Overview
The Battle of Amelia Springs took place in Amelia County, Virginia, on April 5-6, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. After the Union victory at Five Forks, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a general assault on Confederate defenses at Petersburg on April 2. General Robert E. Lee realized that his army could no longer hold Petersburg and advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave Richmond.
Lee planned to move his weakened Army of Northern Virginia west to Amelia Court House, where he expected to find supplies. From there, he hoped to move south and join General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of North Carolina. As the Confederates moved west, General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry pursued them.
On April 5, Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee and General Thomas L. Rosser attacked Union cavalry under General George Crook as it returned from burning Confederate wagons near Painesville. The running fight moved from north of Amelia Springs through the area and toward Jetersville. Federal reinforcements later pushed the Confederates back. Additional fighting occurred during the night and on April 6 against General John B. Gordon’s rearguard. The battle ended without a clear winner but forced Lee’s army to detour around Jetersville.
Essential Facts
- Date: April 5-6, 1865.
- Location: Amelia County, Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: George Crook, Henry E. Davies Jr., Nelson Miles, and Gershom Mott.
- CSA Commanders: Fitzhugh Lee, Thomas L. Rosser, Martin Gary, Thomas T. Munford, and John B. Gordon.
- Who Won: The outcome of the battle was inconclusive.
- Campaign: Appomattox Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, 1865.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: Roughly 158 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Cavalry forces under Major General George Crook.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: Roughly 100 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Cavalry forces under Major General Fitzhugh Lee and Major General Thomas L. Rosser.
- Troop Strength: Unknown.
Significance
The Battle of Amelia Springs is important to American History because it formed part of the final Union pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign. After Lee abandoned Petersburg and Richmond, he tried to move west to Amelia Court House for supplies and then south to join General Joseph E. Johnston. Union cavalry pressed Lee’s army almost immediately and attacked Confederate supply movements near Painesville. The fighting at Amelia Springs ended without a clear winner, but it forced Lee’s army to move around Jetersville.
History
Grant’s Umbrella Strategy
On March 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Upon his arrival in Washington, Grant drafted a plan to get the various Union armies in the field to act in concert and strike the Confederacy from several directions: Grant would travel with Major General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac in pursuit of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Richmond area; Major General William T. Sherman would march three federal armies south from Chattanooga to capture Atlanta, and Major General Franz Sigel would invade Western Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to cut off supplies to Lee’s army and to prevent any Confederate attempts to attack Meade’s flank.
Stalemate at Petersburg
The Union Army of the Potomac relentlessly engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia throughout the spring of 1864. By June, Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area. Thereafter, both armies were entrenched, and a stalemate ensued for the next ten months. During that period, Grant probed Lee’s defenses to no avail. Despite being well-entrenched, the Confederate situation grew progressively worse as their supplies dwindled.
Union prospects, on the other hand, improved over the winter. Major General Philip Sheridan completed his task of sweeping the Confederates from the Shenandoah Valley, and his well-rested troops rejoined Grant in the spring. Determined to break the stalemate at Petersburg, Grant ordered Sheridan to turn Lee’s right flank with the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps along with the 2nd and 5th Infantry Corps, and force Lee out of Petersburg.
Battle of Fort Stedman — Failed Confederate Breakout
On March 25, 1865, Lee made one final attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg by ordering forces commanded by Major General John B. Gordon to attack Fort Stedman, a Union fortification in the siege lines surrounding Petersburg. Gordon’s pre-dawn attack succeeded initially, but blistering Union counterattacks forced the Confederates back inside their lines.
Appomattox Campaign
Many historians consider March 29, 1865, as the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign. On that date, Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army by ordering Major General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry (freshly returned from the Shenandoah Valley) and Major General G. K. Warren’s 5th Corps to attempt to turn Lee’s right flank at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm. Two days later the action resumed at the Battle of White Oak Road and Battle of Dinwiddie Court House as Lee shored up his right wing to halt the federal Flanking maneuver. On April 1 Sheridan and Warren continued their offensive, with a major victory over Major General George Pickett’s forces at the Battle of Five Forks.
A String of Federal Victories
On March 29, Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps defeated several Confederate brigades commanded by Major General Bushrod Johnson at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm. Two days later, the action resumed at the Battles of White Oak Road and Dinwiddie Court House, as Lee shored up his right wing to halt the federal flanking maneuver. On April 1, Philip Sheridan and Warren continued their offensive, with a major victory over Major General George Pickett’s forces at the Battle of Five Forks. Losing that strategic crossroads further threatened Lee’s already limited supply lines.
Confederates Evacuate Richmond and Petersburg
Encouraged by the Federal victory at Five Forks, Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate entrenchments on April 2, 1865. By 10 a.m., Lee realized he could no longer hold the Union forces back. He advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave the Confederate capital at Richmond. As Lee abandoned his defenses at Petersburg, three minor engagements took place during the next three days at Sutherland’s Station, Namozine Church, and Amelia Springs.
Lee’s Plan
Lee’s plan was to march his beleaguered army west to Amelia Court House, where he expected to find much-needed provisions. From there, he intended to move south and join forces with Major General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of North Carolina. As the Confederates moved west, Sheridan’s cavalry began hounding them almost immediately. On April 3, cavalry from both sides met in the inconclusive Battle of Namozine Church.
Clash at Amelia Springs
Two days later, another cavalry engagement erupted north of Amelia Springs. Three brigades of Major General Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate cavalry (commanded by Brigadier General Martin Gary, Major General Thomas L. Rosser, and Brigadier General Thomas T. Munford) counterattacked a brigade of Major General George Crook’s Union cavalry (commanded by Brigadier General Henry E. Davies, Jr.) about three miles north of Amelia Springs. Davies’s cavalry was returning from a raid on the Army of Northern Virginia’s supply train near Painesville. The two cavalry forces fought a running battle through Amelia Springs almost to Jetersville, six miles southwest of Amelia Court House, where Robert E. Lee planned to concentrate his army.
The initial phase of the battle was inconclusive until Federal reinforcements arrived, prompting the Confederates to withdraw to Amelia Springs. Later that night and during the morning of April 6, Union forces, commanded by Brigadier General Nelson Miles and Major General Gershom Mott, fought another minor and inconclusive battle against Major General John B. Gordon’s Confederate rearguard.
Timeline
- 1864, March 12 — President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States.
- 1864, June — Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area.
- 1865, March 25 — Lee ordered Major General John B. Gordon to attack Fort Stedman.
- 1865, March 29
- Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army.
- Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps defeated Confederate brigades at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm.
- 1865, April 1 — Major General Philip Sheridan and Warren defeated Major General George Pickett’s forces at the Battle of Five Forks.
- 1865, April 2
- Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate defenses at Petersburg.
- Lee advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave Richmond.
- 1865, April 3 — Union and Confederate cavalry fought the Battle of Namozine Church.
- 1865, April 5
- Confederate cavalry attacked Union cavalry north of Amelia Springs.
- Union cavalry returned from a raid on the Army of Northern Virginia’s supply train near Painesville.
- 1865, April 6 — Union forces fought Major General John B. Gordon’s Confederate rearguard.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Amelia Springs (1865) — The Battle of Amelia Springs took place in Amelia County, Virginia, on April 5-6, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. After General Robert E. Lee left Petersburg, his army moved west toward Amelia Court House, where he expected to find supplies. Union cavalry under General Henry E. Davies Jr. returned from a raid near Painesville when Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee counterattacked. Union reinforcements arrived and fought General John B. Gordon’s rearguard. The battle ended without a clear winner but forced Lee’s army to move around Jetersville.
Alignment
The Battle of Amelia Springs is part of the following AP US History sections:
