Battle of Dinwiddie Court House

Battle of Dinwiddie Court House Part of the American Civil War Date March 31, 1865 Location Dinwiddie County, Virginia Result Confederate victory Belligerents United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy) Commanders Philip H. Sheridan George E. Pickett Fitzhugh Lee Strength 45,247 20,030 Casualties and losses 354 760

The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House was a minor engagement in the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was the immediate prelude to the decisive Battle of Five Forks. On March 29, 1865, with the Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan undertook a flank march to turn Gen. Robert E. Lee's Petersburg defenses. A steady downpour turned the roads to mud, slowing the advance. On March 31, Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee's cavalry and Maj. Gen. George Pickett's infantry division met the Union vanguard north and northwest of Dinwiddie Court House and drove it back, collapsing the Union lines into a tight perimeter around the village, and temporarily stalling Sheridan's movement. With Union infantry approaching from the east, Pickett withdrew before daybreak to entrench at the vital road junction at Five Forks. Lee ordered Pickett to hold this intersection at all hazard.

Commemoration

The Dinwiddie County Court House is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

References

• Kennedy, Frances H., ed., The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
• National Park Service battle description

External links

• Animated History of The Siege of Petersburg and Surrender at Appomattox (shows this battle late in the animation, providing perspective on its role in the later stages of the Appomattox campaign)

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