Rice's Station

On April 6, 1865, while the larger clash at Sailor's Creek unfolded, a smaller fight broke out at Rice's Station as part of the wider Appomattox Campaign. Confederate forces under Lieutenant General James Longstreet arrived there in the predawn hours, reaching the South Side Railroad at the Virginia village now called Rice. Since his corps led the westward march from Amelia Springs, Longstreet's men found themselves waiting for the rest of Lee's army to catch up, a body of troops largely held back by the fighting at Sailor's Creek.

The previous night, Major General John Gibbon's XXIV Corps, part of Major General Edward Ord's Army of the James, had taken control of Burkeville Junction southeast of Rice's Station, a spot where the South Side and Richmond and Danville rail lines crossed. Upon reaching Rice's Station, Longstreet discovered that Ord's men held that junction. He responded by having his troops entrench along the rail lines and the roads leading in from Burkeville, anticipating a possible push by the XXIV Corps.

By the following morning, word had reached Ord and Gibbon that Lee's army was moving, prompting them to advance carefully along the railroad. This brought them within sight of Longstreet's soldiers, who were busy fortifying their position near Rice's Station. Gibbon's skirmish line gradually organized itself for an assault, leading to a brief clash with the dug in Confederates. Yet as evening drew near, Ord chose to hold off, uncertain of how large the opposing force truly was, and decided instead to await the arrival of Sheridan and Meade from the rear.

By nightfall the Union troops had settled into camp, having sustained 66 casualties in the encounter. The losses on the Confederate side were never clearly recorded.

Given the proximity of Union forces following the crushing setback at Sailor's Creek, Lee directed Longstreet to pull back once night fell. His command then made its way toward Farmville, Virginia, where supplies of food awaited them.