April 8th, 1865 - The Battle of Appomattox

Conflict: American Civil War

Combatants: Confederates vs. Federals

Location: Virginia (USA)

Outcome: Federal victory

Here Confederate General Robert E. Lee made a last ditch effort to evade the Federal army and link his troops with those of General Joseph Johnston. Lee's plan was thwarted by the arrival of Federal reinforcements. Lee requested a cease fire and surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant the following day at the Appomattox Courthouse.

Lee Surrendering to Grant at Appomattox by Alonzo Chappel

Points of Interest:

• General Joseph Johnston surrendered his troops in North Carolina on April 18th.

• Finally, General Edmund Kirby-Smith surrendered his troops in Shreveport, LA on May 26th.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Bowman, John S. (Ed.) (1983). The Civil War Almanac. New York: World Almanac.

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Long, E.B & Long, Barbara (1971). The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865. New York: De Capo Press, Inc.