Many of the Confederate troops were garrison troops from Richmond

One of the three minor Confederate troops fighting at the Battles of Sailor's Creek was led by Gen. Richard Ewell and was made up mostly of soldiers who had served much of their time guarding Richmond, the Confederate capital.

The heavy artillery regiments commanded by Gen. Stapleton Crutchfield stand out among them. These soldiers had received training to handle the heavy weapons in Richmond's forts as well as to carry rifles and engage in infantry combat. On April 6, 1865, these garrison men engaged the Federals despite their relative inexperience. They did so with amazing valor. In total, the II Corps took 1,700 prisoners, 4 cannons, and 13 flags. Humphreys wrote that his corps suffered 311 killed and wounded and that the Confederate losses probably exceeded his corps' loss