FINE FORKS AND THE PURSUIT OF LEE.

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North, who were then naturally restless and apt tobecome discouraged, might not look upon a tempo-rary check as an entire defeat of a definite plan,—and that what I really expected was that he wouldremain with the armies operating against Lee, and• end matters right here. This made him happy, andhe has started out perfectly confident of the suc-cess of the present movement.” Beferring to Mr.Lincoln, he said: “ The President is one of thefew visitors I have had who has not attempted toextract from me a knowledge of my plans. He not

James, Parke and Wright holding our works infront of Petersburg, Ord extending to the intersec-tion of Hatcher’s Bun and the Vaughan road, Hum-phreys stretching beyond Dabney’s Mill, Warren onthe extreme left reaching as far as the junction ofthe Vaughan road and the Boydton plank-road, andSheridan at Dinwiddie Court House. The weatherhad become cloudy, and toward evening rain beganto fall. It fell in torrents during the night andcontinued with but little interruption all the nextday. The country was densely wooded, and the

UNION ARTILLERY AT PETERSBURG PROTECTED BY MAXTELETS. 1'EOM A WAR-TIME SKETCH.

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only never asked them, but says it is better heshould not know them, and then he can be certainto keep the secret. He will be the most anxiousman in the country to hear the news from us, hisheart is so wrapped up in our success, but I think wecan send him some good news in a day or two.” Inever knew the general to be more sanguine ofvictory than in starting out on this campaign.

When we reached the end of the railroad wemounted our horses, which had been carried on thesame train, started down the Vaughan road, andwent into camp for the night in a field just southof that road, close to Gravelly Bun. That night(March 29th) the army was disposed in the follow-ing order from right to left: Weitzel in front ofRichmond, with a portion of the Army of the

^ In his “Memoirs” (C. T,. Webster & Co.) GeneralSheridan says that after the troops began to move he re-ceived the following letter from General Grant, where-upon he started at once for Grant’s headquarters:

“ ‘ HEADQUARTERS. ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES ,Gravelly Run, March 30tli, 1865.

“‘Major-General Sheridan: The heavy rain of to-daywill make it impossible for us to do much until it drie9 up alittle, or we get roads around our rear repaired. You may,

ground swampy, and by evening of the 30thwhole fields had become beds of quicksand inwhich horses sank to their bellies, wagons threat-ened to disappear altogether, and it seemed as ifthe bottom had fallen out of the roads. The menbegan to feel that if any one in after years shouldask them whether they had been through Virginia ,they could say, “ Yes, in a number of places.” Theroads had become sheets of water; and it lookedas if the saving of that army would require theservices, not of a Grant, but of a Noah. Soldierswould call out to officers as they rode along: “Isay, when are the gun-boats coming up ? 77 Thebuoyancy of the day before was giving place togloom, and some began to fear that the wholemovement was premature .}

therefore, leave what cavalry you deem necessary to protectthe left, and hold such positions as you deem necessary forthat purpose, and send the remainder hack to Humphreys’sStation [on the military railroad], where they can get hay andgrain. Fifty wagons loaded with forage will he sent you in themorning. Send an officer hack to direct the wagons back towhere you want them. Report to me the cavalry you willleave hack, and the position you will occupy. Could notyour cavalry go hack by the way of Stones'- Creek depot anddestroy or capture the store of supplies there 1 ? — U. S. GkantL ieutenant-General.’ ” Editors.