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{{distinguish|text=[[Highbridge Skirmish]], which took place in Scotland during the 1745 [[Jacobite Rising]]}}
{{short description|Battle of the American Civil War}}
|conflict=Battle of High Bridge
|image=
|image_size=300px
|caption=High Bridge over the Appomattox River near Farmville, Virginia. Photographed in 1865 by [[Timothy H. O'Sullivan]] during repairs following its burning during the war. The trestles on the left were burned by retreating Confederate troops.
|partof=the [[American Civil War]]
|date=
|place=[[Prince Edward County, Virginia|Prince Edward]] & [[Cumberland County, Virginia|Cumberland County]], [[Virginia]]
|result=Inconclusive<ref>[
|combatant1= {{flagicon|USA|1863}} [[United States]] ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
|combatant2= {{flagicon|CSA}} [[Confederate States of America|
|commander1=April 6: [[Theodore Read]]<br/>April 7: [[Andrew A. Humphreys]]
|commander2=April 6: [[Thomas L. Rosser]]<br/>April 7: [[William Mahone]]
|strength1=880<ref name=Salmon482>Salmon, John S. ''The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide.'' Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8117-2868-3}}. p. 482.</ref>
|strength2=1,200<ref name=Salmon482/>
|casualties1=847
|casualties2=~100<ref name=Salmon483/>
|campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Appomattox Campaign}}▼
The '''Battle of High Bridge''' refers to two engagements fought on April 6, 1865, and April 7, 1865, near the end of the [[Appomattox Campaign]] of the [[American Civil War]] about {{convert|4|mi}} northeast of [[Farmville, Virginia]]. The first battle is often the one identified as the Battle of High Bridge.
▲|{{Campaignbox Appomattox Campaign}}
On April 6, 1865, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] cavalry under [[Major General (CSA)|Major General]] [[Thomas L. Rosser]] fought stubbornly to secure the [[Southside Railroad (Virginia)|South Side Railroad's]] [[High Bridge (Appomattox River)|High Bridge]] and lower wagon bridge over the [[Appomattox River]] near Farmville, Virginia. A large [[Union Army]] raiding party intended to destroy the bridges to prevent the Confederate Army from crossing back to the north side of the river. Both sides had several officers killed and wounded. The Union force suffered 42 killed and wounded. The entire surviving Union force of about 800 men was captured. The Confederates suffered about 100 casualties. Union Colonel ([[Brevet (military)|Brevet]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]]) [[Theodore Read]] and Confederate Colonel Reuben B. Boston were killed. Union [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Francis Washburn]] and Confederate Colonel [[James Dearing]] (often identified as a [[Brigadier General (CSA)|brigadier general]] but his appointment was never confirmed<ref>[[David J. Eicher|Eicher, David J.]] ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-684-84944-7}}. p. 817.</ref><ref>Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}. p. 593.</ref>) were mortally wounded in the engagement.
High Bridge, {{convert|2500|ft|m}} long and {{convert|126|ft|m}} high, was the crossing of the [[Southside Railroad (Virginia)|South Side Railroad]] over the [[Appomattox River]] and its flood plain, {{convert|4|mi}} northeast of [[Farmville, Virginia]].<ref>Korn, p. 118.</ref> A wooden bridge for wagons was located below the railroad bridge. During the retreat of Confederate Gen. [[Robert E. Lee]]'s [[Army of Northern Virginia]], the Confderates had moved north of the river, except for a rear guard provided by Longstreet's Corps at Rice's Station on the southern bank. The bridges had to be protected and then destroyed to delay the pursuit of the [[Union Army]] under Lt. Gen. [[Ulysses S. Grant]].▼
On April 7, 1865, Confederate [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lieutenant General]] [[James Longstreet|James Longstreet's]] rear guard attempted to burn the bridges that the Confederates had saved the day before in order to prevent Union forces from following them across. Troops of the [[Union Army|Union]] [[II Corps (Union Army)|II Corps]] fought the Confederates assigned to burn the bridges in an effort to drive off the Confederates and save the bridges. Part of the railroad bridge burned and was rendered unusable but Union forces were able to save the wagon bridge over which the II Corps crossed in pursuit of [[General (CSA)|General]] [[Robert E. Lee|Robert E. Lee's]] [[Army of Northern Virginia]]. Failure to destroy this bridge enabled Union forces to catch up with the Confederates north of the Appomattox River at [[Battle of Cumberland Church|Cumberland Church]] {{Convert|3|mi|km}} north of Farmville.
On April 6, Longstreet dispatched 1,200 Confederate cavalry under [[Major General (CSA)[[Thomas L. Rosser]] to protect the bridges from Union raiders. Union Maj. Gen. [[Edward Ord|Edward O. C. Ord]], commanding the [[Army of the James]], sent about 900 men under [[brevet (military)|Bvt.]] [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brig. Gen.]] [[Theodore Read]] (Ord's chief of staff) to take the bridge. This force consisted of the [[123rd Ohio Infantry]] and the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry, commanded by [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lt. Col.]] Horace Kellogg of the 123rd, and three companies (80 troopers) of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry under Col. [[Francis Washburn]]. The cavalry reached the bridge before the main Confederate force, chased away some poorly armed home guards, and secured the south end of the bridge.<ref name=Kennedy>Kennedy, pp. 427-28.</ref>▼
==
[[File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14762665942).jpg|thumb|left|Another view of the High Bridge]]
While Washburn prepared to set fire to the bridge, three brigades of Confederate cavalrymen arrived and conducted a dismounted attack against the Union infantry, which was waiting near the Watson farmhouse, about half mile to the south. Hearing sounds of battle, Washburn and his men rejoined the infantry, and unaware that he was facing two divisions of cavalry, Read ordered a mounted charge by the 4th Massachusetts. The ferocious charge forced through the Confederate line of [[Brigadier General (CSA)|Brig. Gen.]] [[Thomas T. Munford]] and the dissolved into hand-to-hand combat. Read exchanged gunfire with Confederate [[James Dearing]] during the fighting and was killed. Dearing was mortally wounded and died on April 22. (Dearing is often cited as the last Confederate general to die in the war, but his appointment to brigadier general in April 1864 was never confirmed.)<ref>Eicher, p. 817.</ref> Washburn was also mortally wounded. The Confederates counterattacked and separated the cavalry from their supporting infantry. After another attack, the Union troopers were surrounded, and almost all were killed, wounded, or captured. Col. Rubin Boston of the [[6th Virginia Cavalry]] was killed in the attack.<ref>Korn, pp. 118-20; Salmon, p. 482.</ref>▼
▲High Bridge, {{convert|2500|ft|m}} long and {{convert|126|ft|m}} high, was the crossing of the
▲On April 6, Longstreet dispatched 1,200 Confederate cavalry under
==Battles==
The Confederate Second Corps, under Maj. Gen. [[John B. Gordon]], escaped from their defeat at the [[Battle of Sayler's Creek]] and crossed the High Bridge to the north side of the river while Maj. Gen. [[William Mahone]]'s division secured the bridge. The rest of Lee's army moved on to Farmville and a rendezvous with trains of rations.▼
▲While Washburn prepared to set fire to the bridge, three brigades of Confederate cavalrymen arrived and conducted a dismounted attack against the Union infantry, which was waiting near the Watson farmhouse, about half mile to the south. Hearing sounds of battle, Washburn and his men rejoined the infantry, and unaware that he was facing two divisions of cavalry, Read ordered a mounted charge by the 4th Massachusetts. The ferocious charge forced through the Confederate line of
▲The survivors of the Confederate Second Corps, under
Early on April 7, while Mahone's men were attempting to fire the High Bridge and wagon bridge, the Union [[II Corps (Union Army)|II Corps]] under Maj. Gen. [[Andrew A. Humphreys]] arrived on the scene. The division of Brig. Gen. [[Francis C. Barlow]], including the [[19th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], charged the burning structure and saved a large section of the railroad bridge, preventing major damage. They crossed the lower wagon bridge to move on Lee's flank and forced the hungry Confederates to resume their retreat before re-provisioning themselves.<ref name=Kennedy />▼
▲Early on April 7, while Mahone's men were attempting to set fire to the High Bridge and wagon bridge, the Union
==Aftermath==
With 47 Union casualties (plus 800 captured) versus only about 100 Confederate casualties,<ref name=Salmon483/> the first battle on the bridge seemed to favor the Confederates. However, the second battle, in which Union troops successfully extinguished the fire, crossed the bridge, and forced the Confederates to flee along a specific path, proved to be a decisive tactical victory, and may have shortened the war by several days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/burning-high-bridge-the-souths-last-hope.htm|title = Burning High Bridge: The South's Last Hope|date = 13 February 2007}}</ref>
Together, the battles at High Bridge were tactically inconclusive, despite the 847 Union casualties (including 800 captured) versus only about 100 Confederate,<ref name=Salmon483/> but Lee was forced to continue his march to the west under pressure, depriving his men the opportunity to eat the Farmville rations they had waited so long to receive. Their next stop would be [[Battle of Appomattox Station|Appomattox Station]], {{convert|25|mi|km}} west, where a ration train was waiting. On the night of April 7, Lee received from Grant a letter proposing that the Army of Northern Virginia should surrender. Lee demurred, retaining one last hope that his army could get to Appomattox Station before he was trapped. He returned a noncommittal letter asking about the surrender terms "Unconditional Surrender" Grant might propose.▼
▲
The next morning, Lee's troops moved toward [[Battle of Appomattox Station|Appomattox Station]], {{convert|25|mi|km}} west, where a ration train was expected to be waiting. Union forces were, however, already moving to capture the supply train.
==Battlefield preservation==
The [[Civil War Trust]] (a division of the [[American Battlefield Trust]]) and its partners have acquired and preserved {{convert|176|acres|km2}} of the battlefield.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land] [[American Battlefield Trust]] "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.</ref> The acreage is part of the [[High Bridge Trail State Park]], which includes a 31-mile trail and the majestic High Bridge, which is more than 2,500 feet long and sits 130 feet above the Appomattox River. The piers of the original Civil War-era bridge still stand.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/high-bridge-battlefield] [[American Battlefield Trust]] High Bridge Battlefield page. Accessed May 29, 2018.</ref>
==Notes==
{{Reflist|
==References==
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''
* [[David J. Eicher|Eicher, David J.]] ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-684-84944-7}}.
* Kennedy, Frances H., ed. [http://www.bibliobase.com/history/readerscomp/civwar/html/cw_000106_entries.htm ''The Civil War Battlefield Guide'']{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. {{ISBN
* Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987. {{ISBN
* Lucas, Michael C. "High Bridge Battlefield Museum https://web.archive.org/web/20181113183705/http://highbridgebattlefieldmuseum.com/
* Salmon, John S. ''The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide.''
* [http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/CWSII/VirginiaBattlefieldProfiles/Hampton%20Roads%20to%20High%20Bridge.pdf CWSAC Report Update]
* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/Battles/va095.htm National Park Service battle description]
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181113183705/http://highbridgebattlefieldmuseum.com/ High Bridge Battlefield Museum ]▼
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Bridge}}▼
▲* [http://highbridgebattlefieldmuseum.com High Bridge Battlefield Museum ]
* [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hig.shtml High Bridge Trail State Park]
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{{authority control}}
▲{{DEFAULTSORT:High Bridge}}
[[Category:Appomattox campaign]]
[[Category:Battles of the
[[Category:Inconclusive battles of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Prince Edward County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Cumberland County, Virginia]]
[[Category:
[[Category:1865 in Virginia]]
[[Category:April 1865 events]]
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