Five Forks • Tour the Battlefield • The Armies • Battle Maps
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Strategic Situation • Confederate Position • Union Forces Arrive • Union Infantry Form Up
Union Infantry Attacks • Crawford Goes Astray • Confederate Line Crumples • Confederate Last Stand
As the Confederates settled into their defences Sheridan’s Cavalry began to arrive on the battlefield. They were under the command of Wesley Merrit, senior division commander, while Sheridan took command of the entire combined force. Merritt’s troopers began to spread out to cover the Confederate line. Armed with repeaters and an aggressive attitude they had developed defeating Jubal Early’s men in the Shenandoah Valey in the summer and fall of 1864, the cavalrymen were confident they could take on the Confederate infantry.
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Meanwhile Warren’s Fifth Corps began to reach the battlefield. They were exhausted from fighting along White Oak Road the previous day and then marching through the night across the rain-drenched countryside to reach Sheridan. Grant had told Sheridan to expect Warren at a time that Warren had not even received his orders, so Sheridan was already furious at tthe delay. He wanted to strike quickly before the Confederates could improve their position or be reinforced, and it was already midafternoon.