Fitzhugh Lee

I think you kind of put it well, Gary.

It's really hard to shine in the Confederate Army in Northern Virginia at the Cavs level when you're dealing with Fitzhugh Lee, Rooney Lee, Wade Hampton, Jeb Stewart, John Pelham.

I mean, you know, those are the first ones to pop to mind.

So Butler, You know, doing these these later war actions, especially I think, Dan, that's a that's a good one there as well as I wouldn't put him in mind.

I just wanted to see what ChatGPT would say.

I asked for the best division commanders in the Army, Northern Virginia, and it did not give me one CAV officer.

So I said, what about Stewart? Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee.

So this is what it came up with after I plugged that in.

On Saturday, April 1st, 1865, Philip Sheridan's massed cavalry and Governor K. Warren's 5th Corps struck the extreme Confederate right flank at Five Forks, a crucial road junction covering the Southside Railroad.

The Confederate forces, who were supposed to hold the forks, were under George Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee.

They were completely routed and lost over 5,000 men as prisoners.

Pickett and Lee had been enjoying a cookout as a friend had managed to catch some shad in the delights of a shad bake at this late time in the war, which seemed lost anyway, seemed to welcome reprieve from the monotony of facing near certain defeat.

Sheridan's cavalry had gotten ahead of them, capturing their supply trains at Appomattox Station and blocking the road to Lynchburg.

At five AM on Palm Sunday, April ninth, 1865, the final battle opened.

John B. Gordon's magnificent, ragged infantry and Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry launched a final, desperate charge to clear the Lynchburg road.

With a last feeble rebel yell, Gordon's men swept forward.

They were unbroken, impenetrable.

Describing the role of the cavalry and artillery in this action, James Nichols, in his biography of General Fitzhugh Lee, notes, "...the Battle of Fredericksburg was primarily an infantry action, but mention must always be made of the effective artillery application by gallant John Pelham.

Pelham's advanced Blakely guns punished the early Federal massive attack against Jackson on the extreme Confederate right flank." End quote.

Meanwhile, on the left, Burnside's simultaneous attack against Mars Heights dissolved into one of the most grotesque slaughters of the American Civil War.

He had already dispatched his topographical engineer, Jedediah Hotchkiss, and the local chaplain, Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacey, to scout the forest paths and consult with the local iron furnace managers.

Hotchkiss discovered a network of narrow, obscure woods trails, the Brock Road, the Furnace Paths, that wound completely across the southern and western periphery of the wilderness, terminating far to the west on the exposed flank of the Union Army.

Even more vital was a reconnaissance dispatch that arrived from young Fitzhugh Lee.

The Union right flank, held by Major General Oliver Otis Howard's XI Corps, was completely in the air.

Two days later, Sheridan arrived at City Point, fresh from his victorious campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, and was ordered to join his troops to those concentrated on the left.

finally it began to appear that the army of northern virginia was to be encircled meanwhile lee was waiting only until he collected supplies and rations to last his men for a week and until the roads were passable before leaving to join johnston he hoped to leave on or about april tenth the information he received about the rapid accumulation of union forces opposite his lightly held right was very disturbing for if it was true the federals not only threatened to cut off his retreat to the west and south but they also posed a serious danger to the south side railroad the last remaining communication link between petersburg and the south which continued to deliver a trickle of supplies to the city on march twenty ninth the union troops moved out sheridan's cavalry crossed the rowenty creek and occupied dinwiddie court house while the second and fifth corps crossed hatcher's run in moving into position on the left of the second corps warren's fifth corps soldiers encountered heavy resistance north of gravelly run while sheridan was marshalling his troops around dinwiddie lee issued orders on march twenty ninth which sent major-generals george e pickett and fitzhugh lee to the confederate right near five forks far beyond petersburg sheridan was prepared to move against the confederates with his cavalry on march thirty but heavy rains lasting from the evening of march twenty nine until the morning of the thirty first made a large-scale movement impracticable over the muddy roads on the last day of the month part of sheridan's forces which is pushed northwest toward five forks was attacked by southern forces which succeeded in driving them back to dinwiddie court house where sheridan had a fresh division Pickett then found his men badly outnumbered and withdrew them to Five Forks without pressing the advantage he had gained.

This incident, called the Battle of Dinwiddie Courthouse, was a minor Confederate victory, although Sheridan's men were neither demoralized nor disorganized by the attack, and Robert E. Lee could find small comfort in the situation.

meanwhile there had been a savage clash on white oak road between warren's fifth corps and major-general bushrod johnson's confederate division the confederates at first swept all before them but in the end numbers told and they were compelled to withdraw behind their breastworks the confederates had been able to concentrate on their extreme right in the vicinity of five forks only about ten thousand cold and hungry soldiers to meet the expected union drive to turn their right flank massed against this force commanded by pickett were about ten thousand northern cavalry and twelve thousand infantry the desperate urgency of general lee's fears was indicated in the dispatch he sent to pickett early on april first the day of the struggle for five forks hold five forks at all hazards protect road to ford's depot and prevent union forces from striking the south side railroad regret exceedingly your forced withdrawal and your inability to hold the advantage you had gained throughout april one pickett's troops worked unceasingly erecting barricades of logs and earth around five forks about four p m with only two hours of daylight remaining sheridan's cavalry and warren's infantry attacked While the cavalry occupied the attention of the Confederate defenders along White Oak Road, divisions of infantrymen from the V Corps moved to the left of Pickett's troops, and after crossing the White Oak Road, which connected Five Forks with Petersburg, hit them on the weakly held left flank.