In his on-going attempt to turn Robert E. Lee’s right flank, Ulysses S. Grant maneuvered troops of Gouverneur K. Warren’s 5th Corps towards Hatcher’s Run and White Oak Road.  White Oak Road served as a connecting line between the vital intersection of Five Forks and the Boydton Plank Road.  Failure to defend this road could potentially sever the Confederate line in two and cripple, further, Lee’s lines of supply and communication.  With that in mind, Lee sent troops to his extreme right to meet this Federal push.

Those troops involved the divisions of George Pickett, Bushrod Johnson, and other elements from A. P. Hill’s 3rd Corps.  On March 31, Warren’s men left their hastily dug works overlooking the Confederate position but reeled from a sudden surprise attack from an ad hoc division under the command of Major General Bushrod Johnson.  This unexpected attack from 8,000 rebels, caused two divisions, Ayers’ and Crawford’s, to fall back in confusion.  Despite the initial success, Johnson’s successful Confederates lost their momentum, unable to follow up the attack with no available reserves.

The Federal line stabilized, and with Griffin’s fresh division able to advance on Johnson’s lines, caused the Confederates to fall back to their initial starting point, suffering approximately 800 in killed, wounded, and missing.  Federal casualties amounted to nearly 2,000.  With the lines stable, and the Federals dug in astride the White Oak Road, Lee’s right flank fell into a precarious position.  The Confederate troops at Five Fork found themselves cut off from the rest of Lee’s lines and any potential reinforcements.  Grant finally turned Lee’s right flank.