Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign ( March 29 to April 9 1865) was a series of battles during the American Civil War, at the end of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, the main army of the Confederate States of America, stood. This capitulation is commonly regarded as the end of the Civil War, although the last Confederate army gave up their struggle until mid-June.

Prehistory

After more than ten months of trench warfare, the siege of Petersburg in March 1865 approached its end. The commander of the U.S. Army, Lieutenant General Grant, extended the positions of the armies used in Petersburg during the siege further and further to the west. The lines of the numerically weaker Confederates were thus more and more stretched, so that the position of Northern Virginia Army now was on the verge of collapse. A last attempt by the Confederates to break the siege, the attack on Fort Stedman had failed.

Grant, reinforced by troops from the Shenandoah Valley under General Sheridan, now decided, the last remaining supply route of the Northern Virginia Army, the Southside Railroad in the west to attack, which would force the commander of the Northern Virginia Army General Lee inevitably Petersburg and Richmond abandon. However, Grant was aware that Lee probably southwest dodge in this case in the direction of Lynchburg and would try to unite in North Carolina or Southern Virginia with the Tennessee Army of Johnston. So it was not enough to drive Lee from Petersburg, but it was also important to bar his march and thereby numerically far inferior, in the open field, to force them to task. The end of March, when the hitherto poor weather improved, Grants underling General Sheridan, therefore, began with the cavalry and the Fifth Corps of the Potomac Army 's operation against the Southside Railroad.

Course

Sheridan marched west, towards Dinwiddie Court House, where he on March 31, insert a small setback but had ( Battle of Dinwiddie Court House ). He ordered his troops again and introduced on April 1 at the Battle of Five Forks after initial difficulties a devastating blow against the right flank of the Confederate army by which separated the troops of General Pickett from the rest of Northern Virginia Army and forced Lee to prepare the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. The following day, General Meade launched a general attack on the Confederate lines and took Petersburg after nearly eleven months of siege. The next day the troops marched James army in the Confederate capital of Richmond. The Government of the Confederacy and their main army were, however, constantly harassed by Grants troops in retreat to the west. During the battles at Saylor 's Creek succeeded the Union troops on April 6, the corps of General Ewell and RH Anderson cut off from the rest of the army and to force them to task. The next day, the Northern Virginia Army in Farmville succeeded her last victory, as an attack by the Union troops was repulsed in a delaying action. Lee's army, hungry and tired tried on next to go to the west, where Lee was hoping to find more food. On April 8, the cavalry of the Northern States overtook the Confederates reached Appomattox Court House and there blocked the path of Northern Virginia Army. After the escape attempt of the corps of General Gordon had failed after initial successes on April 9, Lee finally agreed to the surrender of his army (see also Appomattox Court House, Battle of Appomattox ).

Duration of the campaign

As regards timing, the Appomattoxkampagne there are different information. Some sources include the fighting in space Petersburg on 29 March -2. April still the siege of Petersburg and only describe the yielding of the Northern Virginia Army as Appomattox Campaign

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