At the Battle of Five Forks, on April 1, 1865, Union General Sheridan's cavalry broke through and flanked the Confederate lines at Petersburg. This set the stage for the final attack. On the morning of April 2, Grant ordered all his troops south of the Appomattox River to charge the Confederate lines. The first success came at the same place where Sheridan had broken through the day before. Union General Horatio Wright's VI Corps quickly overran the Confederate pickets and began a brutal battle that lasted only 20 or 15 minutes. He lost some 2,200 Union solders during this short time period. But the larger numbers of the Union forces finally broke through the rebel line. Most of the Georgians and North Carolinans defending this section surrendered. The breakthrough by the VI Corps was the final straw for Confederate forces defending Petersburg. Lee wired Davis in Richmond that he had to evacuate both Petersburg and Richmond and retreat that night. This is also when Lee lost one of his best generals. Coming back from sick leave, riding to the front lines to rally his men, Lieutenant General A. P. Hill was killed by enemy gunfire.