Corps." And he speaks of the fighting
of the cavalry and the captures thus:

"The cavalry in the rear of the enemy attacked simultaneously, and
the enemy, after a gallant resistance, were completely surrounded,
and nearly all threw down their arms and surrendered. General
Ewell, commanding the enemy's forces, a number of other general
officers, and about 10,000 other prisoners were taken by us. Most
of them fell into the hands of the cavalry, but they are no more
entitled to claim them than the Sixth Corps, to which equal credit
is due for the result of this engagement."

Our loss in killed and wounded was comparatively small; that of
the enemy was great, but not in proportion to his loss in prisoners.
One week after the battle I visited the field, and could then have
walked on Confederate dead for many successive rods along the face
of the heights held by the enemy when the battle opened.

The capture of Ewell and his generals, with the larger part of the
forces under them, and the dispersion of the remainder of Ewell's
wing of Lee's army were irreparable disasters to the Confederacy.
Lee could no longer hope to cope with the pursuing army. The Sixth
Corps had the distinguished honor of striking the decisive blows
at Petersburg on the 2d, and at Sailor's Creek on the 6th of April,
1865.

Sailor's Creek may fairly be called the last field battle of the
war. A distinguished Confederate General, Wade Hampton, in a
_Century Magazine_ article, pronounced the battle of Bentonville,
North Carolina, the "last important one of the war, . . . the last
general battle of the Civil War." There may be room for controversy
as to where and when the last "general battle" of the war was
fought. Certain it is that it was not at Bentonville that the
conflict ended on a large scale and blood ceased to flow in the
great Rebellion. Bentonville was mainly fought March 19, 1865,
and while it may properly be called a field engagement and of no
insignificant proportions, it was not the last one. This is not
the place to enter into any controversy about last battles, their
character and significance, yet it may not be out of place to call
attention to the most prominent battles, etc., fought after March
19, 1865.

Fort Stedman, in front of Petersburg, Virginia, was assaulted and
temporarily taken by the Confederate General Gordon, March 25,
1865, and while the fighting which ensued in retaking the fort and
in driving out the atta