Battle of Five Forks Facts

Date and Location

• April 1, 1865
• Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Campaign

• Appomattox Campaign

Principal Union Commanders

• Major General Philip Sheridan
• Major General G.K. Warren

Principal Confederate Commanders

• Major General George Pickett
• Major General Fitzhugh Lee
• Colonel Thomas T. Munford
• Major General Thomas L. Rosser

Union Forces Engaged

• Army of the Shenandoah (5th Corps, Cavalry Corps)

Confederate Forces Engaged

• Army of Northern Virginia (Pickett Division, Munford’s Division, W.H.F. Lee’s Cavalry Division, Rosser’s Cavalry Division

Number of Union Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 17,000

Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged

• Roughly 9,200

Estimated Union Casualties

• 830 casualties (killed, wounded, and captured/missing)

Estimated Confederate Casualties

• 2,950 casualties (killed, wounded, and captured/missing)

Results of the Battle of Five Forks

• The outcome of the Battle of Five Forks was a Union victory.
• The Battle of Five Forks is sometimes called the Waterloo of the Confederacy.
• The Confederate loss at the Battle of Five Forks prompted Confederate General Robert E. Lee to abandon Petersburg and Richmond.
• Major General Philip Sheridan relieved Major General G.K. Warren of his command of the Union 5th Corps after the Battle of Five Forks because he was dissatisfied with Warren’s performance during the engagement.
• Major General George Pickett was two miles away from his command attending a shad bake when the Battle of Five Forks began.
• Some historians consider the Battle of Five Forks as part of the Petersburg Campaign; other historians consider it part of the Appomattox Campaign.

Timeline of the Battle of Five Foks

These are the main battles and events of the Appomattox Campaign in order.

• March 29, 1865 — Battle of Lewis’s Farm
• March 31, 1865 — Battle of White Oak Road
• March 31, 1865 — Battle of Dinwiddie Court House
• April 1, 1865 — Battle of Five Forks
• April 2, 1865 — Third Battle of Petersburg
• April 2, 1865 — Battle of Sutherland’s Station
• April 3, 1865 — Battle of Namozine Church
• April 5–6, 1865 — Battle of Amelia Springs
• April 6, 1865 — Battle of Sailor’s Creek
• April 6, 1865 — Battle of Rice’s Station
• April 6–7, 1865 — Battle of High Bridge
• April 7, 1865 — Battle of Cumberland Church
• April 8, 1865 — Battle of Appomattox Station
• April 9, 1865 — Battle of Appomattox Court House
• April 9, 1865 — Surrender at Appomattox Court House