From The Crater to Five Forks Battlefield - THE LONG WAY!!

The Petersburg National Battlefield is actually a series of sites strung across the south of the city. After leaving The Crater one departs the Eastern Front site and you travel along public roads.  What they don't tell you is the route is not very well marked. I happily went down one road and totally missed a sign to turn right. When I hit the I-95 I knew something was seriously wrong.  Lucy was useless because I didn't have any specific addresses and she wouldn't recognize the location names I gave her. She at least told me where I was so I can claim I was not completely lost, just annoyed.  I backtracked and found a little tiny road to follow (and this was the wide part).  I continued on past the Poplar Grove National Cemetery and again I missed a right hand turn  (For those who know me, especially my golf buddies, I don't get lost!!)  So it was a heck of a surprise to find myself on an even much smaller road with no where to turn around.  I finally pulled into a small church road and again was able to backtrack. Without that church I would probably still be on that #@%^ road. This was not the last of my adventures for the day.

Fort Fisher National Park Service Marker

Back on route again I arrived at another fort, Fort Fisher which was actually the largest of the forts surrounding Petersburg.  At this time I was getting pretty sick of "Forts". So I didn't take many picture.

Fort Fisher

Back in the car I found myself again on a decent road (with stoplights and everything!) for a few miles as I headed towards the Five Forks Battle Site.

Here was the situation leading up to late March 1865.  In Sept 1864 Atlanta fell to Sherman and  with other Union victories, moral in the North was high. In December Sherman had reached the sea and was moving north virtually unopposed through the Carolina's. Lincoln's political fortunes had turned around and in November he was easily re-elected President. In Petersburg, following the disaster at the Crater, Grant realize that the only way he was going to dislodge Lee's army was to completely cut off his supplies.

By mid March Grant had extended his siege line with his army of 120,000 westward until the only supply route was the South Side Railroad which run south west away from Petersburg. Lees army had dwindle to 30,00+ largely because of desertions. Sherman's rampage through Georgia, South and North Carolina had compelled many Confederate soldiers men to go home and help their families.

 Grant was now threatening the South Side Railroad at a location called Five Forks.  On April 1st  forces under General Sheridan, Grant's version of a Pit Bull, attacked Pickett's forces there and had routed them.  Despite Lee's warning Pickett had been careless. Relations between the two men had been strained following Gettysburg. Pickett never forgave Lee for ordering the infamous charge of Pickett's Divisions.  With the loss of Five Forks, Lee knew he could hold neither Petersburg nor Richmond. Sensing the weakness in Lee's lines, Grant attacked. By the evening of April 2nd Lee realized that he could no longer defend the two cities.The retreat to Appomattox Court House had begun.

Five Forks Battlefield

To the left is the battle map for Five Fork. Failing to notify his staff as to his whereabouts, General Pickett was attending a Shad lunch well behind the lines at the time and was quite unaware of the battle taking place. During the civil war an an unusual phenomena was frequently noted where observers would see a battle take place but hear no sound. One of these "acoustic blind spots" must have happened to Pickett.  Pickett need not have left for lunch that day because Sheridan certainly handed it too him. Writers often refer to Five Forks as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy".

Five Forks Intersection / Battlefield

I was hoping to get some good pictures at Five Forks but the battle field has largely over-grown with trees so pictures just were not practical. I clipped this picture on the left from the internet of  the Five Forks intersection. You are looking south-west over the intersection.  The visitor center at Five Forks, like all National Parks Service location, is excellent and deserving of a visit.





 Next Blog: How not to travel to Appomattox Court House