Skirmish at Appomattox Court House
Union soldiers in front of the Appomattox CH courthouse
| date | April 9, 1865 |
|---|---|
| place | Appomattox County , Virginia , USA |
| output | Union victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| losses | |
|
260
|
440 (27,805 capitulated)
|
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Lewis' Farm - White Oak Road - Dinwiddie Court House - Five Forks - Petersburg III - Sutherland Station - Namozine Church - Amelia Springs - Saylor's Creek - Rice's Station - Cumberland Church - High Bridge - Appomattox Station - Appomattox Court House
The battle at Appomattox Court House was the final military action by the Northern Virginia Army under General Robert E. Lee before the latter surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant . This surrender is considered the nominal end of the Civil War .
background
On April 1, 1865, the cavalry included Major General Philip Sheridan's General Lee's flank in the Battle of Five Forks . The next day, Lieutenant General Grant attacked with all armies on both sides of Richmond and Petersburg and ended the siege of Petersburg . Lee was forced to withdraw his troops from Petersburg and Richmond and marched west to Appomattox Station, where a supply train was waiting for him. He hoped to be able to unite further south with the Tennessee Army under Joseph E. Johnston . On April 8, 1865 captured or destroyed there, however, the cavalry division under Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer three supply trains.
The way to Appomattox
Lee hoped to break through this cavalry division before the Union succeeded in reinforcing it with infantry . That hope prompted him to send a message to Grant saying that he had no plans to surrender but was still willing to negotiate with him. Grant stated: “ It looks as if Lee still means to fight. [It looks like Lee still wants to fight.] "
"The last fight"
In the twilight of April 9th, the Second Corps of the Northern Virginia Army under Lieutenant General Gordon Sheridan's cavalry divisions attacked and breached their first line. The Confederate cavalry under Major General Fitzhugh Lee , meanwhile, embraced the Union's flank. The next line of Union cavalry , formed by Ranald Slidell MacKenzie's and George Crook's divisions , had to evade. Gordon's forces dashed through the Union lines and took a ridge of hills. From the top of the hill, they could see that XXIV and V Corps of James Army were deploying. The corps had marched 48 km in 21 hours under Major General Edward Otho Cresap Ord to support the cavalry . The Fitzhugh Lees Cavalry Division dodged in the direction of Lynchburg. The Union infantry attacked Gordon, while the II. And VI. Corps of the Potomac Army in the northwest against the Confederate infantry under Lt. General James Longstreet . Lee stated: " ... there is nothing left, but to go and see General Grant, and I had rather die a thousand deaths (for example: ... there is nothing left than to meet General Grant, but I would rather die a thousand deaths )" .
Many of Lee's officers, including Longstreet, agreed that surrender was the only way now. The commander of Lee's artillery , Edward Porter Alexander , said, however, that if Lee surrendered, this would result in a surrender of all Confederate armies (" every other Confederate army will follow suit (eg: every other Confederate army will do the same )"). At 8:00 am, Lee indicated that he was ready to negotiate. The battle continued meanwhile, the Union encircled the Confederation more and more. After a few hours of messenger-led negotiations between Grant and Lee, a ceasefire was agreed and the two commanders-in-chief began to negotiate terms of surrender. Lee's adviser, Colonel Charles Marshall, was tasked with finding a meeting place for Grant and Lee. Marshall chose the home of Wilmer McLean , ironically the same man who provided his previous home to General PGT Beauregard in the First Battle of the Bull Run , the first great battle of the war. It was later said of McLean that the Civil War began in his front yard and ended in his living room.
The surrender
Clad in immaculate uniform, Lee awaited Grant's arrival. Grant came in his completely filthy and dusty uniform; only her shoulder pieces corresponded to his rank. Grant avoided the actual topic of the meeting at first, and they talked about a previous encounter in the Mexican-American War . Lee brought the conversation back to the terms of surrender, at which point Grant Lee offered that the officers and men of Lee's army surrender and that all weapons, except the officers' swords and privately owned horses, be confiscated by the Union; but the men would not be imprisoned for this. After these conditions were written down, both generals signed the surrender agreements. As Lee left the house and rode away, Grant's officers booed and mocked him, prompting Grant to tell them to show Lee the respect he deserved.
The formal surrender
On April 10, Lee said goodbye to his army and, although no Confederation officer wanted to, the surrender took place in an official ceremony. Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain presided over the ceremony and when Maj. General John B. Gordon marched past, followed by the famous Stonewall Brigade , Chamberlain gave the order to salute. Gordon led his horse to Chamberlain and returned the greeting (Gordon: " It was honor answering honor." (For example: honor was answered with honor.)) . 27,805 Confederate soldiers strode past, holding out their weapons.
consequences
About 175,000 Confederates were still on the battlefields at this point. Just as Porter Alexander had foreseen, the news of Lee's surrender led to these gradually surrendering. General Johnston's army in North Carolina , with which Lee initially hoped to unite, surrendered to William T. Sherman on April 26th. Under Edmund Kirby Smith the Trans-Mississippi Confederate Defense Area surrendered in May and Stand Watie surrendered with the last significant Confederate troops on June 23, 1865.
See also
Coordinates: 37 ° 22 ′ 40 " N , 78 ° 47 ′ 40" W.
literature
- James M. McPherson : Die for Freedom. The history of the American Civil War , Munich a. Leipzig 1988, ISBN 3-471-78178-1 (one-volume standard work on the American Civil War).
- Jerry Korn (Ed.): Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles , Alexandria, Va. 1987, ISBN 0-8094-4788-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 850