Battle of Sutherland's Station

37°11′51″N 77°33′45″W / 37.19750°N 77.56250°W / 37.19750; -77.56250

Battle of Sutherland's Station
Part of the American Civil War
DateApril 2, 1865 (1865-04-02)
Location
Result Union victory[1]
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Nelson A. Miles Henry Heth
Cadmus M. Wilcox[1]
Strength
1,500[2] 3,000[2]
Casualties and losses
370[1] 600[1]

The Battle of Sutherland's Station was an American Civil War conflict fought on April 2, 1865, in Dinwiddie, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.

Union columns converged on Petersburg on April 2, pushing through a large section of the Confederate defensive entrenchments. As Robert E. Lee desperately sought to buy time to allow his army to withdraw, Ulysses S. Grant launched several other attacks. Stubborn Confederate resistance at Fort Gregg delayed Grant's progress. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles's Union division battered Henry Heth's Confederates near Sutherland's Station and drove them off the field. The Confederate defenders were scattered and driven northwestward. With this victory, the Federals possessed the South Side Railroad, Gen. Robert E. Lee's last supply line into Petersburg. However, the lengthy defense of Fort Gregg and Grant's hesitation in aggressively following up on his success at Sutherland's Station permitted Lee to evacuate his army that night.

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference nps was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cwsac was invoked but never defined (see the help page).