Overview
The Battle of Lewis’s Farm took place on March 29, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign. The battle followed months of stalemate around Petersburg, Virginia, where the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had faced each other from entrenched lines. By spring 1865, Confederate supplies had declined, while Union strength improved after General Philip Sheridan’s troops returned from the Shenandoah Valley.
General Ulysses S. Grant ordered Sheridan to turn General Robert E. Lee’s right flank and threaten or capture Boydton Plank Road and the South Side Railroad. These routes connected to Petersburg from the southwest and served as important supply and escape routes for Lee’s Army. Sheridan moved most of his Army toward Dinwiddie Court House and ordered General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps to capture Boydton Plank Road.
On March 29, 1865, General Joshua Chamberlain led the front of Warren’s force into action against Confederate Brigades commanded by General Bushrod Johnson at Lewis’s Farm. After a short but intense firefight, Federal troops gained control of the road. The Confederates retreated to their trenches along White Oak Road. The Union victory closed an important supply route to Lee’s Army at Petersburg.
Essential Facts
- Also Known As: Battle of Quaker Road, Battle of Military Road, Battle of Gravelly Road.
- Date: March 29, 1865.
- Location: Dinwiddie County, Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Gouverneur K. Warren, Joshua Chamberlain.
- CSA Commanders: Bushrod Johnson.
- Who Won: The United States won the Battle of Lewis’s Farm.
- Campaign: Appomattox Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, 1865.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: 380 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac, including the 5th Corps and Cavalry Corps.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 17,000 Soldiers.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: 370 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Johnson’s Division, Anderson’s Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 8,000 Soldiers.
Significance
The Battle of Lewis’s Farm is important to American History because it was the opening battle of the Appomattox Campaign. The Union victory helped close an important supply route to Petersburg, Virginia. Although Union forces suffered slightly higher casualties than Confederate forces, the result favored the United States because Federal troops gained control of Boydton Plank Road. The battle also forced Confederate troops to retreat to their trenches along White Oak Road. This weakened Lee’s position and helped Grant’s Army increase pressure on Petersburg during the war’s final phase.
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 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, ending the Battle of Fort Stedman.
Appomattox Campaign
Grant’s spring offensive, the Appomattox Campaign, began in late March 1865 when Union troops commanded by Major General Philip Sheridan moved west with orders to threaten or capture Boydton Plank Road and the South Side Railroad, which connected to Petersburg from the southwest. Grant intended to cut off supplies coming into Petersburg and to prevent Lee from using the two arteries as avenues of escape from Petersburg.
Conflict at Lewis’s Farm
Sheridan moved the bulk of his army toward Dinwiddie Court House and ordered the 5th Corps of Major General G. K. Warren to capture Boydton Plank Road. On March 29, lead elements of Warren’s force, commanded by Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, engaged several Confederate brigades, commanded by Major General Bushrod Johnson, at Lewis’s Farm. After a brief but sharp firefight, the Federals gained control of the road and forced the Confederates to retreat to their entrenchments along White Oak Road.
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 25 — Union counterattacks forced Gordon’s Confederates back inside their lines.
- 1865, late March — Grant’s Appomattox Campaign started when Major General Philip Sheridan moved west to threaten or capture Boydton Plank Road and the South Side Railroad.
- 1865, March 29
- Sheridan moved most of his Army toward Dinwiddie Court House.
- Sheridan ordered Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps to capture Boydton Plank Road.
- Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain’s troops fought Major General Bushrod Johnson’s Confederate Brigades at Lewis’s Farm.
- Federal troops gained control of the road and forced the Confederates to retreat to White Oak Road.
- The Union victory closed an important supply route to Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Petersburg.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Lewis’s Farm (1865) — The Battle of Lewis’s Farm was fought on March 29, 1865, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, during General Ulysses S. Grant’s Appomattox Campaign. General Philip Sheridan moved west to threaten Boydton Plank Road and the South Side Railroad, while General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps moved to capture Boydton Plank Road. General Joshua Chamberlain’s troops fought General Bushrod Johnson’s Confederate Brigades, gained control of the road, and forced the Confederates back to White Oak Road.
Alignment
The Battle of White Lewis’s Farm is part of the following AP US History sections:
