Early in the morning of April 9, 1865, Gen. James Longstreet’s corps entrenched here to protect the rear of the Army of Northern Virginia. Gen. Robert E. Lee and most of the army bivouacked about four miles south, just short of Appomattox Court House, the county seat. Remnants of Longstreet’s earthworks survive here along the Confederate picket line, the last field fortifications built by an army renowned for quick and effective construction.