American History In Video: The Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign from The History Channel (A&E Television Networks, 2006) 45:23.
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NARRATOR For four years in the 1860's , the Civil War tore apart the United States . North against South, brother against brother. Finally on April 9th, 1865 , in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia , Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant .
Fire.
NARRATOR In the end, the struggle for the nation's soul had essentially sputtered to a stop, concluding not with a great epic battle, but with a relentless, inevitable pursuit. See how America's bloodiest chapter played out in the Appomattox Campaign. Next, on The Unknown Civil War.
The Unknown Civil War THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN
NARRATOR For eight days in the spring of 1865 , General Ulysses S. Grant's Union army chased Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia across Virginia's rolling countryside. Grant finally caught Lee on the outskirts of a village called Appomattox Courthouse . There, Union infantry soldiers prepared for battle as they always did. Each man worried that this fight might be his last. Each soldier said a little prayer and tried to stay in line.
For God's sake! Come to their aid over here! They need you, double quick.
Double quick, come on!
Come on.
Get in line and fire now!
NARRATOR But this time, April 9, 1865 , would really be the last day to fight. Out of the Confederate lines came a cavalryman carrying a white flag. After four long and bloody years of fighting for the Confederacy, General Lee was prepared to surrender. President Abraham Lincoln and the Federal Army had finally won the war, but it hadn't been an easy path to victory. Beginning in the spring of 1862 , Robert E. Lee had been outfighting and outsmarting the Union Army. Lee had an uncanny ability to turn unwinnable battles into stunning victories. The list of Union generals who had failed to out command Lee read like a who's who of the Federal Army: George McClellan , Joseph Hooker , John Pope and George Meade . In March of 1864 , President Lincoln promoted Ulysses S. Grant to commander of all the Union forces. The job of defeating Lee was now the responsibility of the man many called " President Lincoln's butcher." Throughout the war, Grant had proven himself to be no-nonsense, unconditional-surrender type of leader. Grant pushed himself and his men hard. Grant's relentless and aggressive tactics cost the lives of many of his soldiers, but won battles for the Union and promotions for himself. Grant had won victories against many Southern generals in the western theater: Albert Johnston at Shiloh , Joseph Johnston and John C. Pemberton at Vicksburg . But now, Grant faced the South's most illustrious and elusive commander, General Robert E. Lee .
Fire.
NARRATOR Grant began his assault on Lee in May, 1864 during the Wilderness campaign in Northern Virginia . Grant's superior number of forces and unrelenting pressure wore down the battle-weary Confederates and drove them south into Central Virginia . In just one month, Grant had forced Lee into a series of defensive trenches built on the outskirts of both Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia . The Union and Confederate armies became locked into a deadly stalemate, eventually stretching along a 30-mile front connecting the two cities. General Lee and his soldiers valiantly defended their capital and their cause. The Confederate entrenchments were well built, but three years of relentless fighting had taken its toll on his troops. The 58,000 men remaining in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia were in bad condition. Starvation, exposure to the elements and the lack of proper medical services wreaked havoc on Lee's men. Every day more rebel soldiers walked across the lines to surrender.
NARRATOR On the Union's side, Grant's 115,000 men were well fed and well equipped. Their supply depot was located just 21 miles away. Forty steamboats and 100 barges carried men and materiel through each day. The soldiers fighting under General Grant were confident in ultimate victory.
Dr. Gary Gallagher University of Virginia
Dr. Gary Gallagher The Federal troops understood that the Army of Northern Virginia was on the ropes and they also knew that they had a commander in place who was going to put them in a position to win the war.
NARRATOR Grant knew Lee and his entrenched army were vulnerable, yet still dangerous. Grant did not want to risk a bloody attack on the center of Lee's line. Instead, Grant planned to force Lee out of his defenses, by slowly stretching Lee's left flank southwest towards his supply lines into Petersburg .
James I. Robertson Virginia Tech
James I. Robertson This is a, a stroke of genius on Grant's part. For months, Grant does nothing more than simply extend his left and he continues to extend his left, which forces Lee's other thin lines to extend too and then the ah, symbolism is like a rubber band being stretched farther and farther to its limits. Sooner or later, it's going to snap somewhere.
NARRATOR In the fall of 1864 , two events would mark the beginning of the end for Lee and the Confederacy. The first came during the presidential election in November of 1864 . In a surprising show of overwhelming support from the troops in the field, Lincoln won reelection.
Dr. Gary Gallagher The men had a tremendous amount invested in the war. They had seen many friends killed, many of them had suffered wounds and they supported the man who was going to allow them to put them in a position to push on through to victory.
Fire.
NARRATOR The second blow to Lee and the Confederacy came in December. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's devastating march to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah threw the entire South into turmoil.
James I. Robertson Psychologically, it's probably the most climactic thing in the Civil War. Ah, Sherman , in a sense, gutted the South. I think the real effect you see of Sherman's march lies not so much in what he destroyed, but in the desertions that were taking place especially in Lee's army as boys from Georgia and South Carolina and North Carolina , ah, left the Petersburg lines and headed home to defend what they had left against this wild-eyed, red-headed madman, as many of them regarded him.
NARRATOR In January, 1865 , General Grant ordered Sherman's army north to Virginia . Grant planned to combine his force of 125,000 men with Sherman's troops to finally crush Lee's army. Lee reacted to this threat like he always had throughout the war, he went on the offensive.
Dr. Gary Gallagher Lee understood that he faced enormous odds and that the Confederacy faced enormous odds, but he was not willing ah, to go quietly. He was going to give it his best shot.
NARRATOR Lee's plan was to move his army south into North Carolina and consolidate his men with General Joseph Johnston's Army of Tennessee . Lee believed together they could defeat Sherman's army and then attack Grant's . General Lee's first goal was to stop Grant from surrounding Petersburg . Lee agreed to a plan by General John B. Gordon to attack Union Fort Stedman . Only 200 yards separated the Union and Confederate lines at that point. The Union's railroad supply line ran less than a mile behind the fort. A Southern victory here would force Grant to pull troops away from his left to protect the center. Lee would then have an opening to move his troops south.
Chris Caulkins Along this ridge are the remnants of the Confederate position in front of Fort Stedman , known as Colquitt's Salient named after General Alfred Colquitt . It is from this position that General John B. Gordon's 2nd Corps will make the attack on Fort Stedman on the morning of March 25, 1865 . Fort Stedman is located on the high ground in the next ridge about 613 feet away.
NARRATOR When it began at 4 a.m., the attack was an initial success. The Confederates caught the Union troops by surprise and quickly overran Fort Stedman .
Chris Caulkins Petersburg National Battlefield
Chris Caulkins When the Confederates broke into Fort Stedman , they found very little resistance by the Union garrison, as many of its men were still asleep. In fact, they were able to capture a Union general, General Napoleon McLaughlin , here before they continued their onslaught down the Union lines to the south and to the north.
NARRATOR But their success was short-lived. The Federals had too many troops. A Union rear guard quickly assembled and counterattacked. By noon, the gray coats were pushed out of the Union lines and back to their original positions.
Dr. Gary Gallagher The failure at Fort Stedman was a major defeat for Lee and his army, not only because it cost the army almost 5,000 casualties that it couldn't afford, but because it demonstrated unequivocally that the Army of Northern Virginia's offensive days were over and the end of the war had to seem much nearer in the wake of Fort Stedman than it did before.
NARRATOR Robert E. Lee's best shot failed. Lee and his army would have to make their escape now. Lee knew it, and now Grant knew it too.
THE UNKNOWN CIVIL WAR THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN
NARRATOR The Confederate Army's failed attack on Fort Stedman doomed General Lee's position at Richmond and Petersburg . Grant was certain to attack the threadbare Southern lines now. To escape the Federal forces, Lee planned to move his troops away from Petersburg to Amelia Courthouse . From there, he hoped to follow the Richmond and Danville railroad line south into North Carolina to join forces with General Joseph Johnston . The job of protecting Lee's last major supply line fell to Major General George Pickett , the man who had directed the disastrous charge at Gettysburg . Lee felt that since that fateful day on July 3, 1863 , Pickett had lost his leadership ability, but the reluctant Lee had no choice but to make Pickett part of his retreat plan. Pickett and 10,000 Confederate soldiers headed to the crossroads at Five Forks, Virginia . Control of this intersection was vital towards protecting the south side railroad from any advancing Union troops. While Lee planned his escape, a massive pursuit of his army was being organized. On March 28, President Abraham Lincoln , having traveled to City Point, Virginia met with Admiral David Porter , commander of the Federal naval force, and generals Ulysses Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman . These men saw the inevitable, the end of the war was at hand. But how it ended would be a determining factor in the future of the country.
James I. Robertson Virginia Tech
James I. Robertson What Lincoln and Grant and Sherman , all three, feared the most was that the American Civil War would follow the course of most civil wars, that it would degenerate into guerilla warfare. This war that would go on and on and on until it would rip every fiber below the American being to pieces, and by its very nature prevent the nation from ever being one again.
NARRATOR Lincoln and his generals agreed that the rebel army would not be punished. If the Confederates laid down their arms and promised not to fight again, they could go home.
Dr. Gary Gallagher University Of Virginia
Dr. Gary Gallagher Lincoln wanted to end the war. He wanted to end the war ah, with emancipation in place. He wanted secession dead but he then wanted to make it as easy as possible ah, for the former Confederate states to return to the Union. He did not want a harsh peace.
James I. Robertson Just before Grant left President Lincoln at City Point to start the great pursuit of Lee , Grant is supposed to have said, "Mr. President, when I catch him, what would you want me to do with him?" And Lincoln is, is is supposed to have replied, "Let him down easy. Let him down easy."
NARRATOR Grant anticipated Lee's attempt to retreat toward Johnston's army. Grant sent the cavalry corps of Gen. Philip Sheridan to take control of Five Forks and capture the south side railroad line. Sheridan sent his cavalry corps out with two infantry corps. The 2nd Corps, under General Andrew Humphreys and the 5th Corps under Major General Gouverneur K. Warren . The Union set out to Five Forks with over 9,000 cavalry and almost 40,000 infantry.
March 13, 1865
NARRATOR Pickett's Confederates were the first to arrive at Five Forks . After receiving word that Union forces were approaching from the south, Pickett moved his army 6 miles to intercept Sheridan's men before they reached Five Forks . Early in the afternoon, Pickett's men clashed and pushed back Sheridan's cavalry. But by nightfall, Sheridan regrouped his forces and held a defensive line. Sheridan ordered General Warren to move up his infantry corps into position by midnight. Pickett was now separated from Lee's main force and Sheridan did not want to let Pickett escape.
April 1
NARRATOR Sheridan expected Warren's corps to arrive by midnight but Warren's men did not get into position until six hours later. Sheridan was furious at Warren and for not marching his troops faster. The Union delay gave Pickett time to move his 10,000 men back into the defensive breastworks at Five Forks . Lee sent word to Pickett to hold Five Forks at all hazards.
Chris Caulkins Petersburg National Battlefield
Chris Caulkins The Confederate forces dug in behind me here along the White Oak Road, extending three-quarters of a mile to the east and a mile to the west. Facing them would be Federal cavalry under General Philip Sheridan coming up from six miles to the south at Dinwiddie Courthouse .
NARRATOR When the Union forces had not attacked by four o'clock, Pickett surmised there was not going to be any fighting that day. Throughout the war, battles rarely began late in the afternoon. Pickett and his cavalry generals, Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee and Tom Rosser , decided to relax and left their troops for a fish bake. Pickett was wrong. Phillip Sheridan was not the type of man to wait to engage the enemy, and when his 9,000 cavalry and 12,000 infantry were in position shortly after four o'clock, Sheridan began his assault. Sheridan issued a two-pronged attack. While his cavalry charged along the front of the rebel defense, Warren's infantry marched against the Confederate left.
Chris Caulkins A portion of Warren's corps would actually swing around largely to the north of the Confederate line and be out of the battle until they actually came in to the Confederate rear at the Five Forks .
NARRATOR Among the Union officers helping to redirect the Union forces was Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , one of the heroes of Gettysburg . The 36-year-old professor from Maine had been shot and almost killed just three days earlier. The still-wounded Chamberlain once more made the right decision. Chamberlain saw that his advance had missed the Confederate line and so ordered his men to swing left. This movement sent them directly into the Confederate left flank. Chamberlain's men surprised the rebels and forced them to retreat. Chamberlain's quick action combined with Sheridan's relentless leadership helped the Union take control of Five Forks . The loss of Five Forks was devastating to the Confederate cause. General Pickett had lost the crucial position in the Confederate defenses while he and his two senior officers were eating lunch.
James I. Robertson Over the long run, that lack of leadership was probably inconsequential, since Sheridan has such overwhelming numbers both in cavalry and in, and in infantry, but Lee regarded duty as a sublime attribute, and Pickett was not on duty and Lee never forgave him for that.
NARRATOR In the wake of the victory at Five Forks , Union General Sheridan made a controversial decision to relieve General Warren from his command.
Dr. Gary Gallagher In 1863 , Gouverneur Warren almost certainly would not have been removed from command for his performance at Five Forks . There were mitigating factors: ah, he had not had the best of orders; ah, his troops had made a diff, very difficult march to get to the battlefield, but this was 1865 and he was dealing with Phillip Sheridan . Phillip Sheridan was a commander who demanded a great deal of his subordinates, ah, who wanted his subordinates to push, to press the enemy to the greatest extent possible. That was not Gouverneur Warren's style.
NARRATOR Gouverneur Warren's name was finally cleared 14 years after the war by an army court of inquiry. Unfortunately, it came three months after Warren's death. Grant now controlled Five Forks . Soon the south side railroad would be in Union hands. Grant's next move was simple. He ordered an all-out assault on the entire Confederate line. Within 24 hours, Richmond would be in Union hands.
THE UNKNOWN CIVIL WAR THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN
NARRATOR Confederate President Jefferson Davis was attending Sunday mass when word arrived that Lee was leaving his positions around Petersburg and Richmond . By the next morning, Davis and Lee were on the run. For the rebel army, Richmond was an emotional symbol of Confederate defiance. For four years it had stood unconquered by the best troops the North could bring to battle.
Dr. Gary Gallagher University Of Virginia
Dr. Gary Gallagher For the soldiers who had fought ah, for so long in so many long campaigns ah, to defend that city, the need to abandon was a tremendous blow. One of the artillery officers, as they left the city, they crossed the James and looked back ah, to the city which was burning in the distance. They'd set fire to many of the buildings along the James River . He said that leaving that city left him with a feeling of orphanage. He felt as if he were leaving something so important to him that it, it made him seem an orphan.
NARRATOR During the collapse of Richmond on April 2, Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill was shot and killed by Federal soldiers. A.P. Hill's death left General Lee without one of his most experienced corps commanders.
April 3
Fire.
Fire.
NARRATOR The Federal Army had besieged the Confederate defenses for nine months. When they finally overran them on April 3rd, what they found shocked them.
Dr. Gary Gallagher The Union soldiers as they moved into Richmond found a city, ah, much of which had been destroyed by fires. Ah, they found Confederates who certainly weren't happy to have the Union Army there. They found some African-Americans who were very happy to ah, welcome the Union troops into the city, so it was a very mixed scene, ah, smoke enveloping much of the city, ah, ruins in many directions, a sullen white populace and a welcoming African-American populace.
NARRATOR At 8 o'clock in the morning on April 3, the flag of the United States of America flew over Virginia's capitol building for the first time in four years.
Dr. Gary Gallagher Lincoln came into Richmond almost immediately after the city fell. He made his way to the old White House of the Confederacy, ah, actually went and stood in Jefferson Davis' old office, sat in Jefferson Davis' chair and must have had an incredible range of emotions as he sat in that chair and contemplated of what his opposite number had done ah, in that office in the course of the war.
NARRATOR General Ulysses S. Grant spent little time celebrating the fall of Richmond . He knew the war would not end until Lee's army has been defeated. General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia were now in a desperate race for survival. Lee's first goal was to move all his troops from Richmond and Petersburg 40 miles west to the railroad station at Amelia Courthouse . Lee ordered supply trains to meet them there.
James I. Robertson Virginia Tech
James I. Robertson For the Confederate soldiers, ah, their world is crumbling. They have no food. Most of them were barefooted. All of them wearing rags of some sort or another, and they are just trying to get somewhere to obtain supplies somehow and to stay alive a little longer. And they are all doing this not for the Confederacy -- the tattered battle flags over their heads were really the only visible symbol left of the dying nation. Ah, these men are marching with and fighting for General Lee .
April 4
NARRATOR Lee arrived at Amelia Courthouse at about 8:30 in the morning, but his rations where not there. Because of a breakdown in communications, Lee's supply trains had failed to be sent from Richmond . Lee was stunned by what had happened.
Dr. Gary Gallagher He was extremely ah, disappointed. That does not even get at how disappointed he was. He knew ah, the tremendous need for rations in his army. He had counted on food's being there. When that food wasn't there, ah, it was a very bitter piece of news for Lee to digest.
NARRATOR Lee was forced to send his starving troops out foraging for food.
Dr. Gary Gallagher As Lee's army delayed around Amelia Courthouse trying to siphon food from the countryside, Lee sent out a plea to the people who lived in that area to supply food to his army. That's how desperate his situation was.
NARRATOR The foragers arrived back almost empty-handed on April 5th. One group of soldiers found only two ears of corn originally meant for horses. Others received nothing and wandered off looking on their own. Many never returned. The starving Confederates could not afford to spend any more time foraging. When they left Richmond on April 2nd, they had a one-day lead over Grant and his forces, but now after spending time looking for food, the pursuing Union forces were on the Southerners' heels. As night fell on April 5th, Lee continued moving his army westward, hoping somehow to escape and prevent the collapse of the Confederacy.
THE UNKNOWN CIVIL WAR THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN
NARRATOR Following the unsuccessful hunt for food around Amelia Courthouse , Robert E. Lee and his army continued their march west, hoping to find a route south towards North Carolina and General Joseph Johnston's force.
April 6
NARRATOR The Federal Army pursued Lee with high hopes.
Dr. Gary Gallagher University Of Virginia
Dr. Gary Gallagher They knew now that they had their foe on the run and they understood. They saw the prisoners coming in, they saw the wreckage of the Army of Northern Virginia . They knew that the end couldn't be far away, and they were ready to deliver the blow that would end the war in Virginia .
NARRATOR After the Battle of Five Forks , General Philip Sheridan pushed his cavalry hard, and on April 4th, blocked Lee's southern route near the train station of Jetersville, Virginia . After consulting his generals, Robert E. Lee decided not to attack Sheridan's forces. This could have been his only hope for escape.
Chris Caulkins Petersburg National Battlefield
Chris Caulkins Had Lee given battle to the Union Army, the outcome of this campaign could have been greatly altered. His own generals, I found commentary, stated they wanted to fight the Union Army at Jetersville , but Lee did not allow it. He might have broken through the Union line because at that time his troops were still relatively fresh and had he broken through at Jetersville , he might have continued his intended march down the Richmond and Danville Railroad to Danville , which was a fortified city. He could have made a stand there while he waited for Joseph E. Johnston to come up.
NARRATOR General Lee instead chose to avoid any fighting until his troops had eaten some food. The rebel soldiers were tired and hungry and not in the best condition for battle. Lee reversed the direction of his retreat and began a detour north and then west around Grant's army. They marched through the night along the Rice-Detonville Road toward Farmville , where rations were known to be waiting. After leaving Amelia Courthouse , General Lee rearranged his line of march to gain more mobility and for protection of his supply wagons. Lee now rode up front with General James Longstreet's 1st and 3rd Corps. Behind them was Richard Anderson's two-division corps, and then Richard Ewell's reserve corps. Behind them came the supply wagons. Lee's rear guard was protected by General John Gordon's 2nd Corps. General Ulysses S. Grant followed the Confederate retreat with much concern. He was chasing Robert E. Lee and did not want to let him get away. General Grant ordered Phillip Sheridan's troops to follow Lee along a parallel road running south of the Confederate line of retreat. All day on the 6th, Union cavalry used hit-and-run tactics against the rebels to slow them down.
James I. Robertson Virginia Tech
James I. Robertson Lee's army was strung out and the Federal Army is, is around it, is behind it. It is trying to get in front of it. Ah, I think a good symbolism would be to, to compare the scenario to a pack of wolves ah, nipping at the flanks of an old animal staggering to its death.
NARRATOR In the afternoon of April 6th, disaster struck the retreating rebel army. While crossing Little Sailor's Creek , the wagon train became entrapped. When the lead force under Lee and Longstreet continued forward, unaware of any delays, a gap opened up in the middle of the Confederate line. Sheridan wasted no time in taking advantage of the rebel misfortune. General Andrew Humphreys' 2nd Corps moved against Gordon and the wagon train while General Horacio Wright's 6th Corps moved to attack Ewell's troops. Billy Yank knew he had Johnny Reb outnumbered and on the ropes.
Chris Caulkins As the Union troops crossed over the creek here and went to make their initial assault ah, on the Confederate lines, many of them pulled out their handkerchiefs, white handkerchiefs, and waved them at the Confederates and said, "Come on Johnny , it's almost over with. Give it up."
NARRATOR Lee's men would not go down easily. Mustering all the fight left in them, the Confederates countercharged and forced part of the Union line back across the creek.
Chris Caulkins For these men who were over here at Sailor's Creek , many of whom had never fired a shot in anger. These were war clerks; these were heavy artillerymen who had spent most of the war in the defenses around Richmond . This was their one and only fight, but they fought with the tenacity of aged veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia .
NARRATOR But as the first wave of Union troops pulled back, reinforcements arrived on the scene. The Federals mounted another charge against Ewell's position. After brief but vicious hand-to-hand combat, the outnumbered rebels were overwhelmed and surrendered. While Ewell's men were decimated by the Union 6th Corps, General Gordon and the Confederate wagon train fared no better. Humphrey's 2nd Corps swept down on Gordon from the rear and captured nearly 300 wagons and 1,700 men. In the fighting at Sailor's Creek , close to 7,700 Confederate soldiers surrendered, along with eight Confederate generals. This was the largest surrender of an army in the field without terms following. In the wake of the Sailor's Creek debacle, the Confederate leadership struggled to keep its army together.
James I. Robertson Lee was appalled at what had happened. Ah, he is supposed to have said something like, "My God! Has the army dissolved?" And then he quickly ah, recaptured his stability, his sense he's in and told General William Mahon , "Please help me, ah, put the rest of this army together and let us move on."
Gary Gallagher The Confederate leadership in the wake of Sailor's Creek is just trying to hold the Army of Northern Virginia together, and they're realizing, all of them, that it's an army disintegrating on the move, and that they're facing a tremendous task in trying to maintain order, trying to maintain discipline and purpose in an army that's simply falling apart before their eyes.
NARRATOR Lee ordered his remaining 35,000 troops to once again march through the night towards the rail line at Farmville , where rations were supposed to be waiting for his men.
April 7
NARRATOR Robert E. Lee found his rations waiting at Farmville , but the rapidly approaching Union Army forced Lee to send the provisions ahead before the Federals caught up. Lee's army struggled to push on towards the next rail station. Any luck the Confederates had seemed to be running out. After crossing high bridge over the Appomattox River , the retreating rebels failed to burn a small wagon bridge next to it, which the Union Army used to stay on Lee's rear. At 9:30 P.M. on April 7th, Robert E. Lee and James Longstreet were planning the next move near Cumberland Church when a message arrived from General Grant .
James I. Robertson When Grant first opened negotiations by letter on April 7th and called upon Lee to, to surrender and stop the further effusion of blood, ah, Longstreet read the note which Lee handed to him and simply replied, "Not yet, not yet." Most of his generals were defiant. The one exception to this was General Henry Wise who came ah, to Lee and Lee mentioned to Wise the possibility that he might have to surrender, and he said, ah, "I don't know what the country will say," ah, to which Wise exploded in anger and said, "Country? The country be damned. There is no country, General Lee . You were the country to these men. They had fought for you all these years and they're willing to sacrifice their lives for you now if you say so."
NARRATOR After a few hours' rest, the Confederate Army began moving again, this time their objective was the south side railroad line 38 miles west near a town called Appomattox Court House .
THE UNKNOWN CIVIL WAR THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN
Fire!
NARRATOR For the last 10 months, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had besieged the Confederate forces at Richmond and Petersburg . Now, less than 10 days after forcing the rebels from their stronghold, Grant was on the verge of defeating Robert E. Lee and the entire Army of Northern Virginia. But General Lee refused to accept defeat. After rejecting Grant's note of April 7th suggesting surrender, Lee pushed his men westwards towards Appomattox Court House .
Dr. Gary Gallagher University of Virginia
Gary Gallagher Lee hoped that he would be able to be re-supplied at Appomattox station. It's this, this constant hope that the next station, the next point ah, will yield the food that he desperately needs.
NARRATOR As night fell on April 8th, Lee's soldiers approached Appomattox Court House . Their desperately needed food and supplies waited for them at the rail station three miles west of town, but the Confederates were not alone. General Philip Sheridan had received word that rebel supplies were waiting at the train depot. So he sent a division of cavalry under Major General George Armstrong Custer ahead to capture the Confederate supply trains. Custer's men arrived first, they had beaten Lee to his materiel. At 9 p.m. Lee heard artillery fire coming from the area near the depot. Lee knew Sheridan had finally gotten in front of him. Robert E. Lee gathered his top officers together to discuss their next move.
Gary Gallagher One possible scenario ah, if the army in Northern Virginia was pressed to the wall and had to be broken up was that the war could be maintained as a guerilla resistance. Ah, Lee discussed that with Edward Porter Alexander , his brilliant young artillerist.
James I. Robertson Virginia Tech
James I. Robertson But Lee said no. And he said, "We ah, went into this war with honor, we're going out with honor," plus he said, "There is no way the country could come back together again after such an escapade of fighting.
NARRATOR Lee and his generals made the decision to fight on.
NARRATOR Early on April 9th, Lee's famed Army of Northern Virginia lined up for the last time to face the enemy.
James I. Robertson It's almost a drama, what, what takes place. The Confederates move forward. Ah, they find a line of Union cavalry in their front and many of them momentarily think, "Ahh, just mounted men, we can break through." But suddenly the cavalry peeled back, as if some gigantic curtain was opening, and there stood uhm, ah, the sizeable bulk of the Army of the Potomac . Ah, Lee is trapped in front, he is trapped from behind. There is simply nowhere else to go.
Gary Gallagher Lee by himself ah, made the decision that it was time to surrender. There wasn't a council of war. He didn't gather all his lieutenants around them and have a vote. Ah, he knew that it was over. There was no choice left ah, but to go and seek terms from Grant . He said he would rather die a thousand deaths, but that's what he had to do.
NARRATOR At 8:30 a.m., General Lee left the rebel lines by himself to meet General Grant . To the end, General Lee wanted to do his duty.
Ronald G. Wilson Appomattox Court House NHP
Ronald G. Wilson He could have left it to others to come and meet with counterparts in the Federal Army ah, about the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia , but he did not. He took the entire responsibility upon his own shoulders ah, to do. Ah, he didn't ask others to come with him ah, other than Lieutenant Colonel Walter Taylor because he would accept that duty and not feel that other officers would be humiliated or mortified by having to come to a surrender.
NARRATOR It was agreed that General Grant and General Lee would meet in the small village of Appomattox Court House. In an ironic twist of fate, the site chosen was the home of Wilmer McLean .
Ronald G. Wilson Behind me is the ah, McLean home which we call it today, but originally built by John Raine in 1848 as a tavern on the stage road, and later sold to Mr. McLean in 1862 . The family was in residence here at the time of the military surrender.
Gary Gallagher Wilmer McLean in some ways is one of the more unfortunate figures of the Civil War ah, because the war begins in a sense on his farm, ah, up in Northern Virginia when the Armies clashed at First Manassas . Ah, he was determined ah, to get his family someplace where they would be away from the marauding armies that were so destructive to civilians and so he brought them out here to what was considered a backwater in many ways and yet the armies found him 4 years later.
NARRATOR General Lee arrived at the McLean house at one o'clock in the afternoon.
Gary Gallagher When Lee walked into this room in Wilmer McLean's house, he knew that Grant was going to demand ah, the surrender of the Army in Northern Virginia , but didn't understand exactly how the scenario would play out. He didn't know whether he would be taken prisoner. He had dressed very well. He brought his dress sword with him. He was prepared to hand his sword to Grant and to be made a prisoner. He wasn't sure what would happen.
James I. Robertson Finally, Grant showed up and whereas Lee was immaculately dressed, Grant was, well, he was U.S. Grant , ah, seedy looking, ah, wearing the blouse of a private with general's epaulets tacked onto his shoulders. Grant was understandably uncomfortable with Lee . After all, ah, here is the Gray Fox. Here is the man he has been chasing for a year. Here is the very embodiment of Confederate resistance. Here is one of the great soldiers in American history. And so when Lee and Grant sat down, Grant began to talk ah, at random about the old days in Mexico and what the old army was like, and it was Lee who finally had to bring him around and remind him that they were here to discuss terms of surrender.
Ronald G. Wilson General Grant then drafted the terms into a manifold book prepared for three carbon copies. Once completed, the terms were re-read quickly and then handed to General Lee in the entire draft form, which would indicate that the process had not been completed, that General Lee would actually have a part in it. General Lee read the terms very carefully, asked several questions for clarification, but is quoted as saying that they would have a happy effect upon his army, founding that they were quite generous.
NARRATOR Lee was humbled by Grant's generous terms. The Confederates were required only to lay down their arms, go home and promise never to fight again.
Gary Gallagher I think that Lincoln and Grant and Lee all behaved impeccably in terms of each of their roles in this process ah, Lincoln and Grant ah, trying to make a start toward bringing the nation together; Lee behaving precisely as someone who had lost should behave, accepting the verdict of the battlefield. All three of these men, I think, behaved as you would want leaders to behave in this kind of a situation.
James I. Robertson At the end of the discussions, Lee made a passing reference to how hungry his men were. Grant immediately ordered 25,000 rations sent over to the Confederate Army. An hour or so earlier, these had been enemy troops and now he's going to feed them. It was a beautiful gesture and that in itself is another healing agent in what took place in this little village.
NARRATOR Three days later on April 12, exactly four years to the day after the firing on Fort Sumter , the soldiers of the army of Northern Virginia formally surrendered their arms.
Gary Gallagher The actual surrender took place on a very gray day. Ah, the principals were gone. Grant was not here. Ah, Lee was not here, ah, but the armies were still here, the remnant of the Army of Northern Virginia , the victorious Army of the Potomac , and there was a formal surrender ceremony that I think moved people on both sides tremendously.
NARRATOR The honor of receiving the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia was given to newly-promoted Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain .
Gary Gallagher Not only Grant was easy to impress and Grant was clearly impressed by Joshua Chamberlain , he had compiled an absolutely sterling record ah, as a Union officer, ah, not only at Gettysburg , ah, but also during the siege at Petersburg and elsewhere. He was a very good soldier. He had been promoted because he was a very good soldier and I think he was given this honor ah, because Grant and others considered him a man worthy of holding that position.
James I. Robertson At the head of Lee's army was what was left of the very famous Stonewall Brigade, 210 men out of perhaps 6,000 or more who had served, and they were led by John B. Gordon , another great civilian soldier. A man who had been in Georgia politics, he too, militarily untrained, had risen to command of the 2nd Corps. And as these soldiers marched with their heads down, some in shame, some embarrassed, most broken-hearted, they came into Chamberlain's ranks. Chamberlain gave a command and the Union Army went to present arms. And when it did, Gordon presented arms, and it was as Chamberlain wrote, "Honor, honoring honor." It was a wonderful way for a war to end, particularly a civil war which is so bitter, because you know your enemy and when you can get that kind of, of a peaceful action taking place, it does bode very well for the future.
Gary Gallagher There was a tremendous amount of bitterness on both sides as well and I think that bitterness lingered far longer ah, than we often conceive that it did. There certainly was reconciliation, but I think understandably in a war of this magnitude, in a war that cost so much, there was also residual bitterness.
NARRATOR Lee's surrender did not end the Civil War. It would take two more months for the rest of the Confederate Army to lay down their arms, but the Appomattox campaign symbolized the death of the Confederacy and the rebirth of the United States of America .
THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN Executive Producers CRAIG HAFFNER DONNA E. LUSITANA Produced by BRIAN COUGHLIN Associate Producer ROBERT SENKEL Coordinating Producer LOUIS C. TARANTINO Editor MARK AMOS NEALY General Counsel SHINAAN S. KRAKOWSKY Original Music by CHRISTOPHER STONE ZELJKO MARASOVICH Post Production Supervisor BLAINE WILLIAMS Production Coordinator DOUGLAS J. COHEN Post Production Coordinator JANICE BECH Online Editor MICHAEL W. ANDREWS Composite Editor MARGARET MOORE Assistant Avid Editors KATIE SMITH KYLE YASKIN Assistant Production Coordinator DAVID M. RAMIREZ Production Assistants BRAD HAIGHT UNIQUE LENHARDT JARED KING DON SVEEN Post Production Assistants PHILIP ANAGNOS TODD CARNEY JASON KAIFESH PERCY M. VASQUEZ CHRIS WORTHINGTON Controller ANIT CHAN Production Accountant VIVIAN SANTOS Field Camera STEVE KONDRACKI Field Audio ALAN SAWYER Map Design BO COLLET Post Production Audio MIKE GETLIN Post Production Services MATCHFRAME VIDEO Motion Control Services HMA DIGITAL Historical Consultant CHRIS CAULKINS The Producers Wish To Thank U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK RONALD G. WILSON PETERSBURG NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD CHRIS CAULKINS COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, SAILOR'S CREEK BATTLEFIELD HISTORICAL STATE PARK Archival Stills and Footage Provided By APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK Archival Stills and Footage Provided by U.S. GRANT PHOTOS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JAMES BULTEMA CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS PRESERVATION DIV. THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART LIBRARY OF CONGRESS NATIONAL ARCHIVES MICHAEL GNATEK LLOYD OSTENDORF "SURRENDER AT APPOMATOX " © 1987 THE GREENWICH WORKSHOP, INC. COURTESY OF GREENWICH WORKSHOP, INC., SHELTON, CT THE LINCOLN MUSEUM, FT. WAYNE , IN PEJEPSCOT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BRUNSWICK, ME MERLIN E. SUMNER COLLECTION DON TROIANI , SOUTHBURY, CT U.S. ARMY MILITARY HISTORY INSTITUTE, CARLISLE, PA WEST POINT MUSEUM COLLECTION, U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY COOK COLLECTION, VALENTINE MUSEUM, RICHMOND, VA VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION VIDEOVISION, INC. © 2005 GREYSTONE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED HISTORYCHANNEL.COM
Intro 00:46
Lee's Surrender at Appomattox 01:36
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee Surrenders. 08:35