Lee's Retreat
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Forced from Richmond and Petersburg by
the encircling Federals, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia
retreated west, planning to turn south to North Carolina. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S.
Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade kept part of the Army of the Potomac south
of Lee, however, while the rest pursued the Confederates. At
Appomattox Court House,
Grant caught up with Lee, who surrendered on April 9, 1865, ending the bloodiest
war in American history. Follow the trailblazing signs from Petersburg to
Appomattox and other Southside sites.
Northern Virginia
Lee vs. Grant
In
May 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant accompanied Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army
of the Potomac as it maneuvered south from Germanna Ford toward Richmond to lure
Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into a decisive fight. At
Massaponax Church, on May 21, Grant, Meade, and other officers stopped to confer
after the battles of Spotsylvania Court House. Photographer Timothy O'Sullivan
captured the event in a unique series of images taken from the second story of
the church. Follow the trailblazing signs from Germanna Ford to Petersburg by
way of historic Massaponax Church. Other Campaigns
Peninsula Campaign
Shenandoah Valley
