The first stop is actually a series of stops that traces the route of Confederate Generals Longstreet and Gordon from after the battle at Cumberland Church to the area where the Confederate rear guard was established at New Hope Church.
After the fighting at Cumberland Church came to a close on the evening of April 7, 1865, General Lee once again ordered a night march. Two routes were chosen for the Confederate army to continue its westward retreat. Longstreet, commanding the combined I and III Corps would leave via the Piedmont Coal Mine Road (modern-day Route 600) marching directly north 5 miles to the Buckingham or Maysville Plank Road (modern-day Route 633). Here they turned west and proceeded through Curdsville. Longstreet continued west before heading south toward the New Store Presbyterian Church (230 New Store Road).
The closest modern-day route might be west on the Old Curdsville Road (Buckingham Plank Road), then left on Buckingham Springs Road, and left on New Store Road (Route 609) past the church. The latter road intersects with Route 636. The route Longstreet took after the Old Curdsville Road was known to go past the Clay and Hooper Farms and intersected the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road (Route 636) east of New Store near the New Store Presbyterian Church. A map of the route is shown below.
The II Corps led by General John B. Gordon left Cumberland Church by the Lynchburg Wagon Road (modern-day Route 635) which ran parallel to the Piedmont Coal Mine Road. The road ran 2.5 miles before intersecting with the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road (modern-day Route 636). Gordon would turn west here and march toward New Store.
Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee would travel with Gordon. General Lee followed Longstreet’s route on the 8th passing through the village of Curdsville on the Buckingham Plank Road. Gordon had a shorter route to New Store and arrived there first on the 8th.
The artillery and wagon train had been ahead of the two columns with General R Lindsay Walker (chief of the III Corps Artillery) in command. Walker had been at New Store since 5:00 PM on the 7th. They left early on the morning of the 8th (broke camp at 1:00 AM, passed through Appomattox Court House at 10:00 AM, and went into camp two miles further southeast where the road forked to Lynchburg and Appomattox Station). The infantry followed around midday after a short rest arriving in the area of the Lee’s Rear Guard sign below (four miles from Appomattox Court House) shortly after dark. Longstreet’s troops would establish Lee’s rear guard here and begin digging in, while Lee and Gordon’s Corps continued further west toward Appomattox. Lee camped about a mile east of Appomattox Court House. The Federal II Corps under General David Humphreys was following along Gordon’s route.
The Union II Corps went into camp at New Store around 6:00 PM. Earlier that same day aound 9:00 AM four men from the II Corps were sent forward under a flag of truce to deliver a message from General Grant to General Lee. The men encountered the extreme Confederate rear guard pickets under Captain Frank Myers of White’s 35th VA Battalion. The Virginians did not see the flag of truce and fired on the four men, killing one and wounding the other three. This incident is thought to have occurred near the Buckingham-Cumberland County line east of Sheppards on modern-day Route 636, shown below.
The white flag and note were found on the body of the dead courier and were conveyed to General Lee after he had set up his headquarters that night near Appomattox Court House.