The Union Cavalry Attacks

On March 31, 1865, Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan retreated down this road to Dinwiddie Court House, driven by Pickett’s Confederates. On April 1, the Federal cavalrymen returned with a vengeance. Late that afternoon Sheridan deployed his two divisions in a two-mile line on both sides of this road. A half mile in front stood Pickett’s men, entrenched around Five Forks. As Warren’s Union infantry swept down on Pickett’s lines from the east and, eventually, the north, Sheridan’s dismounted troopers charged the Confederate works from the south. Outmaneuvered and outnumbered, the Confederates gave way.

Virginia · United States