The Sailor’s Creek Battles

In the aftermath of the Siege of Vicksburg and the Fall of Richmond, General Lee retreated west in with a plan to obtain badly needed supplies at Farmville before turning south to meet up with General Johnston’s forces at Raleigh, North Carolina but events did not unfold as planned. Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park near Rice, Virginia does an excellent job of telling the story of the conflict in early April 1865 that led to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and ultimately the end of the American Civil War. Our visit to this small but excellent museum was greatly enhanced by a friendly and knowledgeable ranger and a landscape little changed from those fateful days.