The National tribune., 1902-07-10
A NEW VERSION OF FIVE FORKS.
Gen. Thomas Mun;ord, Confederate Cavalry
Commander, says that shad Dinner Lost
the Battle.

Commander, says that Shad Dlnner Los'
| the Battle.
| Gen. Thomas Munford. G. $. A., who
commanded a division Mt the battle ol
Five Forks. and is an honorary member
of the 9th Mass. Regimental Association
at Reunion of the regiment at Marlboro
Mass. June p, gave new version of the
battle of Five Forks. He said in part:
The battle of Five Forks was the i'm
mediate cause of the disintegratiOn of the
| Confederacy.r 1t was the mortal wound
and when the vital spark of our camptircs
| went out, like our smoke our army van.
| ished forever.
1T is not always pleasant duty to beaI
witness to all we may have seen or known
| hut to hide the errors of the dead is not
always a virtue, and when it involves in
| Justice to the living or dead it becomes Il
crime.
Regarding the continued absence OF
Gen. Pickett at the battle III Five Forks,
Gen. I. l.. Rossmore said that he found
Gen. Pickett at Five Forks, and as the
country was too heavily wooded for opera
tions of cavalry, he asked Gen. Pickett S
permission to move back about a mile TO
the latter's rear on the other side OF
Hatcher's Run and remove saddles and
feed.
shad from the Nottoway River, and | in
vited Gen. Pickett to go back and lunch
with me. He promised to be with me in
an hour.
"'He and Fitz Lee came back to me.
While we were at lunch Gen. Pickett said,
"Couriers have come from the officers in
command of the pickets on the White Oak
and report the advance of the enemy
Some time was spent over the lunch,
Iuripp which firing hoard and we
concluded the enemy was not in much of II
hurry to find us at Five Forks.
"a courier sent to Five Forks came gal
lOping back and reported that the enemy
was all about us. Gen. Pickett then made
an effort to join his command. He came
riding back in a great hurry and called for
troops and guides and rode off, but | think
the troops were routed before we reached
them
MY AdjutantGeneral and my Inspec,
tor-General," said Gen. Munford, were
dispatched to Gen. Pickett and Gen. Fitz
Lee and my divisions were ordered up, but
Gen. Pickett and Gen. Fitz Lee had in the
meantime gone from their headquarters
and could not be found
Courier after courier was sent to find
and report to them, but could not locate
them. Meanwhile l went to Gen. Ran
som and appealed to him to let me have
his artillery, but he said it was Gen. Pick
etts formation, and he could not take the
responsibility of changing. and my request
was positively refused.
I'm the meantime the question grew,
where is Gen. Pickett, our commander?
And there was none to answer.
Precious hours were lost by the uneX-
planned and mystfyng absence of the
commanding officers.
Gen. Robert Il. Lee held as q reserve
four brigades of Anderson's troops, who
were not farther off than the distance that
Warren's Corps had marched to attack us.
Gen. Pickett was supposed to keep
Gen. Robert Il. Lee fully informed of the
enemys movements, and had he been in
formed by courier or telegraph four bril-
gades could have been hurled upon the
flank Of Warren's troop and their doom
would have been sealed, but Gen. Pickett
and Gen. FitZ Lee were busily engaged in
eating shad in quiet retreat.
Col. Joseph Oakes has testified that
when the Confederate forces got in line of
battle that morning, Gen. Pickett called
his brigade commanders together and
showed them map, and gave directions to
strengthen our position as best we could,
and then he rode off with Gen. F'itz Lee
down the road.
Late in the afternoon the firing of
musketry continuing on our left, where
supposed Gen. Ransom was, Gen. Stewart
sent for me and said he would send two
regiments to Ransom if l would send one.
told him did not like to take the re.
sponsibility, and asked where Gen. Pickett
was. He said he did not know and had
not seen him.
az moved down the Fork road with
part of my command Col. Mayo has said,
and had not gone 200 yards when met
Gen. Pickett, and he said:
Colonel, the enemy is in our rear,
and if we don't drive them out we are
done up"
Before I could get into line to obey
his order to file off to the right until my
left rested ON the road and then advance,
the troops on my right gave out. Gen.
Pickett. seeing it, said to me: I'VE can't
stay here; get out the best way you
Gen. Munford, when closing his address,
which greatly astonished his hearers be,
cause of the graphic picture he drew and
his repeated suggestions of gross negli-
gence upon the part Of Gen. Pickett, made
this declarations:
''The battle had been raging for hours,
and it was night when hostilities ceased.
The battle was fought on the Confederate
side without q commander"