Bentonville
March 19-21, 1865

This battle took place in Bentonville, North Carolina. It is about 20 miles west of Goldsboro. In January 1865, Union Major General William Sherman began his march through the south. Meanwhile, General Joseph E. Johnston replaced General Beauregard as commander of the Confederate forces in the Carolinas.
Sunday morning, March 19th, the Confederate army positioned itself near Cole's plantation. Hoke's division was on the left. Stewart's Army of Tennessee was on the right. The center was held by General Johnston. The Union army was not prepared for a battle thinking there was only Confederate horsemen nearby. Union General W.P. Carlin's Fourteenth Corps was attacked.
As the day progressed, Carlin's men retreated until they were joined by Brigadier General J.S. Robinson's troops. At 1:30pm, Union General Slocum realized he was in trouble and sent word to Sherman. As the battle continued, the Confederates, led by Hill, was able to break through lines and strike Morgan's troops in the rear. There was some bloody fighting. In the end, the arrival of Union troops saved Morgan from defeat.
Night fell. Confederate troops withdrew to where they had started.
The next morning, March 20th, Johnston put his Confederates into a large irregular V shape position. Sherman's troops arrived and reinforced the Union side. The day was quiet from all out battle but there were fights up and down the line.
On March 21st, the only major fighting was when Union Brigadier General J.A. Mower, pushed around the Confederate left flank without orders. During the night, Johnston's army crossed Mill Creek and moved on. The next day, Sherman moved his troops towards Goldsboro, thus ending the battle.
It was not a large battle by Civil War standards. In the end, the losses totaled 1,527 Union men and 2,606 Confederate men.
Bentonville is remembered for two reasons. One reason was that so few Confederate soldiers were led into battle by so many high ranking officers. There were two generals- Johnston and Bragg, Lieutenant Generals Hampton, Hardee, and Stewart, and Major Generals D.H. Hill, Joseph Wheeler, Robert F. Hoke, Lafayette McLaws, and William W. Loring all participated. The second reason was the battle was the climax of Sherman's march through the Carolinas.

Five Forks
April 1, 1865

Five Forks is located at the intersection of White Oak Road, Scotts' Road, Ford's Road, and Dinwiddie Court House Road. It was Lee's last link to his supply line into Petersburg, Virginia. Generals Grant and Lee led their men into battle.
On March 31st, Union troops led by Warren were resting south of White Oak Road when the Confederates attacked led by Major General Bushrod. The Union was first pushed back and then with reinforcements pushed the Confederates back. This battle cut Johnston's line of communication with Pickett's forces.
Pickett's men pushed Sheridan's troops back to Dinwiddie Court House. That night, Pickett's troops rested with Five Forks on one side of them and Sheridan's troops on the other side. General Grant sent men in to reinforce the Union troops during the night.
Pickett was ordered by General Lee to hold Five Forks at any cost. On the Union side, Sheridan was told to replace General Warren. General Charles Griffin took over command. On April 1st, as the Union soldiers attacked the Confederates, Pickett attended a shad bake with several of his officers two miles from the front. By the time he arrived at the fighting, it was too late. Many of the Confederates were taken prisoners and Five Forks was lost.
On April 2nd, Brigadier General Nelson Miles pushed to Sutherland Station on the South Side Railroad and overwhelmed the Confederates defending it. his was Lee's final supply route. It was in Union hands.
Union losses were around 820. Confederate losses were about 4,444.

Sailor's Creek
April 6, 1865

Sailor's Creek is located in Amelia County, Virginia. The spelling has been changed from Sayler to Sailor by the state of Virginia.
On April 5th, Lee and his troops left Amelia Court House and headed towards North Carolina to combine forces with General Joseph E. Johnston. During the night march, General James Longstreet was ordered to march fast. Longstreet sent 900 of his cavalry and infantry to stop the Union from burning High Bridge. During the battle, Brigadier General James Dearing was killed. He was the last Confederate general to die in Virginia during the war. The Confederates stopped the Union soldiers from burning the bridge.
On April 6th, three separate battles happened. One between Wright [Union] and Ewell [Confederate] at Hillsman farm, one between Humphreys [Union] and Gordon [Confederate] at Lockett farm, and one between Merritt [Union] and Anderson [Confederate] between Harper and Marshall farms.
Union soldiers led by Wright overwhelmed the Confederates, capturing 3,000 soldiers including 6 generals. Total losses- Confederates 3,400/Union 440.
Confederate troops commanded by Gordon were protecting the supply wagon train. When the supply wagon train got stuck in the mud, his troops had to fight. At nightfall , the Union soldiers, led by Humphreys, had taken more than 200 wagons. Confederate losses 1,700/ Union 536.
The fight between Union officer Merritt's troops and Confederate officer Anderson's troops were about a mile SW of the road crossing Little Sayler's Creek. The Union captured 2 more Confederate generals. Confederate losses 2,600/ Union 172.
Lee marched what was left of his men during the night. They reached the train carrying supplies of rations. As the men were receiving their food, the Union forces approached. The Confederates quickly sent the trains westward hoping to meet up with them later.

Appomattox Court House
April 9, 1865

On April 2nd as Lee pulled out of Petersburg, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet fled Richmond and became a government "on the run".
During Lee's retreat, Lee's army got split in two. He lost about one quarter of his men to the Union. Lee continued on with Meade and Sheridan's men in pursuit. As Lee neared Appomattox Court House about 9pm on April 8th, he saw Sheridan's campfires burning, blocking his retreat. Sheridan was in front of him, Meade and Grant were behind him. General Lee had hoped to find his supplies on the road to Appomattox Station but was sadly disappointed. Surrounded by Union troops, Lee waited.
On April 7th Grant sent a message to Lee stating it was useless to fight any longer. Lee returned a message asking what terms Grant would request. Grant replied on April 8th that the Confederates give up their arms, not fight again and go home. Lee suggested they meet to talk. Grant responded on April 9th that he would not talk unless it was to discuss surrender.
While waiting for Grant's last reply, Lee met with Fitzhugh Lee, Longstreet, and Gordon to discuss options. They decided that there was only Calvary in front of them and they could break through.
The attack was set for 5am April 9th. This was Palm Sunday. Lee dressed in his best uniform because he wanted to look his best when taken prisoner. He was not confident the attack would work. The Confederates fought long and hard in what was to be their last battle. General Lee called off the engagement stating "There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths."
At 8:30am, Lee rode for the meeting with Lee that he had requested the day before. He then received Grants last message sent refusing to meet unless surrender was discussed. Grant agreed to the meeting shortly after noon.
The home of Wilmer McLean was chosen for the two generals to meet. It was 60 yards from Appomattox Court House. Lee arrived first and waited for Grant in a side parlor. Grant arrived about a half hour later. Lee was in his full general's uniform and Grant was in a private's dress with only his general stars to show his rank. Grant spoke of the same terms he had suggested the day before. Lee stated the most of his men owned their own horses so Grant allowed them to keep their horses. Grant also gave them 25,000 rations to feed Lee's troops. They signed the surrender papers, shook hands and left.
April 12th the official ceremonies took place. Brigadier General Joshua L. Chamberlain of Maine received the formal surrender. The Union soldiers stood on either side of the road leading out of town as the Confederates formed ranks and marched by with Gordon in the lead. Both sides honored each other as the Confederates-22,000 infantry-laid down their arms.
It took about two more months before all the fighting ended. News of the surrender traveled as fast as it could but it took that long before the Civil War would finally be over.