Retreat from Sailor's Creek Because of the need to reduce steep grades in the vicinity of Farmville, the
South Side Railroad crossed from the south side of the Appomattox River to the north side over the
High Bridge east of Farmville, about from
Rice's Station. From High Bridge, the railroad ran parallel to the north bank of the river until it reached
Farmville, Virginia, to the southwest. After the
Battle of Sailor's Creek, Confederate Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson and Major General John B. Gordon and the defeated survivors of their corps headed for the South Side Railroad's High Bridge and the wagon bridge below it to cross to the presumed relative safety of the north side of the Appomattox River. After fighting unsuccessfully to destroy the bridges after themselves, Gordon and his men followed the route of the railroad over the High Bridge, along the north bank of the river, and back to the south side of the river over the bridges at Farmville to obtain rations and then immediately return to the north side of the river from Farmville.
Longstreet moves to, evacuates Farmville Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps, which had reached Rice's Station on the morning of April 6, had moved past Sailor's Creek because they were at the head of the march and missed the battle there. After the minor
Battle of Rice's Station on April 6, in a night march, Longstreet's corps slipped away from Major General
John Gibbon's XXIV Corps of Major General
Edward Ord's Army of the James, which had approached the Confederate lines at Rice's Station during afternoon. Longstreet's corps stayed south of the river and headed west for Farmville during the night. Longstreet's troops began to arrive at Farmville, under close pursuit by Union
Major General George Crook's cavalry division, at about 9:00 a.m.on April 7. Gibbon's XXIV Corps of Ord's Army of the James, reinforced by Brigadier General
William Birney's second division of the
XXV Corps, followed closely behind Crook's cavalry. Sheridan's cavalry got to Pamplin's Station first and captured 3 engines and the rolling stock with the supplies. The Confederate provost guard and their prisoners were sent down the road without rations. Some rations were passed out to troops on the march out of Farmville and the empty wagons from which they were distributed were burned. Longstreet had to move his forces quickly from Farmville to the Cumberland Church vicinity to avoid Union forces closing in the town. When the leading unit of the Second Division of the II Corps under the command of Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow reached High Bridge at about 7:00 a.m., they found that the Confederates had blown up the
redoubt at the bridgehead on the northern (and western) side of the bridge and were just starting to burn the railroad bridge and lower wagon and foot bridge. A mistaken or misunderstood order to Lieutenant General Anderson's guards not to allow anyone to pass kept Major General William Mahone's division from crossing until the order were clarified. This permitted the lead units of the II Corps to reach the bridge just as the Confederates were attempting to destroy it. The ensuing fight to save or destroy the bridges was the second Battle of High Bridge, following the battle the previous day when a Union raiding force tried to destroy the bridge to keep the Confederates on the south side of the Appomattox River and the Confederates successfully fought to save it, killing or capturing the Union force. They were able to preserve the wagon bridge for passage of the II Corps in their pursuit of Gordon, Anderson and Mahone. Colonel William A. Olmsted's First Brigade of Barlow's division and Brigadier General Thomas Alfred Smyth's Third Brigade, joined by Brigadier General
Nelson Miles's division drove off a counterattack by Mahone's troops who were trying to complete the bridges' destruction. Mahone's division was in a defensive line with two redoubts on high ground on the north bank of the river when the II Corps began to arrive at the bridges but they moved to northwest when they could not destroy the bridges and prevent Humphreys's corps from crossing the river.
Pursuit; Smyth mortally wounded Gordon's corps and Barlow's division skirmished from High Bridge to the northern outskirts of Farmville. Colonel
Daniel Woodall of the
1st Delaware Infantry Regiment assumed command of the Third Brigade. Colonel William A. Olmsted's brigade moved to support Smyth's brigade but about 100 of his men were captured as Confederate rear guards rushed Smyth's hesitating troops. During this encounter, the other men of Cadmus Wilcox's division received rations at Farmville and moved to the north side of the river. Wilcox led his division back across the river to protect the rear guard and the trains with rations just before they moved out toward Pamplin Station. Crook's cavalry came into town and captured stragglers while the XXIV Corps was only away when the bridge was burned. Soon thereafter, Union Army General-in-Chief
Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and his staff arrived in Farmville, making the Randolph House (Prince Edward Hotel) his headquarters. They entrenched on top of a long slope of open ground, covering the stage and plank roads to Lynchburg. Union II Corps commander Major General Humphreys, with Brigadier Generals Miles's and de Trobriand's divisions, arrived near the Lynchburg stage road at Cumberland Church about 1:00 p.m. and became engaged not just with Mahone's division, but with the entire remaining Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Soldiers from Miles's division temporarily captured the guns of Captain Arthur B. Williams's North Carolina Battery but troops of Major General
Bryan Grimes's division recaptured them. As Humphreys's men approached, Gordon's men caught up with Mahone's and the entire effective Army of Northern Virginia was near Cumberland Church. Historian William Marvel stated that with artillery, about 12,000 effective Confederate men held the position at Cumberland Church. Some of Major General
Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry moved to protect Mahone's left flank. When Humphreys realized that the Confederates held a strong position in force, he recalled Barlow's division, which had been marching along the South Side Railroad following Gordon's corps toward Farmville and to guard against a Confederate move toward Danville, to rejoin the other II Corps divisions. Humphreys heard gunfire from the direction of Farmville and saw the Confederates shorten their right flank, so he thought the VI Corps had crossed the river and were starting their attack. Mahone sent some of the men on his right to attack the Union skirmish line, but they were driven back twice.
Cavalry Battle of Farmville The gunfire heard by Humphreys was from Crook's cavalry, which had crossed the river and attacked a wagon train about up the Buckingham Plank Road from Farmville. They were supported by Gordon's infantry having moved down from Cumberland Church. Colonel
Samuel B.M. Young reformed the remainder of Gregg's brigade and with Davies's men and Lord's battery attacked the wagons again. After Confederate troops prevented General Robert E. Lee from personally leading a counterattack by pledging to repulse the Union cavalrymen, they forced Crook's troopers to retreat across the Appomattox River to Farmville.
Casualties In the battle up to and at Cumberland Church, the II Corps sustained casualties of 40 killed, 210 wounded, 321 missing, total 571. Confederate casualties are unknown. ==Aftermath==