Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on the 1st of April, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks in Dinwiddie County. It took place near the conclusion of the Siege of Petersburg and the broader American Civil War.
Five Forks was the key junction controlling access to the South Side Railroad, the last major Confederate supply line and evacuation route from Petersburg and Richmond. Losing Five Forks meant Lee could no longer defend Petersburg or Richmond, forcing him to abandon both cities and begin his final retreat.
Major General Philip Sheridan commanded the Union forces, which included the cavalry and the V Corps infantry under Major General Gouverneur K. Warren. The Confederate force was commanded by Major General George Pickett, with cavalry under Major General Fitzhugh Lee.
The Union force inflicted over 1,000 casualties on the Confederates and took up to 4,000 prisoners. Sheridan's forces also captured eight Confederate battle flags. Union losses included Colonel Frederick Winthrop, who was mortally wounded, and Colonel Richard N. Bowerman, who was severely wounded.
Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee had accepted an invitation to a shad bake lunch hosted by Major General Thomas L. Rosser about 1.25 miles behind the front line. Due to an acoustic shadow created by thick pine forest and heavy atmosphere, they could not hear the sounds of battle when the Union assault began, and couriers sent to find them could not locate them.
Sheridan relieved Warren of command of the V Corps after the battle, largely due to private enmity and disputes over the pace of Warren's movements during the campaign. At the Warren Court of Inquiry in 1880, testimony revealed that Warren had faced a wrecked bridge at Gravelly Run, an impossible timeline, and faulty intelligence about the Confederate line that sent two of his three divisions past the end of the Confederate position.