03/12/1864
Ulysses Simpson Grant is formally named commander of all Union Armies, with rank of Lieutenant-General
05/04/1864
In Virginia, the Union Army crosses the Rapidan River and begins Grant's Overland Campaign
05/05/1864
The Battle of the Wilderness opens on ground fought over the year before at Chancellorsville
05/05/1864
- 06/27/1864
Grant's Overland Campaign against the Army of Northern Virginia continues
05/06/1864
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness continues for a second bloody day
05/07/1864
In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness ends and Union maneuvering continues
06/28/1864
The Union Army crosses the James River, ending Grant's Overland Campaign and besieging Petersburg
04/01/1865
In Dinwiddie County, Virginia, the Union's Fifth Corps capture a vital crossroads at the Battle of Five Forks
04/02/1865
In Virginia, Confederate General A.P. Hill is killed riding in front of the Confederate lines at Petersburg
04/02/1865
After 292 days of Union siege, General Robert E. Lee orders the evacuation of Petersburg, Virginia
04/03/1865
After nine months of bloody attempts, the Union Army marches into Petersburg, Virginia
04/05/1865
In Amelia County, Virginia, Union forces consolidate to block General Lee's retreat towards Danville
04/06/1865
At Sailor's Creek, the Army of Northern Virginia loses almost a quarter of its remaining strength
04/06/1865
In Virginia, CSA corps commander General Richard S. Ewell is taken prisoner, along with four of his generals
04/07/1865
General U.S. Grant, Union commander, contacts Confederate General Robert E. Lee to suggest Lee's surrender
04/08/1865
In Virginia, Custer's cavalry captures vital supplies and blocks the Confederate retreat at Appomattox Station
04/08/1865
General U.S. Grant, Union commander, receives a response from Confederate General Robert E. Lee concerning surrender
04/08/1865
Ulysses S. Grant, Union commander, hints at generous terms and suggests to Robert E. Lee they meet face to face
04/09/1865
At dawn, the Army of Northern Virginia makes one last effort to break out the Union encirclement
04/09/1865
Robert E. Lee meets Ulysses Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House and surrenders his army
08/18/1865
In Illinois, General U.S. Grant returns to his hometown of Galena for the first time since the outbreak of the war
