- Date:
- April 9, 1865
- Location:
- United States
- Virginia
- Participants:
- Confederate States of America
- United States
- Context:
- American Civil War
- Petersburg Campaign
Battle of Appomattox Court House
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What was the Battle of Appomattox Court House?
The Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, was one of the final battles of the American Civil War. After retreating from Richmond and Petersburg, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee engaged Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant briefly before surrendering to the Union at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
Prior to the surrender, Lee's army paused near Appomattox Court House, aiming to resupply before heading to Lynchburg. Union cavalry, led by Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, cut off the Confederate supply trains. Lee's attempt to break through Union lines on April 9 failed, leading him to negotiate surrender terms. Grant offered generous terms: Confederate soldiers would not be charged with treason and could return home after surrendering their weapons.
While this surrender marked the end of the war in Virginia, smaller Confederate armies continued to fight until the Union officially declared victory on August 20, 1866.
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Which armies fought in this battle?
The Battle of Appomattox Court House involved the armies of the Confederacy and the Union. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commanding nearly 27,000 Confederate soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia, intended to break through the Union lines. However, they were met by Union cavalry under General Philip H. Sheridan, along with troops from the Army of the James, led by General Grant, totaling about 63,000. Facing these overwhelming odds and with no escape route, Lee surrendered to Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.
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When and where did the battle take place?
The Battle of Appomattox Court House occurred on April 9, 1865. It took place after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's weeklong flight westward from Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, where he briefly engaged Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was surrounded at Appomattox, in the county of the same name, 25 miles east of Lynchburg. The formal surrender took place three miles northeast of the county seat, at the home of Wilmer McLean. Lee agreed to Grant's surrender terms, which included paroling members of the Army of Northern Virginia and confiscating their weapons. Although this marked the end of the war in Virginia, smaller Confederate armies continued to fight until the Union officially declared victory on August 20, 1866.
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Who were the key leaders on each side?
In the Battle of Appomattox Court House, a decisive engagement of the American Civil War, the key leaders were:
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For the Union (North): General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union forces, strategically cornered the Confederate army, leading to negotiations for surrender. Other Union leaders present were Gen. Philip H. Sheridan and Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer.
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For the Confederacy (South): General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, faced insurmountable odds at Appomattox after a weeklong retreat from Richmond and Petersburg. Facing a hopeless situation, Lee agreed to meet Grant to discuss surrender terms, effectively ending the Civil War.
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Why was this battle important in the American Civil War?
The Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, is recognized as one of the final battles of the American Civil War. After a weeklong retreat from Richmond and Petersburg, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee engaged with Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant before surrendering to the Union at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Facing insurmountable odds and with his army depleted and surrounded, Lee recognized the hopelessness of the Confederate situation. This surrender signaled the beginning of the end of the Civil War, leading to the collapse of organized Confederate resistance and the surrender of other Confederate forces within a few weeks.
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What happened after the battle and how did it help end the Civil War?
Following the Battle of Appomattox Court House, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, at the McLean House. Grant's terms were generous: Confederate soldiers were paroled and allowed to return home with their horses and personal belongings, and officers could retain their sidearms. This surrender signaled the beginning of the end of the Civil War, although some smaller Confederate armies continued to fight. The surrender at Appomattox Court House led to a collapse of Confederate resistance and, within weeks, the Civil War effectively ended.
7 Britannica Sources- Robert E. Lee: Role in the Civil War
- Abraham Lincoln: Postwar policy of Abraham Lincoln
- Battle of Appomattox Court House: Surrender and aftermath
- 150th Anniversary: Lee Surrenders to Grant
- Appomattox Court House
- American Civil War: The final land operations
- Confederate States of America: The collapse of the Confederacy
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Battle of Appomattox Court House, (April 9, 1865), one of the final battles of the American Civil War. After a weeklong flight westward from Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee briefly engaged Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant before surrendering to the Union at Appomattox Court House. This signaled the beginning of the end of the protracted Civil War.
Context
Grant and his Army of the Potomac began their siege of Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in June 1864. After weathering nearly 10 months of starvation and desertions, Lee resolved to abandon the cities altogether and regroup in North Carolina with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. First, however, Lee hoped to reverse his fortunes and attacked Fort Stedman outside Petersburg on March 25, 1865. Leeās failure at Fort Stedman and a spectacular defeat at Five Forks on April 1 forced Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia to evacuate Richmond and Petersburg on the night of April 2, 1865.
The Confederate march thereafter was long and brutal. With an army of 55,000 to 58,000 men, Leeās primary focus was on resupplying his soldiers at Amelia Court House along the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Lee was thus surprised and disheartened at the absence of rations upon his arrival at Amelia Court House on April 4. Food and supplies were critical to further westward advancement and their timely arrival even more so. As such, the Army of Northern Virginia was forced to remain at Amelia Court House until April 5, buying time for Union troops to close in.
When Lee departed from Amelia Court House, he saw that Grantās army was marching parallel to his movements west along the Appomattox River. Lee determined that he would be unable to proceed southwest and into North Carolina as planned. He decided to alter his strategy and march west with haste toward Farmville, Virginia, where he would receive rations from the South Side Railroad. Union cavalry destroyed a significant number of Confederate wagons at Paineville, Virginia, an action that made a swift arrival at Farmville more imperative than ever. Lee successfully blocked a Union attempt to prevent him from crossing the Appomattox River at High Bridgeābut not without casualties. Thereafter, he ordered night marches to outpace Federal soldiers and compensate for the day lost at Amelia Court House. However, a sizable portion of his fatiguing troops were cut off from the rest of the army at Sailorās Creek on April 6. That day Lee lost eight generals and some 8,000 men. His weakened army reached Farmville on April 7, but the Confederate troops were unable to eat much before Union troops entered their view.
Lee briefly moved northward to Cumberland Church before retreating to the west. While at Cumberland Church he received a letter from Grant demanding his surrender. Despite mounting desertions and dwindling supplies, Lee refused Grantās terms.
Battle
On April 8 Leeās Army of Northern Virginia paused its march a mile from the small village of Appomattox Court House. Lee intended to resupply there before heading to Lynchburg, Virginia, and then south to Danville, Virginia. Unanticipated was the arrival of Union cavalry coming from the south under Gen. Philip H. Sheridanās command. That evening Union Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer successfully led some of the cavalry against the Confederate supply trains at the nearby Appomattox Station. Although shaken, Lee hoped to break through to Lynchburg the next day.
On the morning of April 9, Lee ordered his cavalry, under the command of Gen. John B. Gordon, to attack Sheridanās cavalry, which had blocked the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road. Lee commanded an army of nearly 27,000 soldiers, which paled in comparison to Grantās force of some 63,000 troops, but he still intended to force his way through Union lines. The Confederate cavalry initially held their own and even succeeded in driving the Union horsemen from their position atop a nearby ridge. However, Gordon saw thousands of Union troops quickly approaching and sent word to Lee that his position was hopeless unless the infantry supported them. Leeās infantry, however, was engaged with Grantās Army of the James, which had approached the Confederates from the west under cover of night. Faced with no route of escape to Lynchburg, Lee agreed to negotiate terms of surrender.
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Surrender and aftermath
Grant agreed to let Lee choose the meeting place at which they would discuss terms, so his aide chose the home of Wilmer McLean, a retired Virginia militia officer. With McLeanās consent, Lee arrived at 1:00 pm. Grant is said to have arrived a half hour later. Under the terms of surrender, Grant would not charge any member of the Army of Northern Virginia with treason, instead placing them on parole after the confiscation of their weapons. Lee agreed to these terms and departed the McLean residence at 4:00 pm.
While Leeās surrender at Appomattox Court House marked the end of the war in Virginia, it was not the end of the Civil War as a whole. Johnstonās Army of Tennessee was still being chased by Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Smaller Confederate armies continued to fight throughout the Deep South and west of the Mississippi River. The war would not be officially declared won for the Union until August 20, 1866.