After the Battle of Cumberland Church on April 7, Lee's army made a third consecutive night march in an effort to stay ahead of the Union forces.

Custer's men soon discovered the source of the firing about 2 miles (3.2 km) away and attacked Walker's artillery park near the Lynchburg stage road.

After capturing the supply trains, the Union cavalry attacked the Confederate artillery batteries and their supporting dismounted cavalrymen, armed artillerymen and engineers and infantry stragglers.

After their breakthrough, Custer's men followed the fleeing Confederates in a running battle to the Lynchburg stage road, on which the Union troopers seized an important foothold.

Sheridan advised Union General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant of the favorable outcome of his raid at the station and fight at the artillery park.

[11] On April 4, 1865, the opposing forces skirmished at Beaver Pond Creek or Tabernacle Church[notes 5] and at Amelia Court House.

[16] Lee expected to find a supply train of rations that he had ordered brought to Amelia Court House to meet the army at that location.

He delayed a day to allow his men to forage in the area but he also could not move without leaving part of his army behind as all the troops did not reach Amelia Court House until the next morning.

[21] About 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Paineville, Davies found and attacked a wagon train that had left Richmond with provisions for Lee's army, including food, ammunition and headquarters baggage, which was guarded by Brigadier General Martin Gary's cavalry brigade.

[24][25] Starting to move his army toward Jetersville at 1:00 p.m., with Lieutenant General James Longstreet's First Corps in the lead, Lee discovered that his route to Danville was blocked by fast-moving Union cavalry.

[29] Before dawn on April 6, Ord sent his headquarters cavalry, composed of 80 men of the 4th Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers under Colonel Francis Washburn and two small infantry regiments under the overall command of Colonel (Brevet Brigadier General) Theodore Read of his staff to burn the bridges if they were not too well guarded.

[notes 6][29][30][31] Later learning that at least part of Lee's army was at Rice's Station near High Bridge, Ord tried unsuccessfully to warn Read that he likely would face a much larger force if he continued.

[35] As night approached, Humphreys's corps destroyed many wagons, took 13 flags and 3 guns and reported taking 1,700 prisoners as the rest of Gordon's disorganized men headed for High Bridge.

Custer's division found a gap in the Confederate line of march caused by Longstreet moving ahead of the slower wagon train and Anderson's trailing corps.

[32] Having suffered 66 casualties, Ord called off the attack as darkness approached, apparently worried that the entire Confederate Army was present and that he should wait for reinforcements.

[42] Confederate Major General William Mahone's division of Longstreet's corps had been stationed near Sailor's Creek about nightfall to cover the withdrawal of the survivors of the battle there.

[50] By the afternoon of April 7, Mahone and Gordon had entrenched on high ground at Cumberland Church and soon were joined by the remainder of the Confederate Army.

[52] The Confederates had now put themselves in a position where they were 8 miles (13 km) further from their next possible supply point at Appomattox Station than were the Union troops at Farmville and they also had been delayed by the battle at Cumberland Church.

[58][59] Confederate Brigadier General Lindsay Walker's Third Corps reserve artillery train was the first unit to leave the Cumberland Church area at 1:00 a.m. on April 8.

[61][63] After the Battle of Sailor's Creek, Grant decided that he had to guard against a Confederate effort to escape to Danville by moving to the south toward Keysville, Virginia.

[87] According to Major Henry Edwin Tremain, the two Union regiments had to hold off a larger force of Confederate cavalry until nearly dark when the main body of Custer's division arrived to reinforce them.

[61][notes 16] A small infantry unit, mostly armed artillerymen, and the 500-man cavalry detachment of Brigadier General Martin Gary's command guarded the wagon park.

[61][80] Custer's entire First Brigade under Colonel Pennington then came forward behind a large group of skirmishers and continued the uncoordinated attack started by his lead regiments.

[92] When Colonel (Brevet Brigadier General) William Wells's Second Brigade arrived, Custer continued the attack as dark came on, even though thick woods sheltered the Confederate position.

[104][notes 19] Custer then ordered the artillery and valuable contents captured from the wagon train to be sent south of the railroad station while the rest of his men established a line to block the road where they had been halted.

[100] Devin's troops relieved Custer's men along the road, where they set up defensive lines facing Appomattox Court House and Lynchburg.

[notes 20][4] Root's men caused some havoc along the line of retreating artillery, gunners, wagons and stragglers as they rode into the small town.

[109] Historian William Marvel states that Root had ridden through the town with some daring troopers behind him when a few curious disorganized stragglers fired into the approaching horsemen.

[114] Lee and his principal subordinates knew that the sound of gunfire from the direction of Appomattox Station on April 8 meant that Union cavalry were ahead of them.

[120] When Brigadier General Charles Griffin's V Corps arrived behind Ord's force, they camped with empty haversacks, too far back on the road to benefit from the provisions captured at Appomattox Station.