Racing West

In the Footsteps of Lee’s Retreat

Civil War Outdoors Series: Many sites, in addition to being places of history and memory, have also been preserved as spaces of natural significance that can be enjoyed recreationally. Often, one of the best ways to gain a better understanding of historical events is to be in the places they happened. Getting outside and walking where people in the past walked, experiencing the topography, and seeing the landscape can help us connect with the past in new and different ways.

By Samantha Barrett

FOR MYSELF, as someone who loves both history and the outdoors, visiting historic sites in person and moving across that landscape helps me visualize what happened and understand the choices people made in relation to their geographic surroundings. I would like to encourage people to get out and visit various Civil War historic sites and experience history while also enjoying nature. In this first installment of Civil War Outdoors, we are focusing on Lee’s Retreat from Petersburg, so we will start with walking or cycling the High Bridge Trail.

Spring is typically a time of new life and rebirth, but in the spring of 1865 the Confederacy and its armies were experiencing a decline towards death. Supply shortages, rising inflation, military defeats, hunger, and loss of manpower created a growing cancer infecting the Confederacy, demoralizing the military and civilian populations. The final straw for the Army of Northern Virginia, which had been entrenched at Petersburg since June 1864, was the loss of the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, and the Union Army’s breakthrough of the Confederate lines on April 2, 1865.

Gen. Robert E. Lee knew that his only chance of continuing the fight was to escape west and south to meet Gen. Joseph Johnston’s army in North Carolina. He had his army evacuate west across the Virginia countryside in an attempt to outrun Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Potomac. To achieve his goal, Lee needed supplies, so he had to stay as close as possible to the railroad running from Petersburg to Lynchburg. The Union troops, however, did not give Lee much chance to use the railroad. They were able to capture and control key points along the way, constantly harassing the Confederates as they marched.

Aerial view of the High Bridge

Virgina Department of Conservation and Recreation.

As the Army of Northern Virginia raced west, Lee planned to resupply at the railroad depot in Farmville. After crossing the

High Bridge across the Appomattox River, Lee saw an opportunity to slow the Union advance by having his army burn the bridge. However, Federal troops were right behind them, and the small Confederate contingent left to guard the bridge was unable to prevent the Federals from stopping the spread of fire across the entire span.

Accounts from Confederate soldiers detail days of almost constant walking with little sleep and food to fuel them onward. One story related in Michael E. Haskew’s Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia mentions a young soldier even falling asleep while marching. Failing to completely secure and destroy the High Bridge was a serious blunder that kept Lee’s men from getting much needed supplies and rest. It also made Lee feel the need to cross back over the Appomattox River to the north, hoping to use it as a shield against Union attacks from the south.

Yet, almost immediately they were facing a Union attack around Cumberland Church just north of Farmville. With no reprieve, with the loss of more and more men to exhaustion and desertion, and with the way of escape blocked at Appomattox Court House, Lee ultimately lost the race.

Running for about thirty-one miles between the tiny Virginia towns of Pamplin and Burkeville, the High Bridge Trail is a gravel rail trail perfect for a leisurely walk or for anyone looking to crush major miles cycling or running. If you want to specifically check out the Civil War-related section of the trail, park at the Camp Paradise parking lot, and go left, heading northwest on the trail. For a fun day out, I suggest riding or walking the 5.2 miles from the Camp Paradise parking lot into Farmville for lunch. There are multiple restaurants, a brewery, and a wine tasting cellar just off the trail in town.

Walking trails at Camp Paradise near the High Bridge.

Sam Barrett, ACWM

First, you will encounter Camp Paradise, a small Confederate earthwork “fort” built to defend the High Bridge and manned by the Donaldsonville artillery unit from Louisiana. Then, about a quarter of a mile from Camp Paradise is the High Bridge itself. If you’re just interested in doing a short walk, from Camp Paradise parking to the end of the bridge is 0.8 miles, and there is a one-mile hiking trail around Camp Paradise you could add as well. For those of you who want a little more of a challenge, there are also some fun, easy single-track bike trails about half way between the bridge and Farmville in the Rochelle Area directly off the High Bridge Trail.

Besides connecting you to the past in new ways, seeing and experiencing historical sites in person can prompt more questions. For example, after I visited the High Bridge and Farmville, it made me wonder why Lee decided to cross the Appomattox River at all when his goal was to reach North Carolina to the south. It made me want to do more research into those final movements towards Appomattox, and as a result, I have a much better understanding of why Lee did what he did and just how reduced his army was at the end.

Then, there is always the question of would things have turned out differently if he hadn’t gone towards Appomattox? Some of his generals certainly thought they would have had a better chance of beating Grant by staying on the south side of the Appomattox River and following the railroad out of Farmville. Looking at the situation now in hindsight, though, even if Lee had managed just barely to slip past Grant by taking the southern route, it still would have taken many more days of relentless marching with little rest to reach North Carolina with no guarantee of supplies along the way. That would have been a tall order for even the most dedicated, fit army, much less a decimated, demoralized one. END

Samantha Barrett is an ACWM Education Outreach Specialist.

The reconstruction of the High Bridge after the Confederate destroyed part of it in an attempt to slow the U.S. Army’s pursuit.

The Library of Congress