Retreat and Pursuit

— Lee's Retreat —

Gen. James Longstreet's corps, leading the Confederate retreat westward, reached Rice's Depot along the South Side Railroad and entrenched on April 6, 1865, while the Battle of Sailor's Creek raged to the east. Here Longstreet guarded the road from Burkeville Junction and blocked Union access to High Bridge via the railroad. From here, Gen. Robert E. Lee rode back towards the Sailor's Creek battlefield and learned of the disaster that had befallen the army there.

Part of Gen. Edward O.C. Ord's Army of the James, a corps led by Gen. John Gibbon, approached the station early in the afternoon on its way to support a detachment assigned to burn the bridge. Three infantry brigades marched up the railroad in front of you; behind you, Longstreet's divisions awaited the attack. The Federals deployed in battle formation and heavy skirmishing erupted, but Gibbon did not have time before sunset to assault the Confederate position. After dark, assured that the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia had safely passed over High Bridge, Longstreet disengaged and slipped away to Farmville.

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Show me all markers in:  Rice, VA  |  Prince Edward County  |  23966  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Rice's Depot
Action at High Bridge
Battle of Sailor's Creek
High Bridge
Cavalry Battle at High Bridge
Cavalry Battle at High Bridge
Camp Paradise
African-Americans at High Bridge
Lee's Retreat
Prince Edward County / Nottoway County

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