Walker's Last Stand

One of the last battles of the Civil War in Virginia took place here early in the evening of April 8, 1865, when Confederate Gen. Reuben L. Walker, commanding 100 guns of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s reserve artillery, made camp late in the afternoon. As Walker was shaving and his men were cooking rations, Federal cavalrymen burst from the woods to the south. Walker formed one-third of his batteries into a semicircle and opened fire. Gen. George A. Custer commanded the attacking Federals, who had just captured Confederate supply trains at nearby Appomattox Station. Without infantry support, Walker’s men repulsed the first three charges, but at 8 P.M. Custer’s final assault captured 25 cannon, 200 wagons, and 1,000 prisoners. Most of Walker’s command fled north to Oakville, where the men buried 54 guns and disbanded the next day. Custer’s advance also secured the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road. By holding the high ground west of Appomattox Court House, the Federal cavalry blocked Lee’s escape route and forced his surrender the next day. Pvt. Bernard Shields of the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry received the Medal of Honor for striking down Pvt. William Davis of the 2nd Co., Washington Artillery of New Orleans and capturing the battery’s flag from him.

Appomattox, Virginia · United States