The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill and the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, was fought on May 12–13, 1865, during the American Civil War. It was the last major clash of arms in the war. Many historians, as well as the Official Record of the Civil War, consider the Battle of Palmito Ranch to be a post-Civil War encounter, with the Battle of Columbus in April being the recognized last battle of the Civil War.

The battle was fought on the banks of the Rio Grande about twelve miles east of Brownsville, Texas. In the kaleidoscope of events following the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army on April 9, Palmito Ranch was nearly ignored.

Battle of Palmito Ranch Background

Early in 1865, both sides in south Texas honored a gentlemen's agreement that there was no point to further hostilities. After July 28, 1864, most of the 6,500 Union troops pulled out of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, including Brownsville, which they had occupied on November 2, 1863, for other campaigns. The Confederates sought to protect their remaining ports for cotton sales to Europe, as well as importation of supplies. Mexicans tended to side with the Confederates due to a lucrative smuggling trade.

Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace proposed a negotiated end of hostilities in Texas between his forces and those of Confederate Brig-Gen. James E. Slaughter, and met with Slaughter's subordinate Col. John Salmon Ford at Port Isabel in March 1865. Despite Slaughter's and Ford's concurrence that further combat would prove tragic, the negotiations were repudiated by their superior, Confederate Gen. John G. Walker, in a scathing exchange of letters with Wallace. Despite this, both sides appeared to honor a tacit agreement not to advance on the other without prior notice in writing.

A brigade of 1,900 Union troops commanded by Col. Robert B. Jones of the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry garrisoned Brazos Santiago island at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. The 34th Indiana, 400 strong, was an experienced infantry regiment that had seen combat in the Vicksburg campaign and had been reorganized in December 1863 as a "Veteran" regiment, re-enlisting veteran troops of several regiments whose original enlistments had expired. It deployed to Brazos Santiago on December 22, 1864, replacing the 91st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which returned to New Orleans. The brigade also included the 87th and 62nd United States Colored Infantry Regiments ("United States Colored Troops", or U.S.C.T.), with a combined strength of approximately 1,100. Shortly after Walker rejected the armistice proposal, Jones resigned his commission to return to Indiana, replaced in command of the 34th Indiana by its lieutenant colonel, Robert G. Morrison, and at Brazos Santiago by Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, commander of the 62nd U.S.C.T.

Barrett, 30, had been an officer since 1862, but was without combat experience. Eager to advance in rank, he had volunteered to command one of the newly raised "colored" regiments in 1863 and was appointed colonel of the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry, which in March 1864 was federalized in Louisiana as the 62nd U.S.C.T. Barrett contracted malaria in the summer of 1864, and while he was on convalescent leave, the 62nd was posted to Brazos Santiago, where Barrett rejoined it in February 1865.

Why the battle happened remains something of a mystery. Barrett's detractors among the brigade suggested soon after the battle that he had desired "a little battlefield glory before the war ended altogether." Others theorized that Barrett needed horses for the 300 dismounted cavalry in his brigade and for other purposes. Historian Louis J. Schuler, in a 1960 pamphlet entitled The last battle in the War Between the States, May 13, 1865: Confederate Force of 300 defeats 1,700 Federals near Brownsville, Texas, asserts that Brig-Gen. Egbert B. Brown of the U.S. Volunteers ordered the expedition with the object of seizing for sale as contraband 2,000 bales of cotton stored in Brownsville. However, Brown was not appointed to command at Brazos Santiago until later in May.

Battle

On May 11, Barrett instructed his lieutenant colonel, David Branson, to attack the Confederate encampments commanded by Ford at White and Palmito Ranches near Fort Brown, outside Brownsville. Branson's Union forces consisted of 250 men of the 62nd U.S.C.T. in eight companies and two companies of the (U.S.) 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion, 50 men without mounts. They crossed from Brazos Santiago to the mainland across the Boca Chica Pass during a storm on the evening of May 11 and made a night march upriver to attack the Confederate encampment. At first Branson's expedition was successful, capturing three prisoners and some supplies, although it failed to achieve the desired surprise. During the afternoon, Confederate forces under Captain William N. Robinson counterattacked with less than 100 cavalry, driving Branson back to White's Ranch, where the fighting stopped for the night. Both sides sent for reinforcements: Ford arrived with the remainder of his cavalry force and six guns (for a total of 300 men), while Barrett came with 200 troops of the 34th Indiana in nine understrength companies.

The next day, Barrett started advancing westward, passing a half mile to the west of Palmito Ranch, with skirmishers from the 34th Indiana deployed in front. Ford attacked Barrett's force as it was skirmishing with an advance Confederate force along the Rio Grande about 4 p.m. Ford sent a couple of companies with artillery to attack the Union right flank, sending the remainder of his force into a frontal attack. After some confusion and fierce fighting, the Union forces retreated back towards Boca Chica. Barrett attempted to form a rearguard but Confederate artillery prevented him from rallying a significant force to do so. During the retreat, which lasted until the 14th, 50 members of the 34th Indiana's rear guard company, 30 stragglers, and 20 of the dismounted cavalry were surrounded in a bend of the Rio Grande and captured.

Battle of Palmito Ranch Aftermath

In Barrett's official report of August 10, 1865, he reported 115 Union casualties: one killed, nine wounded, and 105 captured. Confederate casualties were reported as five or six wounded, with none killed. Historian and Ford biographer Stephen B. Oates, however, concludes that Union deaths were much higher, numbering approximately 30, many of whom drowned in the Rio Grande or were attacked and killed by French border guards on the Mexican side. He likewise estimated Confederate casualties at approximately the same number. However, using court-martial testimony and post returns from Brazos Santiago, Texas A&M International University historian Jerry D. Thompson determined that:

• the 62nd U.S.C.T. incurred two killed and four wounded;
• the 34th Indiana one killed, one wounded, and 79 captured; and
• the 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion one killed, seven wounded, and 22 captured,
• totalling four killed, 12 wounded, and 101 captured.

Like the war's first big battle at First Bull Run, which also yielded little gain for either side, the battle is recorded as a Confederate victory. Two weeks later, Texan forces surrendered formally on May 26, 1865; Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered his forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2. Most senior Confederate commanders in Texas (including Smith, Walker, Slaughter, and Ford) and many troops and equipment fled across the border to Mexico, possibly to ally with Imperial Mexican forces.

The Military Division of the Southwest (after June 27 the Division of the Gulf), commanded by Maj-Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan, occupied Texas between June and August. Consisting of the IV Corps, XIII Corps, the African-American XXV Corps, and two 4,000-man cavalry divisions commanded by Brig-Gen. Wesley Merritt and Maj-Gen. George A. Custer, it aggregated a 50,000 man force on the Gulf Coast and along the Rio Grande River to pressure the French intervention in Mexico and garrison the Reconstruction Department of Texas.

In July 1865, Barrett preferred charges of disobedience of orders, neglect of duty, abandoning his colors, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline against Morrison for actions in the battle, resulting in the latter's court martial. Confederate Col. Ford, who had returned from Mexico at the request of Union Gen. Frederick Steele to act as parole commissioner for disbanding Confederate forces, appeared as a defense witness and assisted in absolving Morrison for responsibility for the defeat.

The following material is from first-hand and published sources. They are recounts of the role of Hispanic Confederate veterans and the treatment of black POWs in South Texas.

There were Hispanic Confederate veterans at Fort Brown in Brownsville and on the field of Palmito Ranch. Col. Santos Benavides, who was the highest ranking Hispanic in either army, led between one hundred and one hundred and fifty Mexicans in the Brownsville Campaign in May 1865.

"Some of the Sixty-Second Colored Regiment were also taken. They had been led to believe that if captured they would either be shot or returned to slavery. They were agreeably surprised when they were paroled and permitted to depart with the white prisoners. Several of the prisoners were from Austin and vicinity. They were assured they would be treated as prisoners of war. There was no disposition to visit upon them a mean spirit of revenge."-Colonel John Salmon Ford, May 1865.

When Colonel Ford surrendered his command following the campaign of Palmito Ranch he urged his men to honor their paroles. He insisted that, "The negro had a right to vote."

Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana was the last fatality during the Battle at Palmito Ranch, making him likely the final combat death of the war. Fighting in the battle involved Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American troops. Reports of shots from the Mexican side, the sounding of a warning to the Confederates of the Union approach, the crossing of Imperial cavalry into Texas, and the participation by several among Ford's troops are unverified, despite many witnesses reporting shooting from the Mexican shore.

Battle of Palmito Ranch
Part of the American Civil War
Date May 12–14, 1865 Location Cameron County, Texas Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Theodore H. Barrett	John "Rip" Ford
Units involved
Detachments from the: 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion (US) 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry	Detachments from: 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment (CSA) "Mounted Rifles" Gidding's Regiment Anderson's Battalion Benavides' Regiment and other Confederate units and Southern sympathizers
Casualties and losses
4 killed 12 wounded 101 captured	5-6 wounded 3 captured

The Battle of Anderson was a minor skirmish during the American Civil War, fought in Anderson County, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865. The battle was one of the final conflicts of the war, taking place three weeks after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.

Battle of Anderson
Part of the American Civil War
Date May 1, 1865 Location Anderson, South Carolina Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Casualties and losses
2	0

The Battle of Columbus, Georgia (April 16, 1865), also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama (now Phenix City, Alabama) is widely regarded to be the last battle of the American Civil War. The Georgia State government has officially declared this battle the "last battle of the war between the states."

The Battle of Palmito Ranch occurred after the Battle of Columbus, but the engagement at Palmito Ranch occurred after Johnston's surrender to Sherman (April 26, 1865) and after the Confederacy dissolved on May 5. In the Official Records of the Civil War, the Battle of Columbus is referred to as the "closing conflict of the war."

Events Leading to the Battle

After the Union victory in the Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864), Union General George H. Thomas gave orders to General James H. Wilson to march into the heart of the Deep South to bring the Confederacy to its knees by destroying all of their supply centers such as Selma, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia.

Wilson left Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865, aiming for Selma, Alabama, a major manufacturing and supply center for the Confederacy. The Battle of Selma took place on April 2, 1865, against the highly skilled leadership of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. This engagement occurred the same day that the Confederate capital of Richmond fell into the hands of General Ulysses S. Grant. Despite inflicting significant casualties on Wilson's raiders, Selma fell to Wilson by 7 p.m. on April 2.

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, but Confederate General Johnston's army had not yet conceded defeat. Additionally, as a result of the disruption of the telegraph lines and all other modes of expeditious communication, General Wilson's raiders were not aware of the surrender of Lee. They continued their raid as if the Confederacy was still intact.

On April 12, 1865, Wilson's men marched into Montgomery, Alabama, without major resistance from the Confederates.

Wilson's next principal target was the manufacturing city of Columbus, Georgia. Columbus stood as the largest-surviving supply city in the South. It had been second only to Richmond, Virginia, as providing the industrial support for the war effort, and Richmond was no longer a factor. Columbus was also situated on the Chattahoochee River where a major Naval Construction facility was located. The new ironclad CSS Muscogee was constructed in Columbus and it was docked there waiting to be launched into service.

Although it was unknown to Wilson and his men, the President of the United States was shot in Washington on Good Friday, April 14, and died the next morning.

Columbus Alerted to the Attack

Confederates in Columbus were preparing for the fact that Wilson's 13,000 men were heading their direction in the days leading up to the battle. Confederate Major General Howell Cobb was in charge of the forces located in Columbus, and he began to prepare to defend the city of Columbus "to the last ditch."

Cobb commanded a force of about 3,500 men, a few of whom were battle-worn, but most of whom were Georgia and Alabama Reserve units and civilians. On April 16, 1865, the local newspapers warned the citizens of Columbus that they should evacuate the town as an attack was imminent.

The public is hereby notified of the rapid approach of the enemy, but assured that the city of Columbus will be defended to the last. Judging from experience it is believed that the city will be shelled. Notice is, therefore, given to all non-combatants to move away immediately.

General Howell Cobb's Defense Strategy

Cobb decided to defend the city on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee, in the town of Girard, Alabama. There the Confederates utilized trenches, breastworks and earthen forts that had partially existed since earlier in the war; now their completion became imperative.

The main objective was to defend the two covered bridges that connected Girard to Columbus. Cobb had the advantage of knowing that Wilson would have to concentrate on these two narrow locations in order to capture Columbus. Cobb also wanted to keep the high ground in Girard out of Wilson's clutch, lest he have a convenient perch to siege Columbus with bombardment.

In addition to preparing strong fortified positions on the high ground in Girard on the west side of the Chattahoochee River, Cobb ordered the base of the bridges to be wrapped in cotton and doused with turpentine in the event that the Confederates were unable to fend off Wilson's raiders from the bridges. This would allow the Confederates, as a last resort, to burn the bridges to prevent Wilson's troops from easy access to Columbus.

The Battle

Between 1:30 and 2 p.m. on Easter, April 16, 1865, Wilson's raiders arrived at Girard, Alabama, and the fighting began. Wilson also sent a detachment north of Columbus to West Point, Georgia, to cross the Chattahoochee River there. West Point was defended by the garrison at Fort Tyler. The Battle of West Point and the Battle of Columbus took place on the same day.

At about 2 p.m. Union General Emory Upton's division launched an attack on the lower (southern) bridge. Meeting very little resistance, it appeared as if Alexander's brigade would cross the bridge and take Columbus almost as easily as they took Montgomery, Alabama. But this was a trap. Confederates removed the planks on the East side of the bridge that would halt the Federals and allow the Confederates to burn the bridge filled with soldiers. Recognizing the peril Upton was forced to retreat and for a short time it appeared as if the Confederates might enjoy some degree of success in defending Columbus.

Wilson was compelled to turn his attention to the upper bridge. He planned an assault on the bridge at 8 p.m., after nightfall, and to have General Winslow's brigade lead the attack. A tremendous clash occurred near the entrance of the upper bridge. It was here that Confederate John Pemberton was slashed by a sabre which would lead him, after the war, to become preoccupied with formulas for pain killers and remedies, ultimately inspiring him to develop the recipe for Coca-Cola.

Around 10 p.m. the Confederate defenses in Girard had collapsed and frantically attempted a retreat back across the Chattahoochee River into Georgia. At the same time, Winslow's brigade were also eager to get across the upper bridge before it too might be set afire by the Confederates. Side by side, both Union and Confederate soldiers raced across the bridge to Columbus. It was too dark, however, for either to see who was who. Though attempts were made at firing the bridge, circumstances prevented it. The upper bridge was not burned.

At 11 p.m. Wilson made his way across the bridge and on the Columbus side of the bridge, Wilson took up headquarters in the house nearest to the bridge: the Mott House. There on "Mott's Green" Colonel C.A. Lamar, one of the last of the international slave-traders, led a cavalry charge. Lamar was killed after refusing to surrender to a dismounted Union Cavalryman. Lamar was identified by General William Tecumseh Sherman, probably in error, as the last Confederate to die in the Civil War.

The Day After

On the morning of April 17, 1865, General Wilson ordered the destruction of all resources in Columbus that could extenuate the Confederate war effort. Most significantly, the Ironclad CSS Muscogee (also known as the CSS Jackson) was burned and sunk. A large number of Confederate prisoners were captured. The CSS Chattahoochee was scuttled to prevent it from falling into Union hands.

The number of casualties in the battle is unknown, but there were a minimum of 145. Additionally, the local Linwood cemetery has a significant section dedicated to the graves of Confederate soldiers. By the end of the day on April 17, 1865, much of the city of Columbus had been reduced to ashes.

The Last Battle of the Civil War

Insofar as the bulk of Confederates surrendered on April 26, 1865, at Bennett Place, North Carolina, marking the effectual end of the war, the Battle at Columbus was the last battle of the civil war. The Battle of Palmito Ranch took place on May 13, long after the Confederate government was entirely vanquished, its president (Jefferson Davis) in prison, and its organized military extinct. The Battle of Palmito Ranch was a "post-war" encounter.

That the Battle of Columbus, Georgia, was the last battle of the war was confirmed by two of the U.S. generals who led the battle. In 1913 General Wilson wrote that there is, "no grounds left for doubting that 'Columbus was the last battle of the war.'" General Edward F. Winslow wrote, "I have always considered that engagement, by the number present and the results achieved, to be the final battle of the war." Other officers echoed these assertions as well. A movement to preserve the battlefield as a national park ensued from the 1890s through the 1930s. An employee of the National Park Service, Arno Cammerer, rejected the proposal in 1934, but in spite of Cammerer's opinion, the Georgia State Government maintained that the last battle of the civil war took place there. A renewed effort to commemorate the battlefield as a park has been revived.

Battle of Columbus
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 16, 1865 Location Columbus, Georgia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
James H. Wilson	Howell Cobb
Strength
Two cavalry divisions (13,500 cavalry)	3,000
Casualties and losses
60	80

The Battle of West Point was fought on April 16, 1865 in West Point, Georgia, during General James H. Wilson's raid of the south during the American Civil War. This battle was fought at Fort Tyler seven days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, making it one of the last battles of the Civil War east of the Mississippi and Fort Tyler the last Confederate fort captured by the Union. The same day just 30 miles to the south, the Battle of Columbus, Georgia was fought by Upton's division of Wilson's Raiders.

Battle of West Point
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 16, 1865 Location West Point, Georgia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
James H. Wilson, Oscar H. LaGrange	Robert C. Tyler†
Strength
Two cavalry divisions (13,500 cavalry)	120-265 men
Casualties and losses
36	47

The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American Civil War. Lee, having abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after the Siege of Petersburg, retreated west, hoping to join his army with the Confederate forces in North Carolina. Union forces pursued and cut off the Confederate retreat. Lee's final stand was at Appomattox Court House, where he launched an attack to break through the Union force to his front, assuming the Union force consisted entirely of cavalry. When he realized that the cavalry was backed up by two corps of Union infantry, he had no choice but to surrender. The signing of the surrender documents occurred in the parlor of the house owned by Wilmer McLean on the afternoon of April 9. On April 12, a formal ceremony marked the disbandment of the Army of Northern Virginia and the parole of its officers and men, effectively ending the war in Virginia.

Battle of Appomattox Court House Background

The final campaign for Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America, began when the Federal Army of the Potomac crossed the James River in June 1864. The armies under the command of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to Petersburg and Richmond, intending to cut the two cities' supply lines and force the Confederates to evacuate. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee waited for an opportunity to leave the Petersburg lines, aware that the position was untenable, but Union troops made the first move. On April 1, 1865, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry turned Lee's flank at the Battle of Five Forks. The next day Grant's army achieved a decisive breakthrough, effectively ending the Petersburg siege. With supply lines cut, Lee's men abandoned the trenches they had held for ten months and evacuated on the night of 2nd to the 3rd of April.

Lee's first objective was to reassemble and supply his men at Amelia Courthouse. His plan was to link up with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee and go on the offensive after establishing defenses on the Roanoke River. When the troops arrived at Amelia on April 4, however, they found no provisions. Lee sent wagons out to the surrounding country to forage, but as a result lost a day's worth of marching time. The army then headed west to Appomattox Station, where a supply train awaited him. Lee's army was now composed of the cavalry corps and two small infantry corps.

En route to the station, on April 6 at Sayler's Creek, nearly one fourth of the retreating Confederate army was cut off by Sheridan's cavalry and elements of the II and VI Corps. Two Confederate divisions fought the VI Corps along the creek. The Confederates attacked but were driven back, and soon after the Union cavalry cut through the right of the Confederate lines. Most of the 7,700 Confederates surrendered, including Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell and eight other generals. The delay prevented Lee from reaching the station by late afternoon on April 8, allowing Sheridan to reach the station that evening, where he captured Lee's supplies and obstructed his path.

Following the minor battles of Cumberland Church and High Bridge, on April 7 Grant sent a note to Lee suggesting that it was time to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia. In a return note, Lee refused the request, but asked Grant what terms he had in mind. On April 8, Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. and Brevet Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer captured and burned three supply trains waiting for Lee's army at the Battle of Appomattox Station. Now both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James were converging on Appomattox.

With his supplies at Appomattox destroyed, Lee now looked west, to the railway at Lynchburg, where more supplies awaited him. While the Union Army was closing in on Lee, all that lay between Lee and Lynchburg was Union cavalry. Lee hoped to break through the cavalry before infantry arrived. He sent a note to Grant saying that he did not wish to surrender his army just yet but was willing to discuss how Grant's terms would affect the Confederacy. Grant, with a throbbing headache, stated that "It looks as if Lee still means to fight." The Union infantry was close, but the only unit near enough to support Sheridan's cavalry was Maj. Gen. John Gibbon's XXIV Corps of the Army of the James. This corps traveled 30 miles (50 km) in 21 hours to reach the cavalry. Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord, commander of the Army of the James, arrived with the XXIV Corps around 4:00 a.m. while the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac was close behind. Sheridan deployed three divisions of cavalry along a low ridge to the southwest of Appomattox Court House.

Battle

April 9

At dawn on April 9, the Confederate Second Corps under Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon attacked Sheridan's cavalry and quickly forced back the first line under Brevet Brig. Gen. Charles H. Smith. The next line, held by Brig. Gens. Ranald S. Mackenzie and George Crook, slowed the Confederate advance. Gordon's troops charged through the Union lines and took the ridge, but as they reached the crest they saw the entire Union XXIV Corps in line of battle with the Union V Corps to their right. Lee's cavalry saw these Union forces and immediately withdrew and rode off towards Lynchburg. Ord's troops began advancing against Gordon's corps while the Union II Corps began moving against Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps to the northeast. Colonel Charles Venable of Lee's staff rode in at this time and asked for an assessment, and Gordon gave him a reply he knew Lee did not want to hear: "Tell General Lee I have fought my corps to a frazzle, and I fear I can do nothing unless I am heavily supported by Longstreet's corps." Upon hearing it Lee finally stated the inevitable: "Then there is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant and I would rather die a thousand deaths."

Many of Lee's officers, including Longstreet, agreed that surrendering the army was the only option left. The only notable officer opposed to surrender was Longstreet's chief of artillery, Brig. Gen. Edward Porter Alexander, who predicted that if Lee surrendered then "every other [Confederate] army will follow suit."

At 8:00 a.m., Lee rode out to meet Grant, accompanied by three of his aides.

Grant received Lee's first letter on the morning of April 9 as he was traveling to meet Sheridan. Grant recalled his migraine seemed to disappear when he read Lee's letter, and he handed it to his assistant Rawlins to read aloud before composing his reply:

General, Your note of this date is but this moment, 11:50 A.M. rec'd., in consequence of my having passed from the Richmond and Lynchburg road. I am at this writing about four miles West of Walker's Church and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you. Notice sent to me on this road where you wish the interview to take place.

Grant's response was remarkable in that it let the defeated Lee choose the place of his surrender. Lee received the reply within an hour and dispatched an aide, Charles Marshall, to find a suitable location for the occasion. Marshall scrutinized Appomattox Court House, a small village of roughly twenty buildings that served as a waystation for travelers on the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road. Marshall rejected the first house he saw as too dilapidated, instead settling on the 1848 brick home of Wilmer McLean. McLean had lived near Manassas Junction during the First Battle of Bull Run, and had retired to Appomattox to escape the war.

With gunshots still being heard on Gordon's front and Union skirmishers still advancing on Longstreet's front, Lee received a message from Grant. After several hours of correspondence between Grant and Lee, a cease-fire was enacted and Grant received Lee's request to discuss surrender terms.

Surrender

Dressed in an immaculate uniform, Lee waited for Grant to arrive. Grant, whose headache had ended when he received Lee's note, arrived in a mud-spattered uniform—a government-issue flannel shirt with trousers tucked into muddy boots, no sidearms, and with only his tarnished shoulder straps showing his rank. It was the first time the two men had seen each other face-to-face in almost two decades. Suddenly overcome with sadness, Grant found it hard to get to the point of the meeting and instead the two generals briefly discussed their only previous encounter, during the Mexican-American War. Lee brought the attention back to the issue at hand, and Grant offered the same terms he had before:

In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va. on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.

The terms were as generous as Lee could hope for; his men would not be imprisoned or prosecuted for treason. In addition to his terms, Grant also allowed the defeated men to take home their horses and mules to carry out the spring planting and provided Lee with a supply of food rations for his starving army; Lee said it would have a very happy effect among the men and do much toward reconciling the country. The terms of the surrender were recorded in a document completed around 4 p.m., April 9. As Lee left the house and rode away, Grant's men began cheering in celebration, but Grant ordered an immediate stop. "I at once sent word, however, to have it stopped," he said. "The Confederates were now our countrymen, and we did not want to exult over their downfall." Custer and other Union officers purchased from McLean the furnishings of the room Lee and Grant met in as souvenirs, emptying it of furniture. Grant soon visited the Confederate army, then he and Lee sat on the McLean home's porch and met with visitors such as Longstreet and George Pickett before the two men left for their capitals.

On April 10, Lee gave his farewell address to his army. The same day a six-man commission gathered to discuss a formal ceremony of surrender, even though no Confederate officer wished to go through with such an event. Brig. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain was the Union officer selected to lead the ceremony, and later he reflected on what he witnessed on April 12, 1865, and wrote a moving tribute:

The momentous meaning of this occasion impressed me deeply. I resolved to mark it by some token of recognition, which could be no other than a salute of arms. Well aware of the responsibility assumed, and of the criticisms that would follow, as the sequel proved, nothing of that kind could move me in the least. The act could be defended, if needful, by the suggestion that such a salute was not to the cause for which the flag of the Confederacy stood, but to its going down before the flag of the Union. My main reason, however, was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;—was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured? Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the "order arms" to the old "carry"—the marching salute. Gordon at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, catches the sound of shifting arms, looks up, and, taking the meaning, wheels superbly, making with himself and his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he drops the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, gives word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual,—honor answering honor. On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead!

— Joshua L. Chamberlain, Passing of the Armies, pp. 260-61

That day, 27,805 Confederate soldiers passed by and stacked their arms.

Battle of Appomattox Court House Aftermath

While General George Meade reportedly shouted that "it's all over" upon hearing the surrender was signed, Grant was aware that only a single army had given up. Roughly 175,000 Confederates remained in the field. Many of these were scattered throughout the South in garrisons while the rest were concentrated in three major Confederate commands. Just as Porter Alexander had predicted, it was only a matter of time before the other Confederate armies began to surrender. As news spread of Lee's surrender, other Confederate commanders realized that the strength of the Confederacy was fading, and decided to lay down their own arms. Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina, the most threatening of the remaining Confederate armies, surrendered to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on April 26. General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department in May and Brig. Gen. Stand Watie surrendered the last sizable organized Confederate force on June 23, 1865.

There were several more small battles after the surrender, with the Battle of Palmito Ranch commonly regarded as the final military action of the Confederacy.

Lee never forgot Grant's magnanimity during the surrender, and for the rest of his life would not tolerate an unkind word about Grant in his presence. Likewise, General Gordon cherished Chamberlain's simple act of saluting his surrendered army, calling Chamberlain "one of the knightliest soldiers of the Federal army."

Battle of Appomattox Court House
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 9, 1865 Location Appomattox Court House, Virginia Result Union victory; surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant	Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac, Army of the James	Army of Northern Virginia
Casualties and losses
164	~500 killed and wounded 27,805 surrendered and paroled

The Battle of Fort Blakely took place from April 2-April 9, 1865 in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War.

Maj. Gen. Edward Canby's Union forces, the XVI and XIII Corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort, Alabama and nearby Fort Blakely. By April 1, Union forces had enveloped Spanish Fort, thereby releasing more troops to focus on Fort Blakely. Confederate Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell, with about 4,000 men, held out against the much larger Union force until Spanish Fort fell on April 8 in the Battle of Spanish Fort. This allowed Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on April 9, led by Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins. Sheer numbers breached the Confederate earthworks, compelling the Confederates, including Liddell, to surrender. The siege and capture of Fort Blakely was basically the last combined-force battle of the war. Yet, it is criticized by some (such as Ulysses S. Grant) as an ineffective contribution to Union war effort due to Canby's lateness in engaging his troops. African-American forces played a major role in the successful Union assault.

The site of the battle is now a historical park, Historic Blakeley State Park.

Battle of Fort Blakely
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 2, 1865–April 9, 1865 Location Baldwin County, Alabama Result Union victory, Fort Blakely surrendered
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Edward Canby	St. John R. Liddell
Strength
Army of West Mississippi	Fort Blakely Garrison
Casualties and losses
629 men	2,900 men

The Battle of Appomattox Station was fought April 8, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George Armstrong Custer's Union cavalry, en route to Appomattox Station, clashed with the reserve artillery of the Confederate Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, under Colonel Lindsay Walker.

The Union army was ordered to take control of the four supply trains that awaited General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The trains carried medical supplies, ammunition, and food vital to the under-equipped Confederate army. The Confederate soldiers were vastly outnumbered, and fought to repulse the Union attack. Many of the Confederates were artillerymen and engineers who were acting as infantry, and had little hand to hand battle experience. The Union army was far better trained and much better organized, all of which led to the Confederate defeat.

The Confederates failed to hold the oncoming Army of the Potomac back, and as a result, Custer's division captured a supply train and twenty-five guns, driving off and scattering the Confederate defenders. This unique action pitted artillery without infantry support against cavalry. Custer then proceeded to burn three of the captured trains.

Battle of Appomattox Station Background

In late 1864, Gen. William T. Sherman's army began a march with an unknown destination, laying waste to about 20% of the farms in Georgia in his "March to the Sea". Lee's army, thinned by desertion and casualties, was now much smaller than Grant's. Union forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, forcing Lee to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. The Confederate capital fell to the Union XXV Corps, composed of black troops.

On the afternoon of April 8, 1865, four supply trains awaited Lee's army at Appomattox Station. The news reached Federal Maj. Gen. George A. Custer and he then pushed his division forward with the 2nd New York Cavalry in the lead. The trains were loaded with supplies—clothes, blankets, equipment, ordnance, medical supplies, and food. After moving along the wagon road beside the railroad, Custer's men approached Appomattox Station from the southeast. The Station consisted of only a few houses with a squad of Confederate cavalry guarding the trains. The Confederates then surrendered to the large Union force. Just as the Union army was preparing to leave in the trains, artillery shells began to fall on their forces.

These shells were fired by Confederate Brig. Gen. Rueben Lindsay Walker's Reserve Artillery, which had advanced to the head of Lee's column in order not to impede the movement of the Army of Northern Virginia. With Walker was an approximate force of 100 cannons, 200 baggage wagons, and the army hospital wagons. These forces were unprepared and were not expecting to meet any Union resistance.

A fourth train, which had just arrived, started back for Lynchburg in such a rush that it broke some of the couplings and left most of its cars behind. Walker drew his men into a semicircle and was supported by the only troops in the area, Talcott's Engineers (acting as infantry), Brig. Gen. Martin Gary's Cavalry Brigade, and 75 to 100 artillerymen also acting as infantry. Encounters developed as Federal skirmishers pushed northeast from the Station.

The Confederates were hampered by the surprise of the attack, lack of organization, and no central command, which resulted in mass confusion. Custer's men were not sure what lay ahead and were ordered by him to charge, but the advance became disjointed probes and pushes through the unfriendly terrain toward the opposing force.

Preparations for battle

Lee directed Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon to set up a line to the south of Appomattox Court House and Lt. Gen. James Longstreet to the north of the Confederate bivouac. Gordon was expected to capture Appomattox Station and capture the supplies that had been lost the day before and create a gap in Union lines for the Army of Northern Virginia to break through. Longstreet, providing rear guard cover for the remaining Army of Northern Virginia, would advance in support after Gordon had created the hole in the Union line.

With Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry on his right, Gordon's men lined up at 2:00 a.m., waiting to attack Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's Union cavalry at dawn, shortly before the final advance of the Army of Northern Virginia began. During the night a Union infantry column under Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord began a forced march from Farmville, reaching Appomattox Station just as Gordon's men left their trenches. Directing his men from a knoll at the rear of the formation, Sheridan moved them to appear to be in serious trouble, fortifying their line while they were retreating. The cavalry moving as if to fortify the center line then took a position behind Union infantry lines.

Battle

Martin's battery fought aggressively on the Confederate left, continuously firing while moving forward. Custer's men made two or three assaults, none very aggressive, as the Union soldiers did not want to get too close to the discharges of canister rounds from the Confederate lines. Meanwhile, the Confederate batteries that were not engaged did their best to escape west towards Lynchburg or north towards Oakville. As darkness was coming on, a final concerted charge was made.

Custer's men captured 25 or 30 guns. There are no Confederate casualty reports, so the exact total will never be known—perhaps 100 men killed and wounded in some manner, but nearly 1,000 Confederate soldiers captured, including Brig. Gen. Young Moody, and about 100 wagons. Federal casualties were 48, but Union surgeons commented that they "had never treated so many extreme cases in so short a fight. The wounds were chiefly made by artillery, and were serious; many patients being badly mangled."

As the fighting at Appomattox Station subsided, elements of the 15th New York Cavalry, under the direction of Lt. Col. Augustus Root, leaped the fence and gained the Lynchburg-Richmond Stage Road and charged into the village of Appomattox Court House, capturing wagons and teamsters along the way. The New Yorkers retreated back along the stage road, gathering prisoners and shooting mules as they went, thus concluding the engagements on April 8.

Retreat

The Battle of Appomattox Station continued steadily four hours after it had started and lasted until dusk with varying intensity, although more fighting continued in the direction of Appomattox Court House for another five hours. The success of Custer's troopers on the evening of April 8, dispersing and capturing Walker's artillery and securing the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road, was vital—the Federals now held the high ground west of Appomattox Court House, squarely across Lee's line of march. With Lee's line of retreat blocked, his only options on April 9, 1865, were to attack or surrender. Lee elected to attack. He held a council of war the night of April 8, and determined that an assault would be made to open the road, believing that only Federal cavalry blocked the way. However, during the night parts of three Federal Corps made a forced march and were close at hand to support the Federal cavalry in the morning.

Battle of Appomattox Station
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 8, 1865 Location Appomattox Station, Virginia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Maj. General George Armstrong Custer	Brig. General Reuben Lindsay Walker
Strength
XXV Corps	30,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
200 KIA or WIA Unknown captured	Estimated: 500 killed or wounded ~1,000 captured (including Brig. Gen. Young Moody) 25–30 guns, 3 trains and 100 wagons captured

The Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865 in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

After the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Mobile nevertheless remained in Confederate hands. Spanish Fort was heavily fortified as an eastern defense to the city of Mobile. Fort Huger, Fort (Battery) Tracey, Fort (Battery) McDermott, Fort Alexis, Red Fort, and Old Spanish Fort were all part of the Mobile defenses at Spanish Fort.

Union forces embarked on a land campaign in early 1865 to take Mobile from the east. Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby's XIII and XVI corps moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, five miles to the north. On March 27, 1865, Canby’s forces rendezvoused at Danley's Ferry and immediately undertook a siege of Spanish Fort. The Union had enveloped the fort by April 1, and on April 8 captured it. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson, escaped and fled to Mobile, but Spanish Fort was no longer a threat.

With Spanish Fort's fall on April 8 and Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House the next day (unrelated to the fall of Spanish Fort, as Lee’s forces were in Virginia), Fort Blakely remained the last organized resistance to the Union east of the Mississippi River. However, as early as April 1, when Spanish Fort's fall became inevitable, Union forces had begun moving north in order to concentrate on Fort Blakely, which eventually succumbed late on April 9 in the Battle of Fort Blakely.

The falls of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely permitted Union troops to subsequently enter Mobile unopposed after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Battle of Spanish Fort
Part of the American Civil War
Date March 27, 1865–April 8, 1865 Location Baldwin County, Alabama Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
E.R.S. Canby	Randall L. Gibson
Units involved
Army of West Mississippi	Spanish Fort Garrison
Casualties and losses
657 men	744 men

The Battle of Cumberland Church was fought on April 7, 1865, as part of the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War.

Near 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. Smyth was mortally wounded nearby, and Brig. Gen. John Irvin Gregg was captured north of Farmville, Virginia.

This clash is sometimes characterized as the final victory of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Battle of Cumberland Church
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 7, 1865 Location Cumberland County Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Andrew A. Humphreys	Robert E. Lee
Units involved
II Corps	Army of North Virginia
Casualties and losses
655	255

The Battle of High Bridge was fought on April 6–7, 1865, near the end of the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. On April 6, the Confederate cavalry fought stubbornly to secure the Appomattox River bridges. On April 7, elements of the Union II Corps came up against Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's rear guard attempting to fire the High Bridge and wagon bridge. Union forces were able to save the wagon bridge over which the II Corps crossed in pursuit of Gen. Robert E. Lee's army. Failure to destroy this bridge enabled Union forces to catch up with the Confederates at Farmville.

Battle of High Bridge Background

High Bridge, 2,500 feet (760 m) long and 126 feet (38 m) high, was the crossing of the South Side Railroad over the Appomattox River and its flood plain, 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Farmville, Virginia. A wooden bridge for wagons was located below the railroad bridge. During the retreat of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, they had moved north of the river, except for a rear guard provided by Longstreet's corps at Rice's Station on the southern bank. The bridges had to be protected and then destroyed to delay the pursuit of the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

On April 6, Longstreet dispatched 1,200 Confederate cavalry under Major General (CSA) Thomas L. Rosser to protect the bridges from Union raiders. Union Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord, commanding the Army of the James, sent about 900 men under Bvt. Brig. Gen. Theodore Read (Ord's chief of staff) to take the bridge. The force consisted of the 123rd Ohio Infantry and the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Horace Kellogg of the 123rd, and three companies (80 troopers) of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry under Col. Francis Washburn. The cavalry reached the bridge before the main Confederate force, chased away some home guards, and secured the south end of the bridge.

Battle

While Washburn prepared to set fire to the bridge, three brigades of Confederate cavalrymen arrived and conducted a dismounted attack against the Union infantry, which was waiting near the Watson farmhouse, about half mile to the south. Hearing sounds of battle, Washburn and his men rejoined the infantry, and unaware that he was facing two divisions of cavalry, Read ordered a mounted charge by the 4th Massachusetts. The ferocious charge forced through the Confederate line of Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Munford and the dissolved into hand-to-hand combat. Read exchanged gunfire with Confederate James Dearing during the fighting and was killed. Dearing was mortally wounded and died on April 22. (Dearing is often cited as the last Confederate general to die in the war, but his appointment to brigadier general in April 1864 was never confirmed.) Washburn was also mortally wounded. The Confederates counterattacked and separated the cavalry from their supporting infantry. After another attack, the Union troopers were surrounded, and almost all were killed, wounded, or captured. Col. Rubin Boston of the 6th Virginia Cavalry was killed in the attack.

Commanding Officer's: Union: Brevet Gen. Theodore Read A.A.G. Army of the James, Colonel Francis Washburn 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, Colonel Horace Kellogg 123rd Ohio Infantry. Confederate: Army of Northern Virginia Cavalry Corps: Rosser's Division: Gen. Thomas L. Rosser, Gen. James Dearing, Gen. John McCausland, Fitz Lee's Division: Gen. Thomas T. Munford, Col. Reuben Boston(Paynes Brigade).

The Confederate Second Corps, under Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon, escaped from their defeat at the Battle of Sayler's Creek and crossed the High Bridge to the north side of the river while Maj. Gen. William Mahone's division secured the bridge. The rest of Lee's army moved on to Farmville and a rendezvous with trains of rations.

Early on April 7, while Mahone's men were attempting to fire the High Bridge and wagon bridge, the Union II Corps under Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys arrived on the scene. The division of Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow, including the 19th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, charged the burning structure and saved a large section of the railroad bridge, preventing major damage. They crossed the lower wagon bridge to move on Lee's flank and forced the hungry Confederates to resume their retreat before re-provisioning themselves.

Battle of High Bridge Aftermath

Together, the battles at High Bridge were tactically inconclusive, despite the 847 Union casualties (including 800 captured) versus only about 100 Confederate, but Lee was forced to continue his march to the west under 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, 25 miles (40 km) 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 "Unconditional Surrender" Grant might propose.

Battle of High Bridge
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 6–7, 1865 Location Prince Edward & Cumberland County, Virginia Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
April 6: Theodore Read April 7: Andrew A. Humphreys	April 6: Thomas L. Rosser April 7: William Mahone
Strength
880	1,200
Casualties and losses
847 (including ~800 captured)	~100

The Battle of Sayler's Creek (also known as Sailor's Creek, Hillsman Farm, or Lockett Farm) was fought April 6, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, in the final days of the American Civil War.

Battle of Sayler's Creek Background

After Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant broke the Confederate defenses at the Siege of Petersburg, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia evacuated Petersburg and Richmond on the night of April 2–3 and began a retreat in hopes of linking up with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina. As the Union Army pursued, and engaged the Confederates in the Battle of Namozine Church (April 3) and the Battle of Amelia Springs (April 5), Lee discovered that his route to Danville was blocked by fast-moving Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan. 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, 25 miles (40 km) to the west.

Battle

On April 6 at Sayler's Creek, nearly one fourth of the retreating Confederate army was cut off by Sheridan's cavalry and elements of the II and VI Corps. Two Confederate divisions, led by Maj. Gens. Custis Lee and Joseph B. Kershaw, under the command of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, fought the VI Corps along the creek. VI Corps attacked after an artillery bombardment. The Confederates counter attacked but were driven back at last. Union artillery under Maj. Andrew Cowan deployed at the Hillsman Farm played a key role in their repulse. Soon after the Union cavalry cut through the right of the Confederate lines. Most Confederates surrendered, including generals Ewell, Lee, Kershaw, Seth M. Barton, James P. Simms, Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr., Dudley M. Du Bose, Eppa Hunton, and Montgomery D. Corse. Col. Stapleton Crutchfield was killed leading a detachment of artillery personnel formerly in the defenses of Richmond. Also present at this battle was Confederate Commander John Randolph Tucker and his naval squadron (300–400 strong), and so sailors were fighting at Sayler's Creek. Farther away, II Corps pushed back Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon, who had mistakenly been on a different road.

Battle of Sayler's Creek Aftermath

Upon seeing the survivors streaming along the road, Lee exclaimed in front of Maj. Gen. William Mahone, "My God, has the army dissolved?" to which he replied, "No, General, here are troops ready to do their duty." Touched by the faithful duty of his men, Lee told Mahone, "Yes, there are still some true men left ... Will you please keep those people back?"

Naming the battle

The National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Virginia both use the more recent name "Sailor's Creek" for this battle, but the historic name was "Sayler's", presumably named for a local property owner. Many prominent Civil War historians (James M. McPherson, Shelby Foote, Bruce Catton, Douglas Southall Freeman, etc.) use the historic spelling. Published in the early 1900s, the New International Encyclopedia calls the battle "Sailor's Creek".

The Sayler's Creek Battlefield was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

Battle of Sayler's Creek
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 6, 1865 Location Amelia, Prince Edward & Nottoway Counties, Virginia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Philip H. Sheridan	Richard S. Ewell Richard H. Anderson
Strength
15–16,000	11,500
Casualties and losses
1,148	7,700 captured; killed/wounded unknown

The Battle of Namozine Church, Virginia was a minor engagement that occurred on April 3, 1865 during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was the first engagement between units of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Robert E. Lee after that army's evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia on April 2, 1865 and units of the Union Army of the Potomac under the command of Maj. Gen. George G. Meade and the overall direction of Union General-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The pursuit of Lee's army was led by the Union Army Cavalry Corps and associated infantry corps under Cavalry Corps commander, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan. The forces immediately engaged in the battle were brigades of the cavalry division of Union Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, especially the brigade of Colonel William Wells, and the Confederate rear guard cavalry brigades of Brig. Gen. William P. Roberts and Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer.

The engagement signaled the beginning of the Union Army's relentless pursuit of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia after the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, which led to the near disintegration of Lee's forces within 6 days and the Confederate army's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865. Captain Tom Custer, the general's brother, won the first of two Congressional Medals of Honor which he won within four days at this battle.

Battle of Namozine Church Background

Overland campaign

In early May 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Union Army General-in-Chief, directed the Union Armies to make coordinated advances against Confederate forces on several fronts. Grant ordered the Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade to destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and take the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Grant accompanied Meade's army on the campaign which began on May 4, 1864. At the same time, the Union Army of the James under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler was directed to march on Richmond from south of the James River. Butler's plan was to move up the James River by boat, land at the lightly defended Bermuda Hundred Plantation near Richmond and cut the railroad lines between Petersburg and Richmond.

Siege of Petersburg

After a series of bloody but inconclusive battles later known as the Overland Campaign, the Army of the Potomac had pushed the Army of Northern Virginia south from the Rapidan River and Rappahannock River line to the outskirts of Richmond. After the failure of the disastrous Union attack on the entrenched Confederates at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864, Grant directed the Army of the Potomac to break contact with the Confederate Army, cross the James River and attack the small Confederate force defending the important railroad center of Petersburg, Virginia, just to the south of Richmond. Union forces nearly overwhelmed this small force but the Confederates were soon reinforced and were able to repulse the Union attack. If Petersburg had fallen, the Confederates would have been unable to supply and hold Richmond, as later events showed. At this time, however, the small force of Confederate defenders held Petersburg against the poorly directed attack of Meade's ineffective subordinates until those defenders could be reinforced by Lee's army. Grant's brilliant tactical improvisation had been thwarted not only by a stout Confederate defense, but also mainly by the inability of subordinates to carry it out. Nonetheless, in mid-June 1864, the Army of the Potomac had the Army of Northern Virginia in a position that required the Confederate army to defend Richmond and Petersburg or to see the Confederacy's capital and a key railroad center fall under Union control. The Army of the Potomac settled into a Siege of Petersburg which was to last until April 2, 1865. Throughout the siege, the Union forces conducted attacks and maneuvers which required the Confederates to spread their weakening army over longer and thinner lines. Finally, the far right western end of the Confederate line broke at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865.

Confederate lines collapse

The Confederate Army had to hold Five Forks in order to protect the Southside Railroad, their last supply line. On April 1, 1865, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, Union Army cavalry forces and V Corps infantry forces of the Army of the Potomac under the command of cavalry corps commander, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, defeated a large force of Confederates from the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Maj. Gen. George Pickett at the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia at the western end of the Confederate lines. General Lee had sent this large force to the end of the line to prevent a suspected attempt by the Union forces to attack and turn this segment of the line in order to get behind the Confederate defenses in general. After sustaining about 800 casualties and losing over 5,000 men who were captured, the remaining Confederates retreated from the strategic Five Forks crossroads to Ford's Station or Ford's Meeting House on the Southside Railroad.

On April 2, 1865, Grant ordered a general advance all along the Confederate lines, which broke in several places, leading to what is now known as the Fall of Petersburg or Breakthrough at Petersburg or occasionally the Third Battle of Petersburg. Four Confederate brigades stood west of Hatcher's Run and due east of Five Forks along White Oak Road where it is met by Claiborne Road. The attack against these brigades by II Corps of the Army of the Potomac under the command of Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys sent the Confederates into retreat to Sutherland's Station or Sutherland's Depot on the Southside Railroad. Confederate Maj. Gen. Henry Heth, who succeeded to corps command upon the death in action of Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill on April 1, organized a defense with these brigades but left them under the command of Brig. Gen. John R. Cooke as Heth returned to Petersburg. In the ensuing Battle of Sutherland's Station advanced brigades of the Union infantry division commanded by Brig. Gen. Nelson A. Miles of Maj. Gen. Humphreys's corps attacked the hastily fortified positions of the Confederate brigades. The Union attackers initially were repulsed with heavy losses. After a second futile attempt to take the Confederate position by two Union brigades, Miles attacked again with his entire force in mid-afternoon and overwhelmed the Confederates. The Union victory at Sutherland's Station started with the collapse of the brigade of Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan on the Confederate left flank. As a result of the Confederate defeat, the Southside Railroad, the Confederates' last supply line, was cut and General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had to abandon Petersburg and Richmond and flee westward.

Confederate army flight

Much of the Army of Northern Virginia as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, were able to escape from Petersburg and Richmond just in advance of the Union troops entering those cities on April 3 because Confederate rear guard forces, especially at Forts Gregg and Whitworth, and Fort Mahone and Sutherland's Station, fought desperate delaying actions on April 2 to give most of the Confederates a head start on Union Army pursuers. General Lee's ultimate intention was to proceed through Danville and then to unite with General Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate army, which was attempting to slow the advance of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union army in North Carolina. First, he planned to reunite the four columns of his army that left Petersburg and Richmond and to resupply at Amelia Court House, Virginia, 39 miles (63 km) southwest of Richmond. Lee's men left their positions in Petersburg and Richmond with only one day's rations. Lee expected to find a supply train of rations that he had ordered brought to Amelia Court House to meet the army at that location.

Battle of Namozine Church

Most of Lee's army marched west on routes north of the Appomattox River but the remnants of the divisions of Maj. Gen. George Pickett and of Maj. Gen. Bushrod Johnson, the latter of which included Moody's Brigage, Wallace's Brigade and Wise's Brigade, along with the cavalry divisions of Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, who was cavalry corps commander, and Maj. Gen. W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee following as a rear guard moved on the Namozine Road, south of the river. While most of Lee's army had an effective one day head start on their flight from Richmond and Petersburg, the advance Union Army cavalry and infantry corps under the command of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan were able to keep Lee's forces to their north by pursuing them on a parallel course to their south. Union cavalry harassed and skirmished with Confederate units almost from the outset of the Confederate army's march from Petersburg. Confederate rear guard dismounted cavalry units often paused to block the roads from pursuing Union cavalry. As early as the evening of April 2, Confederate cavalry under Fitzhugh Lee detected units of the Union cavalry division of Brig. Gen. Thomas Devin in pursuit and had Bushrod Johnson's infantry throw up a series of breastworks along the Namozine Road in order to repulse the Union riders.

On April 3, 1865, advance units of the Union cavalry fought with rear guard Confederate cavalry at Willicomack Creek and the Battle of Namozine Church. In the early morning of April 3, at a ford on Namozine Creek, regiments from the 2d brigade, under the command of Colonel William Wells, of Custer's 3rd cavalry division, which had taken over the advance pursuit, threatened the rear guard of Rooney Lee's column. That rear guard was the cavalry brigade of Brig. Gen. William P. Roberts and a few infantry units. Roberts had dismounted the 4th North Carolina Cavalry Regiment and the 16th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion and had them entrench on the west side of the creek. Custer brought up artillery to blast the North Carolina cavalrymen with canister and had the 1st Vermont Volunteer Cavalry Regiment ford the creek out of sight of the Confederates in order to outflank them. When the Confederates discovered this maneuver, they fled their position in order to try to regroup further down the road. Custer's division then crossed the creek and headed for Namozine Church, about 5 miles (8.0 km) away. The leading Union cavalry brigade of Custer's 3rd Division, the 2d Brigade under Col. William Wells, who had attacked the Confederate cavalrymen of Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer along the creek, fought a running battle along the road until they reached Namozine Church.

Barringer's Confederates, the 1st and 2d North Carolina Volunteer Cavalry Regiments with a single artillery piece, with the 5th North Carolina Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in reserve, counterattacked the 8th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of Wells's brigade, commanded by Maj. James Bliss, as they reached the Namozine Church After sharp fighting, the Confederate cavalry were turned away by the 8th New York Cavalry and reinforcements from the 15th New York Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Col. John J. Coppinger' and the 1st Vermont Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. Josiah Hall. About 9 a.m., as Wells's brigade began their attack, Brig. Gen. Custer's younger brother, Captain Tom Custer, spurred his horse over a hastily thrown up barricade of the still deploying Confederate cavalry and captured 3 Confederate officers and 11 enlisted men, as well as the battle flag of the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry. For his actions, the younger Custer would eventually be awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor, one of two he would earn within four days.

Barringer's Confederate cavalry had bought enough time for Bushrod Johnson's infantry division to pass nearby Namozine Church around 8 a.m. Unfortunately for Johnson, his forces took a wrong turn at a fork in the road and had to halt when his command reached a bridge over Deep Creek that was underwater from recent flooding. Although the Union cavalry drove off the Confederate cavalry, the North Carolina cavalry regiments had secured the Namozine Church road intersection long enough for Johnson to return and take the correct fork. When General Johnson approached with his infantry division, Custer's forces were forced to retire, allowing the Confederate forces to proceed across Deep Creek, an Appomattox River tributary. Then, Fitzhugh Lee and his cousin, "Rooney" Lee, second son of Gen. Robert E. Lee, separated their cavalry commands and continued their retreat. Custer later chased the fleeing Confederates but near dark he ran into substantial infantry opposition from Johnson's division at Sweathouse Creek and halted for the night. After dark, however, Wells's brigade continued to attack Fitzhugh Lee's force along Deep Creek. Brig. Gen. Barringer and many of his men were captured by Sheridan's scouts who were wearing gray uniforms and who led Barringer and his remaining men into a trap. Rooney Lee's adjutant general, Maj. J. D. Ferguson, also was captured. Sheridan's forces camped for the night along the road from Namozine Church to Deep Creek while the Confederate infantry and remaining cavalry continued to march to their designated consolidation point of Amelia Court House, where they expected to receive much needed supplies and rations.

Colonel Wells lost 95 Federal cavalrymen killed and wounded in the engagement. Total Confederate losses are not known, but Custer's men were able to capture many of the Confederates. They took 350 prisoners, 100 horses and an artillery piece while initially clearing the road as far as the Namozine Church. Johnson reported 15 wounded from his division. After the battle, Namozine Church served as a field hospital and later as Maj. Gen. Sheridan's temporary headquarters.

Battle of Namozine Church Aftermath

On April 4, 1865, the opposing forces skirmished at Tabernacle Church or Beaver Pond Creek and at Amelia Court House. Meanwhile, Sheridan's forces occupied Jetersville, Virginia and Burkeville, Virginia which blocked Lee's access to the Richmond and Danville Railroad and to the direct route southwestward. Lee had hoped to find a supply train at Amelia Court House, Virginia, 39 miles (63 km) southwest of Richmond, but when he and his forces arrived there on April 4, 1865, he found that the train contained only ordnance, ammunition, caissons and harnesses. After a delay for unsuccessful foraging efforts, or as some historians have argued, primarily because of the delay in bringing up a pontoon bridge needed to cross rain-swollen rivers, Lee had to order his hungry men to resume their march in the hope that they could find rations at Farmville, Virginia.

On April 5, 1865, Sheridan ordered Crook to send cavalry patrols north of Jetersville to reconnoiter his left flank. Between 4 miles (6.4 km) and 7 miles (11 km) out of Jetersville, Union Brig. Gen. Henry E. Davies, Jr. attacked and destroyed about 200 wagons of a Confederate army wagon train and took at least 300 prisoners. Confederate cavalry engaged Davies's rear guard in a running combat through Amelia Springs but Davies's force linked up with reinforcements near Jetersville which permitted Davies to limit his losses and keep his prisoners.

On the morning of April 6, Meade thought that the Confederate army remained concentrated at Amelia Court House and, despite the suspicions of Grant and Sheridan that the Confederates had moved on, Meade sent the Army of the Potomac infantry in the direction of Amelia Court House on that morning. The Union forces soon discovered that Lee had started moving west and changed their direction of march to continue their pursuit. In the afternoon of April 6, 1865, approximately one-fifth of the remaining soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were cut off from the main body of Confederate troops at the Battle of Sailor's Creek (or Battle of Sayler's Creek) and killed or (mainly) captured. The killed and captured were about 8,000 men, including Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell and eight other generals. This in turn was about one-sixth of the number of men who had left Richmond and Petersburg with Lee's forces.

After about five more small engagements over the next three days, with the Army of Northern Virginia melting away and Union forces surrounding them, Lee surrendered his army to Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, about 90 miles (140 km) west of Richmond.

Battle of Namozine Church
Part of the American Civil War
Date 3 April 1865 Location Amelia County, Virginia Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George Armstrong Custer William Wells	Fitzhugh Lee William P. Roberts Rufus Barringer Bushrod Johnson
Casualties and losses
95 killed and wounded	partial: 15 wounded, 350 captured