When, on the morning of the 6th, Meade advanced toward Amelia Court House, he found, as predicted, that Lee was gone.  It turned out that the retreat began the evening of the 5th and continued all night.  Satisfied that this would be the case, I did not permit the cavalry to participate in Meade’s useless advance, but shifted it out toward the left to the road running from Deatonsville to Rice’s station, Crook leading and Merritt close up.  Before long the enemy’s trains were discovered on this road, but Crook could make but little impression on them, they were so strongly guarded; so, leaving Stagg’s brigade and Miller’s battery about three miles southwest of Deatonsville—­where the road forks, with a branch leading north toward the Appomattox—­to harass the retreating column and find a vulnerable point, I again shifted the rest of the cavalry toward the left, across-country, but still keeping parallel to the enemy’s line of march.

Just after crossing Sailor’s Greek, a favorable opportunity offering, both Merritt and Crook attacked vigorously, gained the Rice’s Station road, destroyed several hundred wagons, made many prisoners, and captured sixteen pieces of artillery.  This was important, but more valuable still was the fact that we were astride the enemy’s line of retreat, and had cut off from joining Longstreet, waiting at Rice’s Station, a corps of Confederate infantry under General Ewell, composed of Anderson’s, Kershaw’s, and Custis Lee’s divisions.  Stagg’s brigade and Miller’s battery, which, as I have said, had been left at the forks of the Deatonsville road, had meanwhile broken in between the rear of Ewell’s column and the head of Gordon’s, forcing Gordon to abandon his march for Rice’s Station, and to take the right-hand road at the forks, on which he was pursued by General Humphreys.

The complete isolation of Ewell from Longstreet in his front and Gordon in his rear led to the battle of Sailor’s Creek, one of the severest conflicts of the war, for the enemy fought with desperation to escape capture, and we, bent on his destruction, were no less eager and determined.  The capture of Ewell, with six of his generals and most of his troops, crowned our success, but the fight was so overshadowed by the stirring events of the surrender three days later, that the battle has never been accorded the prominence it deserves.

The small creek from which the field takes its name flows in a northwesterly direction across the road leading from Deatonsville to Rice’s Station.  By shifting to the left, Merritt gained the Rice’s Station road west of the creek, making havoc of the wagon-trains, while Crook struck them further on and planted himself square across the road.  This blocked Ewell, who, advancing Anderson to some high ground west of the creek, posted him behind barricades, with the intention of making a hard fight there, while the main body should escape through the woods in a westerly direction to roads that led to Farmville.