Content deleted Content added
expanded and clarified lead; removed list of commanding officers, not only unusual for this sort of article but they are all named within the text of the article as usual; remove links made excess by additions; more later |
|||
Line 13:
|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 total <br/> ~800 captured<ref name=Salmon483>Salmon, 2001, p. 483.</ref>
|casualties2=~100<ref name=Salmon483/>
|}}
Line 21:
|{{Campaignbox Appomattox Campaign}}
|}
The '''Battle of High Bridge'''
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 (CSA)|Colonel]] Rueben 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 Confederates 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)|Maj. Gen.]] [[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>▼
==
▲High Bridge, {{convert|2500|ft|m}} long and {{convert|126|ft|m}} high, was the crossing of the
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 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>▼
▲On April 6, Longstreet dispatched 1,200 Confederate cavalry under
==Battles==
▲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 set fire to the High Bridge and wagon bridge, the Union
▲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.
▲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 />
==Aftermath==
Together, the battles at High Bridge were tactically inconclusive, despite the 847 Union casualties (including 800 captured) versus only about 100 Confederate
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. ==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'']. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-
* Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987. ISBN 0-8094-4788-6.
* Lucas, Michael C. "High Bridge Battlefield Museum 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]
Line 72 ⟶ 63:
{{coord|37.3122|-78.3177|region:US_type:event_scale:10000|display=title}}
[[Category:Appomattox Campaign]]
| |||