Thomas W. Knox

“ No great battle was fought after Lee's surrender, and of the few collisions that occurred before the wings of peace were outstretched over the whole country, there were none of consequence. The last battle of the war was fought in Texas, May 13th, resulting in a loss of about thirty killed and wounded on the Union side, some forty or fifty taken prisoners, and four or five wounded on the Confederate side. ”

“ Custer fought until darkness put an end to the combat, driving the advance back on the main body of the army, and capturing 25 guns, a hospital train, and a large number of wagons, and making many prisoners. Sheridan brought up the rest of the cavalry, and planted it right in front of Lee's army, and sent couriers to Grant, Griffin, and Ord, saying that the capture of Lee's whole army was now certain. Griffin and Ord with their corps and one division of the 25th corps made a forced march during the night and reached Appomattox at daylight on the 9th. ”

“ When the Confederates were fairly within their intrenchments at Five Forks, Sheridan ordered Merritt's cavalry division to turn their right, Sheridan pressing in front, and sending Warren's corps on his (Sheridan's) right, along the White Oak road, so as to come in on the enemy's flank. Then by a left-wheel movement Warren was to fall back upon that flank in full force, McKenzie, with the cavalry from the army of the James, covering Warren's right so that Lee could not draw reinforcements from Richmond. ”

“ Griffin's division stopped the Confederate advance, enabling Ayres and Crawford to rally behind it. This being done, Warren advanced, supported by Humphreys, and the Confederates were soon in retreat, having lost heavily in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The Confederates retired to their intrenchments, which they defended so desperately that several attempts failed to dislodge them. While this was going on, Sheridan advanced from Dinwiddle C.-H. to Five Forks, which he carried while Lee's infantry was engaged with Warren. ”

“ The ground was still so soaked on the next morning that Grant proposed to do nothing, but Lee was not so inclined. Leaving Longstreet with 8,000 men to hold the works in front of Richmond, he marched the rest of his infantry to the support of his right, which was so seriously threatened by Sheridan and the 5th and 2d corps. Sheridan had completely isolated the Confederate cavalry, which had been posted on Stony Creek, and it was compelled to make a long detour to enable it to join the rest of Lee's forces. ”

“ Since the early days of March, Lee had been planning to retire from Richmond and join his army with that of Johnston, and information of this design had been brought to General Grant. Lee and Johnston had made their preliminary arrangements, and the route by which the army would retreat was already laid out. The Richmond papers demanded that the city should be held at all hazards, and the Confederate government was unwilling that the fact that a retirement had been thought of should be known. ”

“ The number of men paroled in the Confederate armies, at the close of the war, was 174,223, and at the same time 98,802 Confederate prisoners of war were held in Northern prisons or depots. The aggregate Union force on the muster rolls of the Union armies on March 1, 1865, was 965,591, and on the first of May the number exceeded 1,000,000. On that date all enlistments were suspended, and shortly afterwards the work of disbanding the army began. By the end of November more than 800,000 men had been mustered out of the service and returned to the occupations of civil life. ”

“ Threading his way carefully over the ground, which was thickly planted with torpedoes, and accompanied by his staff, he reached the centre of the city in advance of his troops, and hoisted the American flag over the capitol. ”