Overview
The Appomattox Campaign lasted from March 29 to April 9, 1865, and was the final campaign of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. General Ulysses S. Grant opened a Union spring offensive by sending General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry and General Gouverneur K. Warren’s 5th Corps against Lee’s right flank. Fighting at Lewis’s Farm, White Oak Road, and Dinwiddie Court House led to a major Union victory at Five Forks on April 1. The defeat threatened Lee’s remaining supply line.
Grant ordered a general assault on April 2. Union forces broke through the Confederate defenses during the Third Battle of Petersburg, forcing Lee to abandon Petersburg and Richmond. During the retreat, Union forces pursued Lee through several engagements. At Sailor’s Creek on April 6, Union troops cut off part of Lee’s army and forced nearly one-fourth of it to surrender.
General George A. Custer captured Confederate supplies and artillery at Appomattox Station on April 8. Lee attempted to escape the next morning, but Confederate troops encountered the Union 5th and 24th Corps. With Union forces closing in from several directions, Lee requested a meeting with Grant. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, ending the campaign and the Army of Northern Virginia’s participation in the war.
Essential Facts
- Date: March 29–April 9, 1865.
- Location: South-central Virginia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant, George G. Meade, Edward O. C. Ord, and Philip Sheridan.
- CSA Commanders: Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, John B. Gordon, A. P. Hill, Richard H. Anderson, Fitzhugh Lee, and Richard S. Ewell.
- Who Won: The United States won the Appomattox Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, 1865.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: About 10,780.
- Forces Engaged: Army of the Potomac, Army of the James, and Army of the Shenandoah.
- Troop Strength: About 114,335 soldiers.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: About 40,000 to 45,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or surrendered, including about 28,251 who surrendered at Appomattox Court House.
- Forces Engaged: Army of Northern Virginia.
- Troop Strength: About 40,000 to 45,000 soldiers.
Significance
The Appomattox Campaign is important to American History because it ended the participation of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. Union victories destroyed Lee’s supply routes, reduced his army, and prevented his escape from Virginia. Lee’s surrender eliminated the Confederacy’s most important field army from the conflict and prepared the way for the surrender of other Confederate forces. Although fighting continued elsewhere in the South, the Union victory made the final collapse of organized Confederate resistance increasingly likely and helped bring the Civil War to a close.
History
Grant in Charge of Federal Armies
On March 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States. Upon his arrival in Washington, Grant drafted a plan to get the various Union armies in the field to act in concert and strike the Confederacy from several directions: Grant would travel with Major General George Meade and his Army of the Potomac in pursuit of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the Richmond area; Major General William T. Sherman would march three Federal armies south from Chattanooga to capture Atlanta; and Major General Franz Sigel would invade Western Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to cut off supplies to Lee’s army and to prevent any Confederate attempts to attack Meade’s flank.
Stalemate at Petersburg
The Union Army of the Potomac relentlessly engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia throughout the spring of 1864. By June, Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area. Thereafter, both armies were entrenched, and a stalemate ensued for the next ten months. During that period, Grant probed Lee’s defenses, but to no avail. Despite being well-entrenched, the Confederate situation grew progressively worse as their supplies dwindled. By the spring of 1865, Lee knew that when the weather allowed, his army must escape the Union stranglehold to avoid being starved into submission.
Battle of Fort Stedman: Failed Confederate Breakout
On March 25, 1865, Lee made one final attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg by ordering forces commanded by Major General John B. Gordon to attack Fort Stedman, a Union fortification in the siege lines surrounding Petersburg. Gordon’s pre-dawn attack was successful initially, but blistering Union counterattacks forced the Confederates back inside their lines. Some historians consider the Battle of Fort Stedman as the end of the Petersburg Campaign. Others think of it as the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign.
The Appomattox Campaign Begins — the Union’s Spring Offensive
Many historians consider March 29, 1865, as the beginning of the Appomattox Campaign. On that date, Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army by ordering cavalry under the command of Major General Philip Sheridan (freshly returned from the Shenandoah Valley) and the 5th Corps under the command of Major General G.K. Warren to attempt to turn Lee’s right flank at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm. Two days later, the action resumed at the Battle of White Oak Road and the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House as Lee shored up his right wing to halt the federal Flanking maneuver. On April 1, Sheridan and Warren continued their offensive, with a major victory over Confederate forces under the command of Major General George Pickett at the Battle of Five Forks. Losing that strategic crossroad further threatened Lee’s already limited supply line.
“My God, Has the Army Dissolved?”
Encouraged by the Federal victory at Five Forks, Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate entrenchments the next day. The Union onslaught at the Third Battle of Petersburg forced Lee to abandon his entrenchments around Petersburg, which led to the fall of the Confederate Capital at Richmond. Three minor engagements took place during the next three days at Sutherland’s Station, Namozine Church, and Amelia Springs. On April 6, the Federals scored a major victory at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek. There, Sheridan and elements of the 2nd and 6th Corps cut off Lee’s retreat forcing the surrender of nearly one-fourth of the Confederate army. The battle led Lee to exclaim, “My God, has the army dissolved?” Minor engagements continued for the next three days at Rice’s Station (April 6), High Bridge (April 6-7), and Cumberland Church (April 7) as Grant continued his pursuit of Lee.
Grant Proposes a Cessation of Hostilities
On April 7, Grant started communications with Lee regarding the cessation of hostilities. Grant informed Lee that because he considered Lee’s situation to be hopeless, he felt it was his “duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.”
That night, Lee responded to Grant, disputing the Union general’s assessment regarding the “hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia.” Nevertheless, Lee inquired about “the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender.” The next morning, April 8, Grant generously replied, “…there is but one condition I would insist upon,—namely that the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged.” He once again invited Lee to meet with him to discuss the surrender of Lee’s army.
Custer’s Successes
As Lee was pondering Grant’s proposal, Major General George Custer and his cavalry seized a Confederate supply train at Appomattox Station, denying Lee’s army vital provisions. Custer also captured Lee’s lead artillery unit and secured the high ground west of Appomattox Court House, directly in Lee’s line of retreat. Although Lee’s situation had deteriorated during the day, that night he stated in his response to Grant’s morning proposal, “I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army. . .” Lee suggested that the two generals meet to discuss terms of peace between the North and South.
Desperate Escape Attempt
Early the next morning, Grant declined Lee’s request, noting that he “had not authority to treat on the subject of peace.” The same morning, April 9, Lee made a last desperate attempt to escape Grant’s enclosing forces. He ordered Gordon’s 2nd Corps to attack Sheridan’s Cavalry early in the morning to open an escape route for the Confederate army. Sheridan deployed the Union cavalry along the ridge that Custer had secured the day before. Gordon’s troops successfully penetrated the Federal cavalry and seized the ridge. To his dismay, however, Gordon discovered that on the other side of the ridge, he faced the entire Union 5th and 24th infantry corps, formed for battle. Gordon had no alternative but to withdraw. Meanwhile, to the north of Appomattox Court House, the Federal 2nd Corps was closing in on Major General James Longstreet and the 1st Corps.
End of the Appomattox Campaign — Lee Agrees to Meet with Grant
Realizing that his army was trapped, Lee contacted Grant to arrange a meeting “with reference to the surrender of this army.” Upon receiving Lee’s request, Grant dismounted his horse and wrote a note at 11:50 a.m. informing Lee that he would “push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you.”
Lee Surrenders at Appomattox Court House
Grant arranged for the meeting to take place that afternoon at the home of Wilmer McLean at Appomattox Court House. Lee arrived first, and Grant followed soon thereafter. By 4 o’clock, the two generals had negotiated the terms of surrender, and the Appomattox Campaign ended. On April 10, Lee delivered a farewell address to his army, and on April 12, the two sides formally concluded the surrender.
The Civil War Comes to a Close
Lee’s surrender did not end the Civil War, as is oftentimes erroneously reported. Hostilities continued in various parts of the South for several months.
The Confederate government met for the last time on May 5, 1865, before being dissolved.
Union troops captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis on May 10 in Richmond, Virginia.
Finally, on August 20, 1866, over one year later, President Andrew Johnson signed a Proclamation—Declaring that Peace, Order, Tranquillity [sic], and Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the United States of America.
Timeline
- 1864, March 12 — President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States.
- 1864, June — Grant forced Lee to retreat to the Richmond-Petersburg area.
- 1865, March 25 — Major General John B. Gordon attacked Fort Stedman in an unsuccessful attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg.
- 1865, March 29
- Grant opened his spring offensive against Lee’s army.
- Major General G.K. Warren’s 5th Corps defeated several Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Lewis’s Farm.
- 1865, March 31 — Union and Confederate forces fought at White Oak Road and Dinwiddie Court House.
- 1865, April 1 — Union forces defeated Major General George Pickett at Five Forks.
- 1865, April 2
- Grant ordered a general assault on the Confederate trenches around Petersburg.
- Federal troops broke through Confederate defenses during the Third Battle of Petersburg.
- Lee advised President Jefferson Davis to prepare to leave Richmond.
- 1865, April 6
- Union forces won a major victory at Sailor’s Creek and forced nearly one-fourth of Lee’s army to surrender.
- Union and Confederate forces fought at Rice’s Station.
- 1865, April 6–7 — Union and Confederate forces fought at High Bridge.
- 1865, April 7
- Union and Confederate forces fought at Cumberland Church.
- Grant asked Lee to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee refused.
- 1865, April 8 — Major General George A. Custer captured Confederate supplies and artillery at Appomattox Station.
- 1865, April 9
- Lee attempted to escape through Union lines at Appomattox Court House.
- Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant.
- 1865, April 10 — Lee issued a farewell address to his army.
- 1865, April 12 — Union and Confederate forces formally completed the surrender.
- 1865, May 5 — The Confederate government held its final meeting before dissolving.
- 1865, May 10 — Union troops captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
- 1866, August 20 — President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation declaring that peace and civil authority existed throughout the United States.
AP US History
Definition
Appomattox Campaign (1865) — The Appomattox Campaign was the final campaign of General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. The Union victory at Five Forks threatened Lee’s supply line, while the Third Battle of Petersburg forced him to abandon Petersburg and Richmond. Union forces captured nearly one-fourth of Lee’s army at Sailor’s Creek and seized vital supplies at Appomattox Station. Surrounded at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.
Alignment
The Appomattox Campaign is part of the following AP US History sections:
