Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-2018

Department 1

History

Department 2

Civil War Institute

Abstract

While Confederate major general George E. Pickett was finishing his plate of fried fish at a shad bake, Union major general Philip H. Sheridan was devouring Pickett's command at Five Forks. The sounds of the Federal assault were supposedly silenced by abnormal atmospheric conditions called an acoustic shadow. Pickett and his luncheon companions -- Maj. Gen. Thomas Rosser and Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee -- heard nothing over the sounds of conviviality, but the sudden appearance of the courier alerted the dining party to an alarming reality. This solider claimed that he was nearly shot out of his saddle by Federal soldiers who were sweeping the Confederate infantry. Plates and cups must have dropped to the ground when he pointed to the enemy skirmishers advancing just a few hundred yards away. It was abundantly clear to every person at the shad bake, whether the man had imbibed or not, that the enemy was on the verge of enveloping Pickett's entire command. [excerpt]

Comments

From PETERSBURG TO APPOMATTOX: THE END OF THE WAR IN VIRGINIA by Caroline E. Janney. Copyright © 2018 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.org

DOI

978-1-4696-4076-1

ISBN/ISSN

978-1-4696-4076-1

Version

Version of Record

Required Publisher's Statement

The full text is available for purchase on the publisher's website: https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469640761/petersburg-to-appomattox/

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