Fitzhugh Lee, General Lee

[374] he to Mr. Lincoln, “to let Lee's old antagonist give his army the final blow and finish up the job. If the Western armies were ever to put in an appearance against Lee's army, it might give some of our politicians a chance to stir up sectional feeling in claiming everything for the troops from their own section of the country.” “I see, I see,” replied Mr. Lincoln; “in fact, my anxiety has been so great that I didn't care where the help came from so the work was perfectly done.” Lee, chained to his trenches by his necessities, and waiting for better roads on account of the weak condition of his artillery and transportation animals, gave General Grant the opportunity to get around his lines west of Petersburg, for which he had so long waited.

On March 28th Grant sounded the laissez aller, as a writer puts it, and the next day great turning columns were put in motion to swing around the flank of Lee, and get possession of his remaining lines of transportation, the Lynchburg or Southside Railroad, and the Danville Railroad at Burkesville, the junction of the two. It was calculated that Lee would largely draw troops from his lines to avert such a disaster, and in that event they could be successfully assailed by the troops on their front. On that day General Lee wrote Mrs. Lee: “I have received your note with a bag of socks. I return the bag and receipt. The count is all right this time. I have put in the bag General Scott's autobiography, which I thought you might like to read. The general, of course, stands out very prominently, and does not hide his light under a bushel, but he appears the bold, sagacious, truthful man that he is. I inclose a note for little Agnes. I shall be very glad to see her to-morrow, but can not recommend pleasure trips now.”

The Southern lines south of James River stretched from the Appomattox below Petersburg along the territory south of the city, then ran in a southwest direction parallel and protecting the Lynchburg Railroad, then bending west and northwest, terminated on Hatcher's Run, a little over a mile from Sutherland Station on the railroad. From this point the White Oak road runs west to Five Forks, four miles distant, where it is crossed