Battle of High Bridge: Difference between revisions

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 South Side Railroad over the Appomattox River and its flood plain, {{convert|4|mi}} northeast of Farmville, Virginia.<ref>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}}. p. 118.</ref> A wooden bridge for wagons was located below the railroad bridge. During the retreat of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign, the Confederates had moved north of the river, except for a rear guard provided by Longstreet's First Corps at Rice's Station on the southern bank. The bridges had to be protected on April 6 and then destroyed on April 7 to delay the pursuit of the Confederates by the Union Army ([[Army of the Potomac]], [[Army of the James]] and [[Union Army of the Shenandoah|Army of the Shenandoah]]) under [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]].

On April 6, Longstreet dispatched 1,200 Confederate cavalry under Major General Thomas L. Rosser to protect the bridges from Union raiders. Union [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Edward Ord]], commanding the Army of the James, sent about 900 men under Colonel (Brevet Brigadier General) Theodore Read (Ord's chief of staff) to burn the bridge. This force consisted of the [[123rd Ohio Infantry]] and the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry, commanded by [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] Horace Kellogg of the 123rd Ohio, and three companies (80 troopers) of the [[4th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry|4th Massachusetts Cavalry]] under Colonel 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, 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 |978-0-395-74012-5}}. pp. 427-28.</ref>

* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN |978-0-8047-3641-1}}.

* [[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 |978-0-395-74012-5}}.

* 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}}.

* Salmon, John S. ''The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide.'' Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. {{ISBN |978-0-8117-2868-3}}.