reneral Grants first request to surrender.NOWHERE TO RUNThe Confederates, in their rush to leave Farmville in the night of April 7th, did not get the rations they so desperately needed, so they were forced to forage for food. Many chose to desert and leave for home. Rebel forces reached their objective, Appomattox Court House, around 3 p.m. on April 8th. Lee received word that to the south, at Appomattox Station, supplies had arrived by train and were waiting there. However, the pursuing Union forces knew this also and took a faster southern route to the station. By 8 p.m. that evening the Federals had taken the supplies and would wait there for the evening, preparing to attack the Confederates at Appomattox Court House in the morning. Meanwhile, Lee scribbled out a brace response to Grants inquiry simply asking for explanation of the terms involved in the surrender.THE FINAL BATTLEAt daybreak the Confederate battle line was formed to the west of Appomattox. The Union soldiers were in position in front of the line with cannons. When the Federal cannons started to fire, the Confederate signal for attack was sounded and the troops charged. One soldier later remarked: It was my fortune to witness several changes during the war, but never one so magnificently executed as this one . This Confederate advance only lasted from about 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., at which time the Rebels were forced back. The Confederates could no longer hold their lines and Lee sent word to Grant to meet at 1 p.m. to discuss surrender. The two men met at the now famous McLean House and surrender was agreed upon. It was 2 p.m. on April 9th, 1865. Johnstons army surrendered to General Sherman on April 26th in North Carolina; General Taylor of Mississippi-Alabama and General Smith of the Trans Mississippi-Texas surrendered in May ending the war completely.SUMMARYThe Civil War was a completely tragic event. Just think, a war in which thousands of Americans died in...
