Battle of Amelia Springs - Battle of Amelia Springs

Battle of Amelia Springs

On April 5, 1865, Sheridan ordered Crook to send cavalry patrols north of Jetersville to reconnoiter his left flank. At Crook's order, Union Brig. Gen. Henry E. Davies, Jr. took his brigade through Amelia Springs, Virginia and then swung north to the Paineville, Virginia area of Amelia County. About 4 miles (6.4 km) out of Jetersville, Davies attacked a Confederate army wagon train. His men destroyed the wagons, captured equipment and animals and took more than 300 and perhaps as many as 1,000 prisoners. According to some sources, some of these men were armed blacks in Confederate uniforms, the only known instance in Virginia of combat involving organized black Confederate soldiers. Some historians specifically reject the claim that these black men were trained and organized combat soldiers and described them simply as teamsters. In his brief account of this action in his biography of General Sheridan, General Davies made no mention of black troops. One of the items burned in the wagons was the war diary for the Army of Northern Virginia.

Upon hearing about Davies's actions, General Lee dispatched two divisions of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry, which joined with Brig. Gen. Martin Gary's cavalry brigade at Paineville, to pursue Davies. Together they engaged Davies's rear guard in a running combat for 3 miles (4.8 km) to Amelia Springs. The Confederates attacked Davies's forces in a mounted combat with drawn sabers, forcing his men to retreat. The Confederates chased Davies's force almost to Jetersville but when Davies's men linked up with other Union Army cavalry of Maj. Gen. Crook's main force, Davies was able to retain his prisoners, mules and cannon and the Confederates returned to Amelia Springs for the night. Confederate cavalry continued to skirmish with Union forces at Jetersville and Confederate infantry demonstrated during the afternoon of April 5, 1865. The apparent purpose of these actions, after Lee discovered that the road and railroad to Burkeville was blocked by Sheridan's forces at Jetersville, was to cover for the continuing movement of the Confederate army west toward Farmville. Lee ordered supplies sent to this location from Lynchburg.