Near Dinwiddie in Dinwiddie County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

"While dashing forward..."

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, November 28, 2025

1. "While dashing forward..." Marker

Inscription. "While dashing forward I did not mind it, but when I found myself away in front & no one following me, I dropped behind a big pine. Never did I hug the ground closer; the musketry was deadly & terrific, yet it seemed as nothing to the grape & canister that swept thro' the woods, just skimming the ground."
Roger Hannaford, Company M, 2nd Ohio Cavalry

"We again moved forward, firing slowly from behind the trees, until we were near the road on the opposite side of which their works lay. I had a good position now behind two trees that grew so close together it left just room for my carbine to slip through."
Elbert M. Johnson, Company E, 2nd New York "Harris light" Cavalry

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 1, 1865.

Location. 37° 8.225′ N, 77° 37.402′ W. Marker is near Dinwiddie, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County. It can be reached from Courthouse Road (Virginia Route 627) half a mile south of White Oak Road ( Route 613), on the left when traveling north. Marker is in the

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Five Forks Unit of the Petersburg National Battlefield, on the Devin Trail between the visitor center and the Five Forks Intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9840 Courthouse Road, Dinwiddie VA 23841, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: "We had moved up to the edge of the timber..." (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Battle of Five Forks (about 800 feet away); Five Forks Battlefield (approx. 0.2 miles away); "The woods were quite heavy..." (approx. 0.2 miles away); Death of Pegram (approx. 0.2

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, November 28, 2025

2. "While dashing forward..." Marker

View from the park's Devin Trail, facing west towards Wheelers Pond Road. The forked tree beyond the marker enables the reader to envision Johnson's relayed experience of poking his carbine through narrow tree cover.

miles away); "Hold Five Forks at all hazards…" (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named The Battle of Five Forks (approx. 0.2 miles away); "Advanced…repulsed…charged again…" (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dinwiddie.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Digging In (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Credits. This page was last revised on January 12, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 9, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 69 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 9, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.