*After the Northern victory at Gettysburg, Meade did little to pursue him (possibly missing a chance to end the war).  When Grant was promoted to overall command of the armies in March, 1864, he took charge of Meade’s army (although Meade technically remained in command).

*In May, 1864, Grant invaded Virginia.  When the campaign began, Grant had about 118,700 men and Lee had about 64,000, but Grant could draw upon more reinforcements and he knew it.  His campaign was about wearing down the South through overwhelming numbers, whatever the cost, and the cost was terrible:  55,000 Union casualties, 32,600 Confederate.  In a dozen battles through Northern Virginia, Grant pushed Lee, and even when he lost a battle, moved around Lee forcing him back.  Grant earned a reputation as a butcher, but he pushed Lee back to Petersburg, where five major railroads came together just south of Richmond.  There he would keep Lee under siege for almost a year.

*Grant tried to attack Petersburg, but eventually settled for surrounding it with a force that reached 125,000 men.  Lee had 52,000 men to defend Petersburg (and Richmond).  There were many battles during the siege, as Grant or Lee tried to break through at one point or another, and through these battles and the bombardment of the enemies’ fortifications, the North lost over 53,000 men and the South about 32,000.

*One of the most peculiar battles in the War occurred during the Siege of Petersburg, when Northern soldiers dug a shaft underneath the Confederate lines, filled it with explosives, and blew it up.  The subsequent Battle of the Crater should have allowed the North to break through the lines, but at the last minute the units that were supposed to go into the crater were changed, and the new, unprepared units did poorly and were slaughtered.

*The last major battle of the Siege was on 25 March, although a few nearby battles occurred in early April, and Petersburg surrendered on 3 April.  Richmond was captured the same day, although it had been set on fire during fighting the previous day.  On 4 April, Lincoln arrived to tour Richmond.

*Lee managed to escape, but was pursued by Grant.  On 9 April, Lee made one last assault on the Union at Appomattox Courthouse, trying to keep from being surrounded.  His men did kill 164 Yankees, but did not break through.  Soon his 28,000 men were surrounded by over 100,000 Union soldiers.  Lee reluctantly surrendered and Grant recognised his valour by allowing his soldiers to go home and his officers to keep their pistols, horses, and personal belongings.

*General Sherman, though, was still fighting.  In February, 1865 he and his men (89,000 by the end of the campaign) began burning his way through South Carolina (which his men blamed for starting the War) and into North Carolina.  To try to stop him, the Confederacy called Joseph Johnston back into service, but he never had many more than 21,000 men, and usually far fewer. Over the course of the campaign, Sherman lost about 9,200 men and Johnston about 6,200.

*In March, Sherman crossed into North Carolina and on 26 April, 1865, Johnston surrendered.  Sherman gave him generous terms similar to those Grant gave Lee, and Johnston and Sherman remained friends until their deaths.

*On 10 May, Jefferson Davis was captured.  On 26 May, Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the last major Confederate force.  On 6 November, after sailing around the world, C.S.S. Shenandoah, a commerce raider, surrendered to the British government.

*The War had ended.  Over three million Americans (10% of the population) had fought in it and over 620,000 men (2% of the population) had died in it (2/3 of them from disease).  However, the struggle for control of America had not ended, and the years following the war would only be made worse by the assassination of Lincoln.

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This page last updated 29 March, 2009.