At this point, I must state the general, Fitz Lee was in error when he testified that my division was posted by him a little distance in the rear of the Eighth Virginia cavalry, which he had ordered out on picket on General Ransom’s left at the intersection of the Gravelly Run Church Road and the White Oak Road. As a matter of fact my division was located on the Ford road by General Fitz Lee himself, near Hatcher‘s run, which was convenient for corn and the wagon train and my headquarters were in sight of his own headquarters not far from the C. Boisseaux house.
It was very near 1 o’clock when the courier reached me with the information of a stir up of General Roberts’ cavalry and of the eighth Virginia on General Pickett’s left. I felt the importance of the news and rode immediately and as rapidly as I could over to General Fitz Lee’s headquarters. I found him mounted, and about to ride off. I handed him Lieutenant Wythe Bane Graham’s dispatch. He read it over and said;
“Well, Munford, I wish you would go over there in person at once, and see what this means, and, if necessary, order up your division, and let me hear from you. “
Hurrying to my camp, I started for our picket line in a few minutes, taking with me Captains Henry C. Lee and several couriers. Just as we were going to the front General Fitz Lee and General Pickett passed along, going still further north (towards the rear) in the direction of the crossing of hatchers run. Leaving the Ford Road my escort and I went the rear of our infantry line of battle and I found [page 24 ends] that they had made much progress in fortifying our works with logs and dirt. The skirmishing along the front of our infantry line had now become very brisk, and the sharp whistle of the enemy’s carbine balls was audible at every few rods. There was a menacing whine in the air, but it did not prevent the usual flow of badinage and joking that passed between infantry and cavalry, which the sight of my couriers excited in the ragged gray fellows in the earth works. When we reached the point where Wallace’s and Ransom’s troops joined at the angle I found a couple of wounded men belonging to Captain Thomas Roulhac’s company of North Carolina sharpshooters with Ransom’s men, and they directed me the best route to get to the cavalry picket. At the picket, I found a portion of Roberts’ cavalry which had been cut off by McKenzie [Mackenzie] when he forced him from the White Oak Road to the east of us. Suddenly one of the pickets pointed out to me a large body of federals – – the fifth Army Corps – – forming in a field southeastly from us in on the left hand side of the Graveley Run Church Road. Upon the instant I realized the situation and hurried off couriers to find General Lee and General Pickett. I then sent an order for my division to come up quickly through the woods by a narrow road. My couriers returned with the information that they could not find Pickett or Lee. Neither of them was at his headquarters. Courier after courier was dispatched, but the two officers could not be found. Captain Henry Lee rode hurriedly down the whole length of Pickett’s line but was unable to learn where the commanding officer of the expedition was. Meanwhile, I was hurriedly reconnoitering. The battle was imminent. and there was need of haste. Discovering that the enemy had no artillery [[page 25 ends] visible, and that where my pickets held the intersection of the White Oak Road with the Church Road was an ideal place for the use of a battery, I galloped to Ransom and urged him to let me have the use of a section of his battery. He refused to do so, saying that it was General Pickett’s formation, and that he did not feel at liberty to make any change. Twice after that, I sent and begged him to come and see the opportunity that was going to waste but Ransom was inexorable. Now I know well enough that the formation was Pickett’s, but Pickett was not there. And I knew fully as well that an officer had the power to attack anything that was on his front, to receive orders to meet an attack, and also to pursue – – though not further than the obstacle or works, behind which his position lay. But I felt then, and I know now that a battery run up to that point, and opened against Warren’s Corps, the face of the ensuing battle would have been changed considerably. The official reports of the Federals and the history brought out by the Warren trial 16 years later, amply sustains my opinion.
Meanwhile, my command has been brought up mounted and was in a narrow road among the thick pines. The important question for me to solve was, where should it be located? Fitzhugh Lee and Pickett had not yet turned up; they had not been found. It began to appear that the battle of Five Forks was about to be like the battle of Lutzen – – fought without a commander –, or rather with half a dozen. It seemed to me that my only hope was to occupy the woods, in the rear of my picket, the eighth Virginia Cavalry, which was now engaged in a fierce kind of skirmishing, and I moved in to take that position. My men dismounted and formed as they arrived, and the horses were sent. [Page 26 ends] back to the rear. All this time, Warren’s swarming, blue lines were plainly visible from the road, forming into line and preparing to assault Picketts’s left; marriage, dismounted cavalry was keeping up a sharp, continuous skirmish fire along the whole hour, infantry front, as if preparing to attack our right, and Custer’s mounted division was demonstrating. Now a small mounted force of federals made a quick – behind Colonel Maoz infantry skirmish one, gobbled up about 100 of them – out again creating a little flurry in our infantry front on 5 Forks Road. The Eighth Virginia cavalry, still holding the church road, and it’s intersection with the white oak road about a half mile east of Ransom was now skirmishing heavily with McKenzies [Mackenzie’s] horseman who had by this time, swept down the white oak road. And I was still with our orders!
As we had no breast works and as General Ransom’s brigade was refused it right angles to Pickett’s main line which faced south while Ransom faced east (see map) I had to take a position on Ransom’s left to avoid his front fire. The country was very broken into enable me to cover and support my picket regiment. I moved my division forward about 600 yards east to a little field, which was enclosed. Here my men went in dismounted. On the edge of the woods, skirting the field, they gathered some rails together and hastily put up “pens“cavalry fashion, as fast as the regimens could get into position. But before 2/3 of them were in the federals had moved upon us and their sharpshooters begin crowding us.
The air was now filled with the “sweet, mysterious, singing” and whining of rifle bullets. They seem to come, whistling and gurgling, from every direction, or humming like angry, bees ere they struck [page 27 ends] in among the pines… Suddenly two full divisions of Warren corps, Crawford and Ayres, debouched upon the White Oak road. They were in magnificent array, exposing a full front of probably 1000 yards long – – as tempting a target, as ever stood before a soldier’s guns. It was a sight never to be forgotten by those who have the opportunity to salute it with a soldier’s greeting. My old veterans pulled their guns up to their faces, and every shot seemed to tell of the effect of our fire. The redoubtable Sheridan’s says, “The confusion and timidity on the part of the part of the fifth corps was very great; in fact, I began to have my doubts as to whether I was going to succeed. One skirmish line lay down; the firing was very slight; the line became confused and commenced firing straight in the air. “
General Ayres says: “As we entered the woods, I got a sharp full valley from out of the dense woods to my left, raking my left, and indicating to me at once where the enemy was.“ (By a blunder of the federal officers engineer) Ayres came out, a full half mile east of the angle he had been ordered to attack) That was Ransom’s refused brigade peppering him in good earnest, while we were paying our compliments to Crawford’s division.
Perceiving that we were in the woods in front of him, Crawford moved straight,at us, while Ayres wheeled to his left and went at Ransom. The battle was on in deadly earnest now. I had about 1200 carbines, although all of them did not at any time get into line, and they were popping merrily. And there, right in front of us, with 12,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry, where was in less than 200 yards! It was indeed a glorious target. [page 28 ends]
But what could we do? A handful to a houseful? We could do nothing but shoot and run. At their first fire their smoke enveloped them completely and as soon as it drifted so that we could see them advancing again we poured into them the soldier salute of death – then turned and scooted through the woods like a flock of wild turkeys. Away in the distance, through the trees, we could see now, McKenzies mounted horseman, with their fluttering colors, and their gleaming sabers; the yellow facings upon the blue coats burned to gold by the rays of the descending sun. They looked like some story legion of the bright “avenging cavalry“ but they took it out in looks. Crawford’s extended right movement had thrown them out of the battle, and they could not harm us.