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April 6, 1865 · Civil War

Battle of Sailor's Creek

21 Medals of Honor were earned in the Battle of Sailor's Creek (April 6, 1865). Result: Union victory.

21Medals of Honor
0posthumous
Union victoryresult
Date
April 6, 1865
Location
Amelia, Prince Edward, and Nottoway counties, Virginia
Result
Union victory
Part of
American Civil War

About the battle

The Battle of Sailor's Creek, also known as the Battle of Sayler's Creek, was fought on April 6, 1865, near Farmville, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, near the end of the American Civil War. It was the last major engagement between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Army of the Potomac, under the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. After abandoning Petersburg, the exhausted and starving Confederates headed west, hoping to re-supply at Danville or Lynchburg, before joining General Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina. But the stronger Union army kept pace with them, exploiting the rough terrain full of creeks and high bluffs, where the Confederates' long wagon trains were highly vulnerable.

From the Wikipedia article “Battle of Sailor's Creek”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.

Medal of Honor recipients (21)

Where it happened

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.