April 2, 1865
Last night was a
busy one and a noisy. Some battery or other was playing the whole time, and,
now and then, they would all wake up at once; while the skirmishers kept
rushing at each other and firing, sometimes almost by volleys. All of which did
good, because it wore out the enemy and made them uncertain where the main
attack might come. At a quarter past four in the morning, Wright, having massed
his three divisions in columns of attack, near Fort Fisher, just before
daylight charged their works, burst through four lines of abattis, and poured a
perfect torrent of men over the parapet. He then swept to the right and left,
bearing down all the attempts of the enemy's reserves to check him; a part also
of his force went straight forward, crossed the Boydton plank and tore up the
track of the South Side Railroad. The assault was, in reality, the death-blow
to Lee's army. His centre was thus destroyed, his left wing driven into the
interior line of Petersburg, and his right taken in flank and left quite
isolated. At the same moment Parke attacked the powerful works in his front,
somewhat to the right of the Jerusalem plank road, and carried the strong outer
line, with three batteries, containing twelve guns; but the fire was so hot
from the inner line that his men could get no further, but continued to hold
on, with great obstinacy, for the rest of the day, while the Rebels made
desperate sorties to dislodge them. In this attack General Potter received a
wound which still keeps him in an extremely critical condition. You may well
believe that the musketry, which had spattered pretty well during the night,
now broke out with redoubled noise in all directions.
Under the
excitement of getting at my valise and having some fresh paper, I am moved to
write you some more about the great Sunday, which I so irreverently broke off.1
I was saying that the musketry broke out pretty freely from all quarters. Do
you understand the position of the troops? Here is a rough diagram.2
On the right Parke, from the river to west of the Jerusalem road; then Wright
and Ord, stretching to Hatcher's Run; then Humphreys, forming the left wing. To
the left and rear were Sheridan and Griffin, making a detached left wing.
Humphreys' left rested somewhat west of the Boydton plank. Ord and Humphreys
were now crowding in their skirmishers, trying for openings in the slashings to
put in a column. Ord tried to carry the line, but could not get through; but
the 2d division of the 2d Corps got a chance for a rush, and, about 7.30 in the
morning, stormed a Rebel fort, taking four guns and several hundred Rebels; in
this attack the 19th and 20th Massachusetts were very prominent. About nine
o'clock the General rode off towards the left, from our Headquarters near the
crossing of the Vaughan road, over Hatcher's Run. He overtook and consulted a
moment with Grant, and then continued along our old line of battle, with no “intelligent
orderly” except myself. So that is the way I came to be Chief -of -Staff,
Aide-de-camp, Adjutant-General, and all else; for presently the Chief took to
giving orders at a great rate, and I had to get out my “manifold writer” and go
at it. I ordered Benham to rush up from City Point and reinforce Parke, and I
managed to send something to pretty much everybody, so as to keep them brisk
and lively. In fact, I completely went ahead of the fly that helped the coach
up the hill by bearing down on the spokes of the wheels!
And now came the notice that the enemy were going at the
double-quick towards their own right, having abandoned the whole of Ord's front
and some of Humphreys'. We were not quite sure whether they might not
contemplate an attack in mass on Humphreys' left, and so this part of our line
was pushed forward with caution while Humphreys' right was more rapidly
advanced. We met sundry squads of prisoners coming across the fields, among
them a forlorn band, with their instruments. “Did you not see that band?” said
Rosie to me that evening, in great glee. “Ah! I did see them. I did them ask for
to play Yan—kay Doodle; but they vould not!” About 9 o'clock we got to General
Humphreys on the Boydton plank road, by Mrs. Ramie's. It was now definitely
known that the enemy had given up his whole line in this front and was
retreating northwesterly, towards Sutherland's Station. He was reported,
however, as forming line of battle a mile or two beyond us. Immediately Miles's
division marched up the Claiborne road, while Mott, followed by Hays (2d
division, 2d Corps), took the Boydton plank. Still more to our left, the
cavalry and the 5th Corps were moving also in a northerly direction. Meanwhile,
Wright had faced his Corps about and was marching down the Boydton
plank, that is to say towards the 2d Corps, which was going up; on
his left was the 24th Corps, which had formed there by Grant's orders; so you
will see, by the map, that the jaws of the pincers were coming together, and
the enemy hastened to slip from between them! As soon as Wright found that this
part of the field was swept, he again faced about, as did the 24th Corps
(now forming his right), and marched directly up the Boydton plank to the inner
line of Petersburg defences, rested his left on the river, swung the 24th round
to join Parke, on the right, and voila the city invested on east, south,
and west. I am afraid this double manoeuvre will rather confuse you, so here
are two diagrams, with the corps numbered, in their first and second positions.
By eleven o'clock the General had got all his troops in
motion and properly placed, and the Staff had come from the camp. We all
started up the plank road, straight towards the town. It was a strange
sensation, to ride briskly past the great oak, near Arnold's Mill, where we got
so awfully cannonaded at the first Hatcher's Run; then on till we came to the
earthwork, on this side of the Run, whence came the shot that killed Charlie
Mills; then across the Run itself, passing their line with its abattis and
heavy parapet, and so up the road, on the other side, marked by deep ruts of
the Rebel supply-trains. As we got to the top of the rise, we struck the open
country that surrounds the town, for several miles, and here the road was full
of troops, who, catching sight of the General trotting briskly by, began to
cheer and wave their caps enthusiastically! This continued all along the
column, each regiment taking it up in turn. It was a goodly ride, I can tell
you! Presently we spied General Grant, seated on the porch of an old house, by
the wayside, and there we too halted. It seemed a deserted building and had
been occupied by a Rebel ordnance sergeant, whose papers and returns were lying
about in admirable confusion. A moral man was this sergeant, and had left
behind a diary, in one page of which he lamented the vice and profanity of his
fellow soldiers. He was not, however, cleanly, but quite untidy in his domestic
arrangements. From this spot we had an admirable view of our own works, as
the Rebels had, for months, been used to look at them. There was that tall
signal tower, over against us, and the bastions of Fort Fisher, and here, near
at hand, the Rebel line, with its huts and its defenders sorely beleagured over
there in the inner lines, against which our batteries were even now playing;
and presently Gibbon assaults these two outlying redoubts, and takes them after
a fierce fight, losing heavily. In one was a Rebel captain, who told his men to
surrender to nobody. He himself fought to the last, and was killed with the
butt end of a musket, and most of his command were slain in the work. But we
carried the works: neither ditches nor abattis could keep our men out that day!
You may be sure Miles had not been idle all this time. Following up the
Claiborne road, he came on the enemy at Sutherland's Station, entrenched and
holding on to cover the escape of their train. Though quite without support, he
attacked them fiercely, and, at the second or third charge, stormed their
breastwork, routed them and took three guns and near 1000 prisoners. With this
gallant feat the day ended, gloriously, as it had begun. We went into camp at
the Wall house and all preparations were made to cross the river next morning
and completely shut in the town.
[The preceding letter like many others, was written several
days after the events described. The victory was so overwhelming that all Lyman
actually wrote home that night was:]
Headquarters Army Of The Potomac
Sunday, April 2,
1865
11 P.M.
My Dear Mimi: —
THE
REBELLION
HAS
GONE UP!
Theodore Lyman
Lt.-col. & Vol. A.D.C.
_______________
1 Actually written April 13.
2 No diagram is found with the letter.
SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s
Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness
to Appomattox, p. 334-9
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