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| Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print | | Rice in Prince Edward County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic) |
Cavalry Battle at High Bridge
Union Opportunity Lost
— Lee’s Retreat —
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By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 1. Cavalry Battle at High Bridge Marker | | |
Inscription. Just northeast of here, on the afternoon of April 6, 1865, a Union detachment tried and failed to burn High Bridge – where the South Side Railroad crossed the Appomattox River – and restrict the Confederate retreat to the south side of the river. Gen. Theodore Read, leading the mixed infantry and cavalry group, sent his troopers under Col. Francis Washburn on a scout to the bridge. There they drove off a small Confederate guard but turned back when they heard firing behind them.
Gens. Thomas L. Rosser’s and Thomas T. Munford’s cavalry had attacked the Federal infantry. Washburn’s command charged into the fray, and in the vicious hand-to-hand fighting Washburn fell mortally wounded while Read was killed outright. Some of the Union infantrymen escaped to High Bridge but surrendered when the Confederate cavalry overwhelmed them.
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.
Location. 37° 16.517′ N, 78° 19.371′ W. Marker is in Rice, Virginia, in Prince Edward County. Marker is on Prince Edward Hwy (U.S. 460), on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Marker is located in a pulloff on Route 460. Marker is in this post office area: Rice VA 23966, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles | | | | 
By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 2. Markers on Lee’s Retreat | | Two markers for the Cavalry Battle at High Bridge on Lee’s Retreat are found at this location. | | |
of this marker, as the crow flies. Lee’s Retreat (here, next to this marker); High Bridge (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Lee’s Retreat (approx. 1.8 miles away); Rice’s Depot (approx. 1.8 miles away); a different marker also named Lee’s Retreat (approx. 4.3 miles away); Farmville (approx. 4.3 miles away); Lee's Retreat (approx. 4.7 miles away); Prince Edward County / Nottoway County (approx. 4.7 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Rice.
More about this marker. The bottom left of the marker features an 1865 photograph of High Bridge over the Appomattox River. The upper middle of the marker contains a painting of the “Charge of 4th Mass. Cavalry at High Bridge.” The right side of the marker is a battle map of the cavalry charge, along with portraits of Gen. Theodore Read, Col. Francis Washburn, Gen. Thomas Munford and Gen. James Dearing, who was, mortally wounded here and was the last Confederate general to die in the war.
Also see . . .
1. Lee's Retreat to Appomattox. Virginia Civil War Trails. (Submitted on September 27, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
2. Lee's Retreat. Virginia's Retreat guide. (Submitted on September 27, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
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By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2008 | |
| | | 3. Battle Map from Marker | | This map shows the troop movements during the Cavalry Battle and it's relation to the position of the marker. | | |
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| Credits. This page originally submitted on September 27, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 460 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. Submitted on September 27, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. | | Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print |
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