Sayler's Creek Battlefield
Sayler's Creek Battlefield, near Farmville, Virginia, was the site of the Battle of Sayler's Creek of the American Civil War. Confederate general Robert E. Lee's army was retreating from the Richmond to the Petersburg line. Here, on April 6, 1865, Union general Philip Sheridan cut off and beat back about a quarter of Lee's depleted army. Eight Confederate generals surrendered, and 7,700 men were lost. Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee, eldest son of Robert E. Lee, was forcibly captured on the battlefield by Private David Dunnels White of the 37th Massachusetts Regiment. The battle was the last major engagement of the war in Virginia; Lee's surrender at Appomattox occurred three days later. A portion of the landmarked battlefield area is included in Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historical State Park. The Civil War Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 885 acres (3.58 km2) of the battlefield in five transactions since 1996.
View from Ewell's right across Sayler's Creek (Hillsman House in background), 1936 NPS photo
Hillsman House, at Sayler's Creek Battlefield, in 1936, before house was restored
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,473 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County.
Downtown Farmville in June 2017.
High Bridge Photo by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, 1865
Robert Russa Moton High School, Farmville, VA
Vince Gilligan