The Battle of Lewis's Farm (also known as Quaker Road, Military Road, or Gravelly Road) was fought on March 29, 1865, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Dinwiddie County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 28,001. Its county seat is Dinwiddie.- History :...

, during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It was the opening of the Appomattox Campaign

Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...

, in which Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

's army was dislodged from their besieged

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

 lines around Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

, and began a retreat that would lead them to surrender at Appomattox Court House

Appomattox Court House

The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...

.

Battle

On March 29, 1865, in the opening moves of Lt. Gen.

Lieutenant General (United States)

In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...

 Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

's spring offensive, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan

Philip Sheridan

Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...

 marched with the army's cavalry followed by the V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...

 toward Dinwiddie Court House, to turn the right flank of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Petersburg defenses. The Union V Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur K. Warren

Gouverneur Kemble Warren was a civil engineer and prominent general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...

 crossed Rowanty Creek, moved up Quaker Road towards the Boydton Plank Road intersection, and encountered Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson

Bushrod Johnson

Bushrod Rust Johnson was a teacher, university chancellor, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was one of a handful of Confederate generals who were born and raised in the North.-Early life:...

's Confederate brigades. A sharp firefight forced the Confederates back to their entrenchments on the White Oak Road.

The brigade of Brig. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain

Joshua Chamberlain

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , born as Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army...

 was conspicuous in the engagement, leading the main advance. Lt. Gen. Richard H. Anderson

Richard H. Anderson

Richard Heron Anderson was a career U.S. Army officer, fighting with distinction in the Mexican-American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, fighting in the Eastern Theater of the conflict and most notably during the 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House...

 ordered two brigades that had dug in to move forward to intercept Chamberlain, who, although wounded, rallied his troops with the help of a four-gun battery. Reinforced, Chamberlain counterattacked and captured the enemy's earthworks.

Colonel Alfred L. Pearson

Alfred L. Pearson

Alfred L. Pearson was a lawyer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Lewis's Farm.-Biography:...

 in command of the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry

155th Pennsylvania Infantry

The 155th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a Federal infantry regiment that served in the American Civil War in the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater....

, also known as "Pearson's Zouave

Zouave

Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, especially volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War...

s", would belatedly receive the Congressional Medal of Honor 32 years after the battle of Lewis's Farm. His citation reads:

"At Lewis' Farm, Va., 29 March 1865, Seeing a brigade forced back by the enemy, he seized his regimental color, called on his men to follow him, and advanced upon the enemy under a severe fire. The whole brigade took up the advance, the lost ground was regained, and the enemy was repulsed. Date of issue: 17 September 1897."

External links

• Maps of the Battle of Lewis's Farm (Quaker Road)