THE BATTLE OF APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE (APRIL 9, 1865)

            150 years ago on this date, April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war. I will post information about this military history event from Wikipedia and other links.

A painting of Ulysses S. Grant accepting Robert E. Lee's surrender at the McLean House in 1865.

 

Date April 9, 1865 Location Appomattox Court House, Virginia 37°22′40″N 78°47′40″WCoordinates: 37°22′40″N 78°47′40″W Result Decisive Union victory Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Ulysses S. Grant	Robert E. Lee
Units involved
United States Army	Confederate Army
Strength
100,000	28,000
Casualties and losses
164	~500 killed and wounded 27,805 surrendered and paroled

The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Lee, having abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after the ten-month 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 at the village of Appomattox Court House. Lee 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. This event triggered a series of surrenders across the south, signaling the end of the war.

Background

April 9

Battle

Surrender

Aftermath

In popular culture

Civil War commemorative stamps

OTHER LINKS:

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/appomattox-courthouse.html