Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 37.djvu/182

174 already crossed the White Oak road, the direct line of communication between the two places, and Humphreys (see his report) had sent Miles' division around on that road to confront the forces at Burgess' Mill, Anderson made a circuit around Miles and Warren, reached the neighborhood after Fitz Lee and Pickett had been routed, and without affording any assistance whatever, added those brigades to the routed and disorganized, and left the right wing of Lee's army with almost no infantry and without any cavalry.

After the very successful operations of this day, in which Warren had played so important and conspicuous a part, and his corps had done the work, that evening he received the following orders:

Fields Orders, No.. Cavalry Headquarters, April 1, 1865. Major-General Warren, commanding Fifth Corps, is relieved from duty and will report at once for orders to Lieutenant-General Grant, commanding armies of the United States. By command of Major-General Sheridan.

Brevet Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff.

Warren at once reported to Grant and was assigned to the command of the Department of Mississippi, where there was no army and where righting had long since ceased. In his report Sheridan gives as his reason for relieving Warren his want of promptness in executing his orders, and Warren in his report claims that as far as practicable he was prompt in executing them.

After the rout of the right wing of Lee's army, it appeared possible to destroy or capture the whole of Lee's army before it could move from position, and with that in view, Grant ordered that as early as possible on the morning of the 2d, assaults should be made along the whole line by Parke, from the Appomattox