Longstreet moves to, evacuates Farmville Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps, which had reached Rice's Station on the morning of April 6, had moved past Sailor's Creek because they were at the head of the march and missed the battle there. After the minor Battle of Rice's Station on April 6, in a night march, Longstreet's corps slipped away from Major General John Gibbon's XXIV Corps of Major General Edward Ord's Army of the James, which had approached the Confederate lines at Rice's Station during afternoon. Longstreet's corps stayed south of the river and headed west for Farmville during the night. Confederate cavalry had been covering Longstreet's march but after crossing Bush River, Longstreet placed Alfred M. Scales's brigade (under the command of Colonel Joseph H. Hyman) of Major General Cadmus Wilcox's division as the rear guard. Longstreet's troops began to arrive at Farmville, under close pursuit by Union Major General George Crook's cavalry division, at about 9:00 a.m.on April 7. Gibbon's XXIV Corps of Ord's Army of the James, reinforced by Brigadier General William Birney's second division of the XXV Corps, followed closely behind Crook's cavalry. Rations were promptly issued to Longstreet's men at Farmville but the soldiers were told to march to the north side of the river to begin their meal preparations. When Confederate Commissary General Isaac M. St. John heard gunfire just outside town, he sent the ration trains west on the South Side Railroad to Pamplin's Depot or Pamplin's Station in an effort to prevent their capture. Sheridan's cavalry got to Pamplin's Station first and captured 3 engines and the rolling stock with the supplies. The Confederate provost guard and their prisoners were sent down the road without rations. Some rations were passed out to troops on the march out of Farmville and the empty wagons from which they were distributed were burned. Longstreet had to move his forces quickly from Farmville to the Cumberland Church vicinity to avoid Union forces closing in the town. Second Battle of High Bridge Major General Andrew A. Humphreys began to march the II Corps west from the Sailor's Creek Battlefield at 5:30 a.m. on April 7. When the leading unit of the Second Division of the II Corps under the command of Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow reached High Bridge at about 7:00 a.m., they found that the Confederates had blown up the redoubt at the bridgehead on the