Hibernian Chronicle 136 years ago; Sheridan routs Pickett at Five Forks

By Edward T. O’Donnell

One hundred thirty-six years ago this week, on April 1, 1865, Gen. Philip Sheridan came up big. By now a trusted lieutenant of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, he’d been ordered to attack a forward Confederate force under Gen. George Pickett at a place called Five Forks, 10 miles southwest of the Confederate stronghold Petersburg. As was his style, Sheridan struck aggressively and without pause, handing the Union a decisive victory in its final effort to defeat Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and bring the bloody Civil War to a close.

Philip Henry Sheridan was born in 1831. Where he was born remains somewhat of a mystery. In his memoirs, Sheridan claims to have been born near Albany, N.Y. But many other sources claim Killinkere, Co. Cavan, as his birthplace. What is certain is that he went to West Point in 1848 and graduated in 1853. When the Civil War erupted in 1861, he was a second lieutenant.

Sheridan was not physically impressive. One acquaintance described him as "a stumpy, quadrangular little man with a forehead of no promise and hair so short that it looks like a coat of black paint." Yet as Lincoln would soon come to understand, performance outweighed aura when it came to combat. Gen. George B. McClellan looked and acted every bit the conquering hero but proved a timid fighter in the field. Sheridan, like Grant, made up for his lack of physical stature with fearlessness and determination.

By 1865, Sheridan was nearly as famous as William Tecumseh Sherman or Grant. Like them, he was virtually unknown at the war’s outset. All rose to prominent positions in the Union Army by 1864 because they did what so many of their predecessors failed to do: consistently take the offensive and fight aggressively. He achieved fame in late 1863 when he successfully stormed a fortified position on Missionary Ridge during Grant’s Chattanooga Campaign. Grant promoted him to major general as a result and placed him in charge of cavalry for the Army of the Potomac. In the late summer and fall of 1864, Sheridan’s cavalry laid waste to the Shenandoah Valley in a preview of Sherman’s scorched-earth "March to the Sea" in Georgia. By March 1865, he’d become a key part of Grant’s plan to pound Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia into submission.

Sheridan’s assault on Lee’s army almost never happened. On March 29, Grant gave Sherman orders to carry out an assault against Pickett at Five Forks. But heavy rain that day and next prompted the Union commander to cancel the plan. Eager to fight, Sheridan rode to Grant’s headquarters and pleaded his case. Impressed by his enthusiasm and confidence, Grant relented.

Two days later, on April 1, the rain finally ended. At 4 p.m., Sheridan unleashed his offensive. As was his nature, Sheridan rode up and down the lines, in the words of historian James M. McPherson, "cajoling and god-damning the infantry to move faster and hit harder." The outnumbered and unsuspecting Confederates wilted fast.

When Union victory seemed assured and some of his men began celebrating, the fiery general upbraided them. "I want you men to understand," he thundered, "we have a record to make before the sun goes down that will make all hell tremble." In other words, driving the Confederates from the field was not enough. He meant to destroy the force entirely. He very nearly did.

Pickett, the tragic hero of Gettysburg, wasn’t anywhere near the battle. Convinced by the Union delay that no attack was forthcoming, he’d gone far to the rear to enjoy a shad bake. To make matters worse, by some strange acoustic fluke, no one at the outing heard the cannon fire. By the time Pickett arrived at the scene, his line was in tatters, overrun by Sheridan’s whooping force. Half of Pickett’s 10,000 men were taken prisoner while the other half scattered in a chaotic retreat. A few days later, even though the story of the shad bake would not be known for several years, Lee relieved Pickett of his command.

Sheridan’s triumph at Five Fork’s was the most one-sided Union victory since the campaign against Lee’s army had begun nearly a year ago. It was also the last major battle of the war. Most important, it fulfilled a key part of Grant’s strategy for destroying Lee’s army once and for all. When news of Sheridan’s victory reached him, Grant ordered an all-out frontal assault for the following day. The Confederacy’s days were numbered.

In the following days, Sheridan’s force would capture the last rail line leading into Petersburg and cut off Lee’s retreat from his position at Appomattox. With Sheridan’s help, Grant had finally cornered Bobby Lee. Out of options and his men half-starved, Lee faced the inevitable. "[T]here is nothing left for me to do," he informed his officers on April 9, "but go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths." The Civil War, the bloodiest conflict ever in the western hemisphere, was over.

HIBERNIAN HISTORY WEEK

March 29, 1882: Founded by Rev. Michael J. McGivney, the Knights of Columbus is granted a charter by the state of Connecticut.

March 30, 1955: Grace Kelly wins an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in "The Country Girl."

April 2, 1914: Cumann na nBan, an Irish women’s republican organization, is founded.

April 3, 1979: Jane Byrne is elected the first female mayor in Chicago’s history.

HIBERNIAN BIRTHDATES

March 28, 1879: Nationalist martyr Terence MacSwiney born in Cork.

March 28, 1944: NBA star Rick Barry born in Elizabeth, N.J.

March 30, 1880: Writer Sean O’Casey born in Dublin.

April 1, 1839: Union Army General and Medal of Honor winner St. Clair Mulholland born in Lisburn, Co. Antrim.

Readers may contact Edward T. O’Donnell at odonnell@PastWise.com.