Appomattox Campaign The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9 , 1865 , in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia and the effective end of the American Civil War . At the conclusion of the Richmond – Petersburg Campaign ( also known as the Siege of Petersburg ) , Lee ' s army was outnumbered and exhausted from a winter of trench warfare over a front , numerous battles , disease , and desertion . At the Battle of Five Forks on April 1 , Union forces under Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant cut the final railroad line supplying Lee ' s army in Petersburg , and ordered a general assault along the Petersburg fortification line . On April 2 , Grant ' s army achieved a breakthrough of the lines in the Third Battle of Petersburg , which prompted Lee to order the evacuation of both Petersburg and the Confederate capital of Richmond on the night of April 2 – 3 . Lee hoped to withdraw to the southwest and unite his army with Confederate forces in North Carolina , but Grant ' s army pursued relentlessly . On April 6 , Lee ' s army suffered a significant defeat at the Battle of Sayler ' s Creek , but continued to move to the west in an attempt to elude the Union Army . Cornered , outnumbered , and short of supplies , Lee finally agreed to surrender his army on April 9 at Appomattox Court House . Background . Union forces under Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant had besieged Lee ' s army around the city of Petersburg , Virginia , since June 1864 . The two armies spent the winter in an elaborate series of trenches and fortifications , stretching over from the outskirts of Richmond to Hatcher ' s Run southwest of Petersburg , foreshadowing the tactics to be used in World War I . As Grant had inched to the west over the winter , the Confederates extended their lines to compensate , but they were stretched too thin , having only about 1 , 000 men per mile ( 625 men / km ) of defensive line . Lee knew that his army could not survive a siege indefinitely and looked for ways to escape his predicament as spring arrived , the rains diminished , and the local road system became passable again . The Appomattox Campaign was preceded by the Battle of Fort Stedman on March 25 , 1865 , the concluding battle in the Richmond – Petersburg Campaign . This failed attempt by Lee to break the siege resulted in heavy Confederate casualties . Lee knew that Grant would soon move against the only remaining Confederate supply line , the South Side Railroad , and that would doom his army . Lee was by now the commander of all Confederate armies . ( Despite his fame throughout the Confederacy , for almost three years Lee had commanded only the army in northern Virginia . ) His plan was to extricate himself from the Federal grip at Petersburg , withdraw to the southwest , resupply his starving army at Lynchburg , Virginia , and head south . There , the Army of Northern Virginia might be able to link up with Gen . Joseph E . Johnston ' s forces in North Carolina , defeat the Union army under Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman that was pursuing Johnston , and then return to strike a combined blow at Grant . In preparation for his breakout , he moved forces to his right flank . Grant , meanwhile , brought additional forces to bear . Maj . Gen . Philip Sheridan had returned with 5 , 700 cavalrymen from the Shenandoah Valley . Maj . Gen . Edward Ord ' s Army of the James came up to the Petersburg lines , which freed up two corps of Maj . Gen . George Meade ' s Army of the Potomac for offensive action against Lee : the II Corps under Maj . Gen . Andrew A . Humphreys and the V Corps under Maj . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren . Union offensive . Lewis ' s Farm ( March 29 , 1865 ) . Sheridan ' s cavalry and Warren ' s V Corps started the Federal offensive by swinging southwest past Dinwiddie Court House in hopes of enveloping Lee ' s right flank . The V Corps crossed Rowanty Creek , moved up the Quaker Road toward the Boydton Plank Road intersection , and encountered Maj . Gen . Bushrod R . Johnson ' s Confederate brigades . A sharp firefight forced the Confederates back to their entrenchments on the White Oak Road . White Oak Road ( March 31 ) . On March 30 , Lee shifted reinforcements to meet the Federal movement to turn his right flank , placing Maj . Gen . W . H . F . " Rooney " Lee ' s cavalry divisions at Five Forks and transferring Maj . Gen . George Pickett ' s division from the Bermuda Hundred front to the extreme right . Warren pushed the V Corps forward and entrenched a line to cover the Boydton Plank Road from its intersection with Dabney Mill Road south to Gravelly Run . Brig . Gen . Romeyn B . Ayres ' s division advanced northwest toward White Oak Road . On March 31 , in combination with Sheridan ' s thrust via Dinwiddie Court House , Warren directed his corps against the Confederate entrenchments along White Oak Road , hoping to cut Lee ' s communications with Pickett at Five Forks . The Union advance was stalled by a crushing counterattack directed by Bushrod Johnson , but Warren ' s position stabilized and his soldiers closed on the road by day ' s end . This fighting set up the Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1 . Dinwiddie Court House ( March 31 ) . On March 31 , Rooney Lee ' s cavalry and Pickett ' s infantry division met the Union vanguard north and northwest of Dinwiddie Court House and drove it back , temporarily stalling Sheridan ' s movement . With Union infantry approaching from the east , Pickett withdrew before daybreak to entrench at the vital road junction at Five Forks . Lee ordered Pickett to hold this intersection at all hazards . Five Forks ( April 1 ) . In the decisive battle of the campaign , Warren and Sheridan dislodged Pickett and Rooney Lee from a critical crossroads that protected their supply lines . Over 4 , 500 Confederate soldiers surrendered . Lee advised the Confederate government the next morning to abandon the cities of Petersburg and Richmond . His plan at this point was to move his forces from the two cities to cross the Appomattox River and meet up at Amelia Court House , where they could be resupplied at the Richmond and Danville Railroad from stocks evacuated from Richmond . They would then proceed to Danville , the destination of the fleeing Confederate government , and then south to meet Johnston . Breakthrough at Petersburg ( April 2 ) . Back at the entrenchments around Petersburg , Grant ordered a general assault against the Petersburg lines by the II , VI Corps , IX , and XXIV Corps on April 2 . A heroic defense of Fort Gregg by a handful of Confederates prevented the Federals from entering the city that night . Confederate Lt . Gen . A . P . Hill was killed trying to reach his troops in the confusion . After dark , Lee ordered the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond . Sutherland ' s Station ( April 2 ) . The Union finally seized the Southside Railroad , cutting off Lee ' s supplies . Lt . Gen . James Longstreet ' s corps crossed the James River to reinforce Petersburg . The city of Richmond was evacuated that night , and the Confederate government fled . Lt . Gen . Richard S . Ewell , in charge of the city ' s defenses , was ordered to destroy anything of military value . Civilians rioted and great conflagrations engulfed the city . Confederate retreat . Namozine Church ( April 3 ) . A minor cavalry skirmish occurred . Lee reached Amelia Court House on April 4 and found that the expected rations had not arrived ; they had not been placed on the trains escaping Richmond , and those in supply wagon trains had been captured by Union cavalry . With 30 , 000 hungry men to feed , Lee chose to remain in the area for the rest of the day , sending out foraging parties , most of which came up with few provisions . This tactical error on Lee ' s part allowed Union cavalry time to erase Lee ' s head start in his retreat . Amelia Springs ( April 5 ) . Confederate cavalry under Maj . Gens . Fitzhugh Lee and Thomas L . Rosser assaulted Union cavalry under Maj . Gen . George Crook as they returned from burning Confederate wagons at Painesville . This running fight started north of Amelia Springs and pushed through and beyond Jetersville . Lee discovered that his route to Danville was blocked by fast - moving Union cavalry . His only remaining option was to move west on a long march , without food , to Lynchburg . But the Confederate Commissary General promised Lee that he would send 80 , 000 rations to Farmville , to the west . Sayler ' s Creek ( April 6 ) . Nearly a quarter of the Confederate army ( about 8 , 000 men , the heart of two corps ) was cut off and forced to surrender by Sheridan , Maj . Gen . Andrew A . Humphreys ( II Corps ) , and Maj . Gen . Charles Griffin ( V Corps , replacing Warren , who was relieved by Sheridan after Five Forks ) . Many of the Confederate supply trains were also captured . Lt . Gen . Richard S . Ewell , who surrendered , was among eight Confederate general officer casualties . This action was considered the death knell of the Confederate army . Upon seeing the survivors streaming along the road , Lee exclaimed " My God , has the army dissolved ? " Rice ' s Station ( April 6 ) . Longstreet ' s command reached Rice ' s Station , its farthest point south , where it was blocked by the Union XXIV Corps . After some skirmishing , Longstreet withdrew over the High Bridge during the night toward Farmville . Cumberland Church ( April 7 ) . At about 2 p . m . on April 7 , the advance of the Union II Corps encountered Confederate forces entrenched on high ground near Cumberland Church . The Union forces attacked twice but were repulsed , and darkness halted the conflict . Union Brig . Gen . Thomas A . Smythe was mortally wounded nearby ( the last Union general killed in the war ) , and Brig . Gen . John Irvin Gregg was captured north of Farmville . High Bridge ( April 6 – 7 ) . After the bulk of Lee ' s remaining army crossed the Appomattox River , Longstreet ' s rear guard burned the bridges behind them . The Union II Corps managed to extinguish the blazes on two of the bridges , and they crossed the river and caught up with the Confederates at Farmville . Fitzhugh Lee ' s cavalry was able to hold off the Union infantry until nightfall , but Lee was forced to continue his march to the west under this pressure , depriving his men the opportunity to eat the Farmville rations they had waited so long to receive . Their next stop would be Appomattox Station , west , where a ration train was waiting . On the night of April 7 , Lee received from Grant a letter proposing that the Army of Northern Virginia should surrender . Lee demurred , retaining one last hope that his army could get to Appomattox Station before he was trapped . He returned a noncommittal letter asking about the surrender terms Grant might propose . Appomattox Station ( April 8 ) . The cavalry division of Maj . Gen . George Armstrong Custer seized a supply train and 25 guns , effectively blocking Lee ' s path . This unique action pitted artillery without infantry support against cavalry . Custer captured and burned three trains loaded with provisions for Lee ' s army . Grant sent a letter to Lee offering generous surrender terms , as urged by President Abraham Lincoln , and proposing a meeting to discuss them . Appomattox Court House ( April 9 ) . In Lee ' s final stand , Maj . Gen . John B . Gordon ' s depleted corps and Fitzhugh Lee ' s cavalry formed line of battle at Appomattox Court House . Robert E . Lee determined to make one last attempt to escape the closing Union pincers and reach his supplies at Lynchburg . At dawn the Confederates advanced , initially driving back Sheridan ' s cavalry . However , the arrival of Grant ' s infantry — the Union V Corps — stopped the advance in its tracks . Lee ' s outnumbered army was now surrounded on three sides . Lee surrendered his army at 3 p . m . , accepting the terms Grant had proposed by letter the previous day . Aftermath . The Appomattox Campaign was an example of masterful , relentless pursuit and maneuver by Grant and Sheridan , skills that had been in short supply by previous generals , such as Meade after Gettysburg and McClellan after Antietam . Lee did the best he could under the circumstances , but his supplies , soldiers , and luck finally ran out . The surrender of Lee represented the loss of only one of the Confederate field armies , but it was a psychological blow from which the South did not recover . With no chance remaining for eventual victory , all of the remaining armies capitulated by June 1865 . Confederate casualties in the campaign are difficult to estimate because many of their records are lost and reports were not always submitted . National Park Service historian Chris M . Calkins estimates 6 , 266 killed and wounded , 19 , 132 captured ; surrendering at Appomattox Court House were 22 , 349 infantry , 1 , 559 cavalry , and 2 , 576 artillery troops . William Marvel has written that many of the Confederate veterans bemoaned that there were only " 8 , 000 muskets " available at the end against the enormous Union Army , but this figure deliberately ignores cavalry and artillery strength and is much lower than the total number of men who received certificates of parole . Many men who had slipped away from the army during the retreat later returned to receive the official Federal paperwork allowing them to return to their homes unmolested . Union casualties for the campaign were about 9 , 700 killed , wounded , and missing or captured . Classifying the campaigns . Military historians do not agree on precise boundaries between the campaigns of this era . This article uses the classification maintained by the U . S . National Park Service ' s American Battlefield Protection Program . An alternative classification is maintained by West Point ; in their " Atlas of American Wars " ( Esposito , 1959 ) , the Siege of Petersburg ends with the Union assault and breakthrough of April 2 . The remainder of the war in Virginia is classified as " Grant ' s Pursuit of Lee to Appomattox Court House ( 3 – 9 April 1865 ) " .