The Battle of Rice's Station was a minor engagement in Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was fought at the same time as the

Battle of Sailor's Creek The Battle of Sailor's Creek was fought on April 6, 1865, near Farmville, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, near the end of the American Civil War. It was the last major engagement between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, c ...

on April 6, 1865. In the early morning of April 6,

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

Lieutenant General James Longstreet's command reached Rice's Station, Virginia (now Rice, Virginia) on the South Side Railroad. As Longstreet's corps was the first to reach Rice's Station after Lee moved his army west from Amelia Springs, Virginia, they awaited the remainder of the army, most of which ended up being delayed at the Battle of Sailor's Creek.* Humphreys, Andrew A.
''The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865: The Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James''.
New York: Charles Scribner%27s Sons, 1883. . Retrieved March 5, 2015. p. 377. The XXIV Corps commanded by Major General

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...

of Major General Edward Ord's Army of the James had occupied Burkeville Junction, Virginia, a junction of the South Side Railroad and Richmond and Danville Railroad to the southeast of Rice's Station, on the night of April 5.Calkins, Chris. ''The Appomattox Campaign, March 29 – April 9, 1865''. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books, 1997. . p. 115. When Longstreet arrived at Rice's Station, he learned that Ord's troops were at Burkeville Junction. Longstreet ordered his men to dig in along the tracks and routes from Burkeville in case the XXIV Corps advanced toward them. During the morning of April 6, after being warned that Lee's Army was on the march, Ord and Gibbon had moved cautiously up the railroad and found Longstreet's force digging in near Rice's Station.Marvel, William. ''Lee's Last Retreat: The Flight to Appomattox''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. . p. 88. Gibbon's skirmishers slowly formed for an attack and had a minor confrontation with the entrenched Confederates. As darkness approached and being unsure of the size of the Confederate force, Ord decided to wait for Sheridan and Meade to come up from behind. The Union force suffered 66 casualties before going into bivouac as darkness approached. Exact Confederate casualties are unknown. With the Union Army nearby after the disastrous Confederate defeat at Sailor's Creek, under General Lee's order, Longstreet withdrew during the night towards

Farmville, Virginia Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 8,216 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County. Farmville developed near the headwaters of the Appomattox R ...

where rations were waiting.Calkins, 1997, p. 116.

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Calkins, Chris. ''The Appomattox Campaign, March 29 – April 9, 1865''. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books, 1997. . * Humphreys, Andrew A.
''The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865: The Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James''.
New York: Charles Scribner%27s Sons, 1883. . Retrieved March 5, 2015. * Marvel, William. ''Lee's Last Retreat: The Flight to Appomattox''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. . * Salmon, John S., ''The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide'', Stackpole Books, 2001, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rices Station, Battle Of Appomattox campaign Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Prince Edward County, Virginia Union victories of the American Civil War Rice's Station 1865 in the American Civil War 1865 in Virginia April 1865 events