sent three regiments of Bartlett's brigade which had been guarding wagons to Sheridan down the Boydton Plank Road. Pickett realized his position was untenable after he learned between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. that Bartlett's brigade was on its way to reinforce Sheridan, exposing his force to flanking Union infantry attack. So Pickett withdrew to Five Forks later that night, ceding any advantage his attack on Sheridan might have gained. Bartlett's brigade was only the lead unit for all of Griffin's and Crawford's divisions which were put on the march later that night and would have trapped Pickett's force between them and Sheridan's troops. This would have given the Confederate force no apparent alternatives other than surrender or flight to the west. Pickett's retreat at least gave him an opportunity to defend Five Forks and the Southside Railroad. Additional orders and messages passed among Warren, Grant, Meade and Sheridan that night although the full information was shared by none. At 8:45 p.m., Grant directed Meade to send a division from the V Corps to Sheridan's aid. Orders were changed, including whether Bartlett should be recalled to join with the rest of Griffin's division. Warren's corps was without pontoons because they had been used at Rowanty Creek and the Quaker Road crossing of Gravelly Run so that when his entire corps had to move west it was delayed by the need to bridge the Boydton Plank Road crossing of Gravelly Run, which Warren was advised was completed at 2:05 a.m. Meade did not tell Grant that the plan to move Warren's entire corps to Sheridan's aid and to cover the Boydton Plank Road line with only the II Corps was Warren's idea. When Grant notified Sheridan that the V Corps and Ranald Mackenzie's cavalry had been ordered to his support, he gratuitously and without any basis said that Warren should reach him "by 12 tonight," an impossibility under the circumstances. Ayres's division arrived at Sheridan's position at dawn. The Confederates had retreated so Ayres's men rested until 2:00 p.m. Sheridan had received wrong information so he thought the V Corps was in the rear and almost on the flank of the Confederates and therefore he mistakenly thought V Corps could launch an early, severe attack on Pickett's force. Warren had to carefully move Griffin's and Crawford's divisions because of the possibility of attack from the Confederates as they withdrew from the