The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, Virginia, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against Confederate Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Pickett's loss at Five Forks triggered Lee's decision to abandon his entrenchments around Petersburg and begin the retreat that led to his surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9.
Read more about Battle Of Five Forks: Background, Battle, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words battle and/or forks:
“The battle for the mind of Ronald Reagan was like the trench warfare of World War I: never have so many fought so hard for such barren terrain.”
—Peggy Noonan (b. 1950)
“Just think of all the spare time that has flown
Straight into nothingness by being filled
With forks and faces....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)