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 Crawford moved north the commander of Griffin’s left flank brigade, Joshua Chamberlain, could see that Ayers was heavily engaged on his left. He realized that the rest of the corps was heading in the wrong direction and turned his brigade to come in on Ayer’s flank. Griffin saw what Chamberlain was doing and turned the rest of the division.
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Crawford continued north even though Warren sent several aides after him. Finally Warren personally went to turn him back into the battle, a move that would save the battle but would be fatal to Warren’s career. On the far right of the Union line Mackenzie’s small cavalry division reached the battlefield after driving back Robert’s Confederate cavalry brigade off the map to the east.
At the Angle Ayres’ Division charged into the turnback held by Matthew Ransom’s North Carolina Brigade, with Griffin’s Division overlapping its open flank. Sheridan went in with the charge, ignoring a hail of bullets that killed his flag-holder and wounded an aide and leaping his big horse, Rienzi, over the Confederate earthworks. Overwhelmed, Ransom’s brigade crumpled.
Amazingly, Pickett was unaware of the fighting going on less than a mile away. The shad bake was on low ground next to Hatcher’s Run, apparently in an acoustical shadow of the sound of thousands of rifles and half a dozen cannon.