When the Confederate army evacuated Richmond the situation was desperate. The army was starving and after nine months of siege warfare it was exhausted. Robert E. Lee knew that the game was nearly up but held out hope that he could link his army with Joseph Johnston’s army then in North Carolina and turn on either U.S. Grant or William T. Sherman and defeat them. The chances were slim but Jefferson Davis was not ready to give up.
Leaving Richmond Lee’s army stuck to the north bank of the Appomattox River but was being pursued by U.S. Grant and his well-fed and well-armed forces. Lee’s first destination was Amelia Court House where he was told that train loads of rations would be available for his starving army. Union cavalry was hot on their heels and several small engagements took their toll on Lee’s army. When they arrived at Amelia Court House on April 5 no trains were to be found but instead box cars full of ammunition. His army lost one day while he sent forage parties out appealing to the people but little was found. Perhaps the people knew that the end was near as Union foragers found plenty to sustain themselves.
Lee was able to communicate with the commissary general and got rations forwarded to Danville. The number of wagons and artillery were to also be reduced since the animals were dying forcing the abandonment of nearly one-third of his wheeled vehicles like wagons and cannon. The Union knew this too, Phil Sheridan, who commanded the Union cavalry, intercepted the messages. Lee’s army left Amelia Court House on April 6 heading toward the Richmond and Danville Railroad but Union cavalry on the road near Jetersville were blocking the way. Lee’s army was too spread out and since it was too late in the day so he decided not to force the issue and detoured toward Farmville instead.
Grant arrived in Jetersville that night and his army would begin the march again at 4 AM the following morning. Lee’s men were still moving west but were delayed by the narrow bridges over Sailor’s Creek. James Longsteet’s Corps and William Mahone’s Division cleared the creek and were on their way to Deatonville but Richard Anderson’s Corps, Richard Ewell’s Corps and John Gordon’s Corps were not so lucky. Rooney Lee’s cavalry served as the rear guard and they had not yet crossed the creek.
George Meade’s Union Army of the Potomac was closing in and Sheridan’s cavalry was moving west to intercept Lee. The morning of April 6 was rainy as two divisions of cavalry under George Crook and Wesley Merritt engaged Anderson’s Corps who were surprised and took to flight. Anderson managed to rally his men and held off the cavalry for some time even trying to move away only to find Union cavalry blocking his route. His position was about one miles from where Ewell was making his stand so he was on his own. The cavalry attacked several times and were repulsed several times until later in the afternoon when Henry Capehart’s brigade broke through. The rest of the cavalry followed and Anderson’s Corps was forced to either surrender or flee.
Andrew Humphreys’ II Corps engaged Gordon’s Corps around the Lockett Farm around 9 AM. It became a running battle as Gordon fought for time to get the wagons to safety. The Union attacks drove Gordon back about 4 miles but were never able to break Gordon’s lines and they were able to escape when the sun went down.
The main fight took place around the Hillsman House where Horatio Wright’s VI Corps fought Richard Ewell’s Corps and Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry. Most of Ewell’s men were garrison troops and untried in battle. Wright’s men appeared in Ewell’s rear and forced Ewell to deploy and pushed Anderson back towards the Union cavalry pursuing. Wright attacked around 6 PM and he found crossing Sailor’s Creek to be difficult as it was nothing more than swamp and it disrupted the Union line which required a short break to realign before they came on.
Ewell organized a counterattack which pushed the Union center back but it allowed the Union forces on the flank to get on the Confederate flanks creating a double envelopment. Hand-to-hand fighting took place but many Confederates began to surrender when they realized that they were surrounded. Nearly all of Ewell’s force surrendered eventually and only about 250 men got away.
Meade lost about 1,200 men which e could afford at this stage of the war. Lee lost about 8,000 men, or about 20% of his army at Sailor’s Creek. The loss in leadership was devastating. Ewell, Joseph Kershaw, Custis Lee (Lee’s son), Seth Barton, James Simms, Merriweather Clark, Dudley DuBose, Montgomery Corse and Eppa Hunton were captured or surrendered. Talented artilleryman Stapleton Crutchfield was killed.
Lee’s army continued west hungry and tired. His soldiers began to straggle and as the Union army caught up to them they were simply told to go to the rear and no one even bothered to disarm them until they got to the provost marshal. Lee’s stragglers knew the war was over.
Much of the area where Ewell fought is preserver as the Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Historical Park. The battle is called alternatively Sayler’s Creek or Sailor’s Creek and is known by several other names as well.
