Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

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[706] in order of battle; but it was only done to cover the movement of the wagons, as the army took up its line of retreat. That portion of the Federal army which had crossed the river dashed on recklessly, and seemed to think they had only a demoralized mob to contend with. They drove the Confederate wagon guard in and cut the train in two, on the road the wagons were traversing; but Grimes' division advanced at a double-quick, attacked and charged the assailants, routed them, and captured two hundred prisoners.

During all day of the 7th, the Confederate army marched without molestation in the rear. Occasionally the enemy's cavalry would dash in on a portion of their wagon train, kill a few horses, frighten drivers and quartermasters, and then scamper away; but no serious impediment was offered to the march. The whole army had left the main road and were traversing dense thickets of oak and pine, through which ran rarely used and broken roads. On the 8th they continued to march steadily, and in the middle of the day struck a better road, and made rapid progress until dark, when the rear was within four miles of Appomattox Court-house. The head of the column had reached the Court-house. Lynchburg was but twenty-four miles off. Not a gun had been fired during the day. The troops went into camp without restraint. No enemy seemed near. The bands of the divisions enlivened the departing hours of day with martial music. The weary private soldiers prepared to sleep with a strange sense of relief and contentment.

But in this night of apparent security the general officers were consulting together; and their looks plainly indicated intense anxiety. Soon the rumble of distant cannon sounded in front. Presently came the ominous order for all the extra artillery to be cut down and the commands disbanded. The true situation was soon apparent to Gen. Lee. In pressing for Lynchburg he had to put himself in a dangerous predicament; he was on a strip of land not more than seven or eight miles broad between the James and Appomattox rivers; and the firing in front indicated that the outlet towards Lynchburg was closed by Sheridan, while Meade in the rear, and Ord south of the Court-house completed the environment and put Lee in a position from which it was impossible to extricate his army without a battle, which it was no longer capable of fighting.

Early in the morning of the 19th, Gordon's corps was ordered to move to the front through Appomattox Court-house, passing the entire wagon and artillery train of the army. Lee's army had at this time dwindled down to eight thousand men with muskets in their hands. Gordon was thrown out with about two thousand men in front; the wreck of Longstreet's command covered the rear; and between these thin lines was the remnant of the wagon train, and clinging to these thousands of unarmed stragglers, many of them famishing and too weak to carry their muskets.