Existing comment:
Five Forks
In the spring of 1865, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant captured the Confederate's last supply line at Petersburg -- the South Side Railroad -- by advancing on a road junction in Dinwiddie County known as Five Forks. The decisive Union victory heralded the end of the stalemate at Petersburg and set the stage for the breakthrough that followed the next day.
Best known for his destructive Shenandoah Valley Campaign in 1864, Sheridan personally led the charge that routed Pickett's left flank at Five Forks.
Pickett -- best known for his role at Gettysburg -- was two miles away enjoying a shad bake when the federals attacked at Five Forks. He returned too late to rally his men. |