150 years ago on this date, April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war. I will post information about this military history event from Wikipedia and other links.
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A painting of Ulysses S. Grant accepting Robert E. Lee's surrender at the McLean House in 1865. |
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | Confederate States (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ulysses S. Grant | Robert E. Lee | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
United States Army | Confederate Army | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
100,000 | 28,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
164 | ~500 killed and wounded 27,805 surrendered and paroled | ||||||
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen.Ulysses S. Grant. Lee, having abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after the ten-month Siege of Petersburg, retreated west, hoping to join his army with the Confederate forces in North Carolina. Union forces pursued and cut off the Confederate retreat at the village of Appomattox Court House. Lee launched an attack to break through the Union force to his front, assuming the Union force consisted entirely of cavalry. When he realized that the cavalry was backed up by two corps of Union infantry, he had no choice but to surrender.
The signing of the surrender documents occurred in the parlor of the house owned by Wilmer McLean on the afternoon of April 9. On April 12, a formal ceremony marked the disbandment of the Army of Northern Virginia and the parole of its officers and men, effectively ending the war in Virginia. This event triggered a series of surrenders across the south, signaling the end of the war.
Background
April 9
Battle
Surrender
Aftermath
In popular culture
Civil War commemorative stamps
OTHER LINKS: