
(Text Source: U.S. Gov't, National Park Service)
Five Forks Monument
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Battle of Petersburg Va. April 2nd 1865.
Published by Currier & Ives, [1860 - 1870].
Lithograph, hand colored.
PAGE FIVE
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Civil War Photos
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Petersburg
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Notes
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