aware that sherman's army moving through north carolina might combine with grant's army at petersburg if general joseph e. johnston's army could not stop sherman, and that lee's own declining army could not hold the richmond and petersburg defenses much longer, in march 1865, general lee accepted a plan by major general john brown gordon to launch an attack on union fort stedman. the objective would be to break the union lines east of petersburg, or at least to compel the union forces to shorten their lines by gaining ground in a substantial attack. this was supposed to permit lee to shorten the confederate lines and send a substantial force to help johnston, or if necessary to give the confederates a head start in evacuating richmond and petersburg and combining lee's entire force with johnston's dwindling army.