DK - The American Civil War

n the eve of Robert E. Lee’s surrender of his army on April 9,

1865, large areas of the southeastern United States were still

nominally in Confederate hands. In reality, the situation was in flux,

and none of the developments favored the Southern cause.

With the fall of Richmond six days before Lee’s surrender, the

Confederate government had lost its capital, and President Jefferson

Davis had become a fugitive, dependent on those railroads still

operated by the Confederacy to stay out of Federal hands. Eleven

days before that, Union general William T. Sherman, advancing

northward from Savannah through the Carolinas, had successfully

rendezvoused at Goldsboro with another Federal force, under John

M. Schofield, which was moving inland from the port of Wilmington.

The remaining Confederate forces in the area were no match for the

combined strength of Sherman and Schofield.

O

COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY

Riding to Appomattox

Robert E. Lee, Confederate

commander-in-chief, rides to

the village of Appomattox

Court House on April 9, 1865,

to arrange terms of surrender

with his Union counterpart,

Ulysses S. Grant.

Richmond burning

Before the Confederate

leaders evacuate their

capital, Richmond, on

April 2, 1865, they give

orders for key installations

to be put to the torch.

The conflagration spreads,

burning through the night.

EASTERN THEATER

Sayler’s Creek

Confederate troops

surrender after clashing

with Union forces at

Sayler’s Creek, southwest

of Petersburg, on April 6,

1865. Robert E. Lee’s eldest
      son is among some 6,000
      men taken prisoner.

States of the Union

Territory gained by the Union

Confederate states

Disputed territory

TERRITORY GAINED BY APRIL 10, 1865

Ma

tta

po

ni

Riv

James er

Rive

r

Rapp

aha

nn

oc

k (^) R
ive
r
Po
to
ma
c (^) R
ive
r
Appo
mat
Rivertox
Sh
en
an
do
ah^ Riv
er
C
h
e
sa
p
e
a
k
e
B
ay
A
T
L
A
N
T
I
C
O
C
E
A
N
A
p
p
a
la
ch
ia
n
M
o
u
n
ta
in
s
NORTH CAROLINA
Cape Charles
Cape Henry
York River
Delaware
Bay
WEST
VIRGINIA
NEW
JERSEY
DELAWARE
MARYLAND
PENNSYLVANIA
VIRGINIA
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Hampton
Portsmouth
Roanoke
Gettysburg
Charlottesville
Petersburg
Harrisonburg
Fredericksburg
Lynchburg
Harpers Ferry
Centreville
Winchester
Spotsylvania
Appomattox Cold Harbor
Court House
Five Forks
Farmville
Baltimore
Richmond
Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, D.C.
R o c k y M o u n t a i
n
s
(^) Sn
ake River
(^) Col
orado River
P A C I F I C O C E A N
San Francisco
Santa Fe
Sacramento
Portland
Virginia
City
Salt Lake City
CALIFORNIA
OREGON
COLORADO
TERRITORY
WASHINGTON
TERRITORY
UTAH
TERRITORY
NEW MEXICO
TERRITORY
NEVADA
IDAHO
TERRITORY
ARIZONA
TERRITORY
MONTANA
TERRITORY
CANADA
MEXICO