. Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac; . fromDanville to Amelia Courthouse, there to await the arrival ofhis columns. When, however, on Sunday afternoon, theloaded train of cars reached Amelia Courthouse, the officerin charge was met by an order from the Richmond authoritiesto bring on the train to Richmond, it being the design touse the cars in the transportation of the personel and prop-erty of the Confederate government. Interpreting this orderin the sense that the train and its contents should be taken toRichmond, the officer, without unloading the stores at AmeliaCourthouse, carried on c
. Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac; . fromDanville to Amelia Courthouse, there to await the arrival ofhis columns. When, however, on Sunday afternoon, theloaded train of cars reached Amelia Courthouse, the officerin charge was met by an order from the Richmond authoritiesto bring on the train to Richmond, it being the design touse the cars in the transportation of the personel and prop-erty of the Confederate government. Interpreting this orderin the sense that the train and its contents should be taken toRichmond, the officer, without unloading the stores at AmeliaCourthouse, carried on cars, freight and all; and the rationson which Lee had depended for the subsistence of his armywere consumed in the general conflagration of Richmond! Such were the agonizing tidings that met the Confederatecommander on his arrival at Amelia Courthouse ; and onecan well imagine how, from that moment, all his hopes weredashed to the ground. Lee had fairly counted, that as Granthad, for the purpose of rapid pursuit, broken up his force into. THE FINAL CAMPAIGN. 609 several bodies, an opportunity would present itself to fallupon these fractions in detail, should his retreat become seri-ously endangered. But, to accomplish this, it was necessarythat he should have his whole army, now not much above twentythousand men, well in hand. This, in the absence of rations,was no longer possible; for, in order to keep life in whatforce remained to him, it became incumbent on him to breakup a moiety of it into foraging parties. At Amelia Courthouse, where Lee had arrived the morn-ing of the 4th, he was compelled to remain during the wholeof that and the following day; and this forced delay gaveSheridan, who, vdth the cavalry and the Fifth Corps, waspushing the advance impetuously far in the van of the re-mainder of the army, time to strike in upon the Confederateline of retreat. This he did the afternoon of the 4th, atJetersville, on the Danville Eailroad, seven miles southwestof Amelia Courth
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