April 9, 1865: The Last Battle at Appomattox Court House
The night of April 8, 1865, was restless, cold, and tense on the rolling Virginia fields around Appomattox Court House. Fires burned low, illuminating worried faces as General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia huddled for what everyone sensed would be its final stand.
To the west, just three-quarters of a mile beyond the village, Brevet Brigadier General Charles Smith’s Federal cavalry brigade from George Crook’s division worked feverishly by moonlight and fog. They tore down fence rails and shoveled dirt into breastworks across the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road, blocking Lee’s last hope of escape.
They had little time. Lee’s army was just there, in the darkness.
A Desperate Confederate Plan
Before dawn, Confederate infantry and cavalry roused themselves from damp bivouacs. Major General John B. Gordon’s 2nd Corps formed in battle lines along the western edge of Appomattox Court House: Evans’ division on the left, Walker in the center, Grimes on the right, with William Wallace’s division in reserve.
Nearby at Tibbs Lane, Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry gathered—divisions under Rooney Lee, Rosser, and Munford—poised to strike. Brigadier General Armistead Long’s artillery waited, silent but ready, in the fog.
They all understood the plan: break through the Federal cavalry blocking the Stage Road, re-open the way to Lynchburg, and slip away.
The Attack Begins
At 7:50 a.m., Confederate bugles shrilled in the cold air. Gordon’s entire line stepped forward in a great left-wheel maneuver, men yelling the “rebel yell” that once froze Union blood.
Private Henry Bahnson of the 1st North Carolina Sharpshooters watched the wheeling line and later swore he’d never seen anything so “magnificently executed.”
But war has no room for admiration.
The Charge on Smith’s Line
Out front, Smith’s brigade (1st Maine Cavalry, 2nd New York Mounted Rifles, 6th and 13th Ohio Cavalry) had built their flimsy barricades in the dark.
Smith had also pushed forward Lieutenant James H. Lord’s two 3-inch Ordnance Rifles, which now began lobbing shells into the advancing Confederates. One round struck John Ashby of the 12th Virginia Cavalry, killing him instantly.
The Confederates saw the threat. The 4th North Carolina Cavalry and 16th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion of Brigadier General William Roberts’ Brigade drew sabers and charged. The blue-coated gunners fired to the last, but were overwhelmed.
Lord’s precious guns were captured.
Lord himself was later commended for his stubborn stand that bought precious minutes.
Federal Lines Threatened
As Gordon’s infantry wheeled, Confederate cavalry under Rooney Lee, Rosser, and Munford pressed hard on Smith’s flanks, trying to break through to the Stage Road and get behind the Union lines.
Major General George Crook saw the danger. He rushed Brigadier General Ranald Mackenzie’s small cavalry division and Colonel Samuel B. Young’s Pennsylvania Cavalry Brigade to support Smith’s left.
But they were too few. Rooney Lee’s men crashed into them, driving them back alongside Smith’s battered troopers.
The Confederate line surged forward, cheering. The road seemed open.
Infantry Arrives Just in Time
But the Army of the James was coming.
Brigadier General Robert Foster’s Division arrived at the critical moment. Down the Stage Road advanced Colonel Thomas Osborn’s Brigade: the 62nd and 67th Ohio, 39th Illinois, 85th and 199th Pennsylvania.
They hit the Confederate advance hard—but the Southerners hit back harder.
On the left, the 62nd Ohio was caught in a vicious flank attack, losing over 50 men killed, wounded, and captured. The 11th Maine Infantry rushed up in support, charging out of the woods only to be swept by canister fire from Confederate guns along the ridge.
Colonel John Hill of the 11th Maine fell wounded and was captured.
The regiment lost Moses Sherman, nicknamed “Little Moustache”, a favorite in the ranks.
Nearby, Confederate artillery blasted the Coleman House, one shell mortally wounding Hannah Reynolds, an enslaved woman who would die of her injuries days later—the last civilian casualty of the campaign.
The Union Flood Grows
But Foster wasn’t alone.
Brevet Major General John Turner’s Independent Division arrived on Foster’s right.
Colonel William Woodward’s Brigade of United States Colored Troops filed onto the field, men in blue pressing forward, determined to close Lee’s last door. Soon after, Colonel Ulysses Doubleday’s Brigade of USCTs also arrived.
Faced with overwhelming numbers, Gordon sent back a stark message:
“Tell General Lee that my command has been fought to a frazzle and unless Longstreet can unite in the movement, or prevent these forces from coming upon my rear, I can not long go forward.”
The 5th Corps Envelops the Right
Meanwhile, Major General Charles Griffin’s 5th Corps of the Army of the Potomac was moving in from the south.
They marched across the Trent and Sears farms, clashing with Confederate skirmishers.
On the far right, Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain’s Brigade advanced under fire from the Richmond Howitzers and Salem Flying Artillery. Chamberlain’s men swept forward to the Mariah Wright House.
Suddenly, a white flag appeared.
A desperate Confederate delaying action—just 25 men of the 4th and 14th North Carolina Infantry—charged out to cover their friends’ retreat. Meanwhile, the battered remains of Gordon’s 2nd Corps fell back through Appomattox Court House, crossing the shallow Appomattox River to reform one last line.
Final Clashes and the Closing Trap
As Griffin’s infantry pressed in from the south, George A. Custer’s and Thomas Devin’s cavalry divisions came east along the LeGrand Road, threatening the Confederate left and rear.
Custer’s men saw a white flag rise—but Brigadier General Martin Gary’s Confederate Cavalry Brigade chose to ignore any truce, attacking Custer’s advance with saber and pistol.
They were quickly smashed and driven back, leaving the road littered with dead and wounded.
Farther west, Brigadier General Henry Davies’ Federal cavalry fought a final skirmish at Widow Robertson’s Farm. With help from Mackenzie and Young, Davies’ troopers sent Munford’s cavalry reeling west in full retreat toward Lynchburg.
Lee Surrounded
Behind Lee’s shrinking lines now waited the bulk of the Army of the Potomac: the 2nd Corps, the 6th Corps—over 30,000 men in line of battle.
Lee rode among his men and saw the truth.
They were surrounded.
He was “checkmated.”
A Battle Avoided, a War Ending
The horrific final massacre many had feared never came. The massive advantage of position won on April 8 and the overwhelming movements on April 9 convinced Lee there was no escape.
Though the fighting had been brief, it was deadly: estimates suggest 800 killed and wounded, and over 1,200 captured in these final two days.
The stage was set for the white flags that would fill the afternoon air on April 9th—and for the solemn meeting at Wilmer McLean’s parlor, where Lee would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, ending four brutal years of civil war in the East.
