552

FLIGHT OF CONFEDERATE TROOPS.

CHAPTER XXI.

CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR.-ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT.

HILE the Confederates were leaving Richmond with great noise, those holding the lines before Petersburg were stealing away so silently, that they did not awaken even the suspicions of the Union pickets only a few yards distant from the works; and when, at dawn, the abandonment of the Confederate intrenchments was discovered, their late occupants were miles away to the westward, seeking to join the column hurrying from Richmond, in a flight for safety. The fugitive"Government" had then reached Danville with its archives and gold, whither Lee hoped to conduct his army, and was now straining every nerve to do so. When Grant was informed of the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg, and the direction of Lee's retreat, he pushed forward his columns with all possible energy to intercept the march of his adversary.

PERPETUA

They

The appointed place of concentration of Lee's troops, in their retreat, was Amelia Court-House, on the south side of the Appomattox River, where the forces would reach the Danville railway, and thereafter use it in their flight. Lee, therefore, simultaneously with the sending of his dispatch to Rich mond, saying it must be evacuated that night, ordered commissary and quartermasters' stores to be forwarded from Danville to Amelia Court-House. were promptly sent; but when, on Sunday afternoon, the loaded reached their destination, the officer in charge received orders from the Confederate authorities at Richmond to push on to that city, the object being to use the trains for the transportation of the "Government" and its effects. The stupid officer obeyed, but took with him all the supplies that were to be left at Amelia Court-House for the use of Lee's army on its re

1865.

trains

treat, and these were among the things destroyed by the confla April 4, gration. When Lee arrived at the Court-House and discovered the calamity, hope forsook him. He knew that Grant, for the sake of celerity in pursuit, would break up his army in detachments; and Lee intended, with a bountifully supplied force kept well in hand, to fall upon these fragments, and cut up the Union army in detail. Now, instead of being able to have all his forces in hand for such a purpose, he was compelled to detach nearly one-half of it for foraging for supplies; and instead of pushing on toward Danville, and eluding the Union army pressing on to intercept him, he was compelled to remain at Amelia Court-House all of the 4th, and the next day, waiting for supplies."

LEE HOTLY PURSUED.

553

April, 1865.

Meanwhile, Grant had taken possession of Petersburg, and his army was moving in vigorous pursuit. Sheridan, with his cavalry and the Fifth Corps, were far in advance, and on the afternoon of the 4th he struck the Danville road at Jetersville, seven miles southwest of Amelia Court-House, when some of his cavalry swept along its course almost to Burkesville Station, at the junction of that road with the South Side railway. Sheridan was now squarely across Lee's pathway of retreat, with his infantry intrenched, and ample cavalry to support them. Lee's only important avenue of supply from Lynchburg and Danville was now cut off, and he was compelled to choose between the perilous business of falling with his whole force upon Sheridan's isolated troops, before support could arrive, or attempting to escape to Lynchburg and the mountains beyond, by taking a westerly course at the left of Jetersville, and recrossing the Appomattox at Farmville, thirty-five miles from Amelia Court-House, where the South Side railway touched that stream. Lee hesitated; and on the evening of the 5th an attack on Sheridan was out of the question, for General Meade had joined the latter at Jetersville, with the Second and Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, late that afternoon. Then it was too late for Lee to indulge much hope of escape by way of Farmville, for Sheridan was operating in the direction of the Appomattox, yet he attempted it. Sheridan sent out General Davies, toward evening, with his cavalry, on a reconnoissance to the left and front of Jetersville. He found a part of Lee's army moving westward from Amelia Court-House, his cavalry escorting a train of one hundred and eighty wagons in front of his infantry. Upon them Davies fell, at Fame's Cross-Roads, destroyed the wagons and captured many men and five guns. Lee's foot-soldiers tried to envelop and crush Davies's isolated cavalry force, but by the timely arrival of re-enforcements, under Generals Gregg and Smith, he extricated himself after some heavy fighting, and fell back to Jetersville.

8 April.

April.

On the morning of the 6th nearly the whole of the Army of the Potomac was at Jetersville, and was moved upon Amelia Court-House to attack Lee. Sheridan had returned the Fifth Corps to Meade, and now operated with the cavalry alone. He soon discovered that Lee, during the night, had left Amelia Court-House, had passed the left flank of of the Union army, and was moving rapidly westward towards Deatonsville. The latter made as rapid a pursuit, in three columns; one directly in Lee's rear on the Deatonsville road, another parallel with it on the north, and another parallel with it on the south. In the mean time, the main body of the Army of the James, under Ord, which had been pressing along the line of the South Side railway, toward Burkesville Station, had reached that point; and on the morning of the 6th, Ord was directed to move quickly on Farmville. He sent forward a light column of infantry and cavalry, under General Theodore Read, to destroy the bridges near Farmville. These troops met the van of Lee's army there, and attacked it, so as to arrest its march until the main body might come up. The odds was too great. Read was repulsed with heavy loss, in a sharp conflict that ensued, in which he was killed. The Confederates saved the bridges, but Read's attack had caused them the loss of precious time, during which Ord arrived with his main body.

554

LEE'S SKILLFUL RETREAT.

Sheridan, meanwhile, had been pushing on at the head of the column moving on the left parallel line in pursuit of Lee, with the most strenuous endeavors to head off the Confederates. Near Deatonsville, he ordered Crook, who was on his left, to strike another of Lee's wagon trains, which was escorted by a formidable cavalry force. Crook did so, but with the expectation of only checking the Confederates, while Custer, with his division, should pass on and attack a point farther in advance. Such was the result. Crook was repulsed, and Custer gained the road at Sailor's Creek, a small tributary of the Appomattox. The divisions of Crook and Devin pressed up to his support, when the Confederate line was pierced, and four hundred wagons, sixteen guns, and many men were captured. By this blow, Ewell's corps, which was following the train, was cut off from Lee's main body. Sheridan resolved to detain them until the Sixth (Wright's) Corps, should come up, and for that purpose, Colonel Stagg's mounted brigade charged upon them. This enabled Seymour's division, which was leading the Sixth, to come up, when Ewell recoiled, and was driven to Sailor's Creek, but striking back such vigorous blows, that there was a halt until Wheaton's division should come up. Ewell's gallant veterans stoutly resisted, until enveloped by cavalry and infantry, and charged on flank and rear by horse and foot, when they threw down their arms and surrendered. Among the six thousand men then made prisoners, were Ewell and four other generals.

1865.

Lee succeeded in crossing the Appomattox over the bridges at Farmville that night, with his dreadfully shattered army. He tried to April 6 and 7, make that stream an impassable barrier between his force and its pursuers, by destroying the bridges behind him. Only the railway bridge was consumed, that of the wagon road being saved by the van of Humphreys's corps. The flames were smothered, and Barlow's brigade crossed over in expectation of a fight, but he found there only a feeble rearguard, which retired after a slight skirmish, abandoning eighteen guns in

two redoubts, one at the bridge-head on the south bank of the Appomattox, which they blew up when they left it, and the other on the heights on the north side. Their starving draught-animals had been too weak, in consequence of fatigue and lack of food, to draw the cannon farther. Hundreds of Lee's

1 The course of the retreat from Richmond and Petersburg, to Appomattox Court-House, is indicated in the above map by dotted lines.

LEE ADVISED TO SURRENDER.

555 men, from the same causes, had dropped by the way, and thousands had let their muskets fall and left them because they could not bear them and walk. They had begun their retreat with only one ration; and so poor and exhausted was the country through which they moved, that there was a famine after the first day's march. The horrors of that retreat, after leaving Amelia Court-House-the troops without supplies, without sleep, harassed in front, rear and flank, and compelled to fight when hardly able to walk-were among the most terrible on record; and the fortitude of the soldiers that endured it was truly sublime.

On the night of the sixth, after Lee's army was across the Appomattox, a council of his general officers was held. Lee was not present. They agreed that all was lost, and that a capitulation was inevitable. Famine had caused nearly one-half of their soldiers to drop their arms, because they could not carry them. Their cannon must all be lost if they should attempt a rapid flight, because they had no draught-animals sufficient to drag them. They came to the conclusion that a surrender, on the best obtainable terms, would be the wisest course, and that decision they communicated to their General-in-chief' by the hand of General Pendleton. Lee refused to listen favorably to the opinions of his officers, and professed not to then see the necessity for a surrender. Davis, his colleague, was then at Danville, trying to reorganize the "Government;" and they seem to have agreed to continue the contest "so long as there was a man left in the Confederacy."

tox.

April, 1865.

The remains of Lee's army were now in a compact mass on the stage and plank roads to Lynchburg, a few miles north of Farmville, with strong intrenchments covering these roads, and batteries commanding, over a considerable distance, the way of approach by the Nationals from the AppomatHe resolved to make further efforts to escape, and success in battle on the 7th encouraged him. Humphreys had crossed the Appomattox with the Second Corps, and resumed pursuit with the divisions of Miles and De Trobriand. He soon found himself confronted by Lee's intrenched army. He thought a flanking of the position would be the most effectual way of dislodging his antagonist, but he perceived that it could not be done with his single corps. He therefore resolved to assault, and ordered Barlow up to attack the front, while Miles should assail the Confederate left. The latter did so before Barlow came up, and was repulsed with a loss of about six hundred men. When Barlow got into position it was too late to attack that night, and the assault was postponed until morning. On the same day Sheridan had dispatched two divisions of cavalry, under Merritt, to Prince Edward Court-House, to oppose the retreat of Lee on Danville, and a third division, under Crook, was sent to Farmville, where it crossed with difficulty, the horsemen being compelled to ford the Appomattox. Pushing on toward the left of Humphreys, Crook fell

1 The continued interference of Davis in military affairs, and his keeping in place inefficient favorites to the exclusion of able men, had produced wide-spread discontent, and there was bold talk in and out of the “Congress," of making General Lee dictator, thereby stripping the Arch-Conspirator of power. To avoid this humiliation, Davis consented to allow the “Congress" to appoint Lee General-in-chief of all the arinies of the Confederacy. This was done on the first of February, 1865. The same influence caused the reappointment of General Johnston to the command of the troops opposing Sherman.

Among the killed were General Smyth and Major Mills. Generals Mott, Madill, and McDougall were severely wounded; so also was Colonel Starbird of the Nineteenth Maine.

556

LEE'S WAY OF ESCAPE CLOSING.

upon a body of Confederate infantry guarding a train and was repulsed with the loss of General Gregg, commanding a brigade, who was captured.

Just after the repulse of General Miles, Lee received a note from Grant, dated at Farmville, that morning, in which he said: "The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so; and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia." To this Lee replied: "Though not entertaining the opinion you express on the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and, therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender." After dispatching this note to Grant, Lee resumed his retreat so silently, under cover of darkness, that his departure was not known to the Nationals until morning, when the Confederates had put many miles between themselves and their pursuers.

April, 1865.

Grant did not receive Lee's reply until the morning of the 8th, when he instantly dispatched a response, saying, "Peace being my great desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon, namely, that the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms again against the Government of the United States, until properly exchanged." He then proposed to meet Lee in person, or to delegate officers to meet such as Lee might appoint, for the purpose of definitely arranging the terms of surrender.

Almost simultaneously with the forwarding of this dispatch, Grant set his whole army in motion, in pursuit of the flying Confederates. The Second and Sixth Corps, under Meade (who was accompanied by the General-inchief), moved directly on their track, north of the Appomattox, skirmished with the rear-guard of Lee's forces, and unsuccessfully tried to bring on a general engagement. Sheridan, meanwhile, had pushed on with all his cavalry (Crook having recrossed the river), on the south side of the Appomattox, to gain some point in front of Lee, and oppose his march on Lynchburg. In that direction Lee was hurrying, along the narrowing neck of land between the head-waters of the Appomattox and small tributaries of the James. If Sheridan should reach his front, and close this only outlet to Lynchburg, all would be lost. To pass that perilous point, Lee was now putting forth all his energies, and while in that desperate situation, hoping against hope that he might find refuge among the ranges of the Blue Ridge, beyond Lynchburg, the Confederate generalissimo sent back to Grant a reply to the LieutenantGeneral's note of that morning, saying: "In mine of yesterday, I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army; but as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your proposals would lead to that end. I can not, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia; but as far as your proposal may affect the Confederate States forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. to-morrow,