Grant vs. Lee

    Date Event
    Ulysses Simpson Grant is formally named commander of all Union Armies, with rank of Lieutenant-General
    In Virginia, the Union Army crosses the Rapidan River and begins Grant's Overland Campaign
    The Battle of the Wilderness opens on ground fought over the year before at Chancellorsville
    - Grant's Overland Campaign against the Army of Northern Virginia continues
    In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness continues for a second bloody day
    In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the Battle of the Wilderness ends and Union maneuvering continues
    The Union Army crosses the James River, ending Grant's Overland Campaign and besieging Petersburg
    In Dinwiddie County, Virginia, the Union's Fifth Corps capture a vital crossroads at the Battle of Five Forks
    In Virginia, Confederate General A.P. Hill is killed riding in front of the Confederate lines at Petersburg
    After 292 days of Union siege, General Robert E. Lee orders the evacuation of Petersburg, Virginia
    After nine months of bloody attempts, the Union Army marches into Petersburg, Virginia
    In Amelia County, Virginia, Union forces consolidate to block General Lee's retreat towards Danville
    At Sailor's Creek, the Army of Northern Virginia loses almost a quarter of its remaining strength
    In Virginia, CSA corps commander General Richard S. Ewell is taken prisoner, along with four of his generals
    General U.S. Grant, Union commander, contacts Confederate General Robert E. Lee to suggest Lee's surrender
    In Virginia, Custer's cavalry captures vital supplies and blocks the Confederate retreat at Appomattox Station
    General U.S. Grant, Union commander, receives a response from Confederate General Robert E. Lee concerning surrender
    Ulysses S. Grant, Union commander, hints at generous terms and suggests to Robert E. Lee they meet face to face
    At dawn, the Army of Northern Virginia makes one last effort to break out the Union encirclement
    Robert E. Lee meets Ulysses Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House and surrenders his army
    In Illinois, General U.S. Grant returns to his hometown of Galena for the first time since the outbreak of the war
    How to Cite This Page: "Grant vs. Lee," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/36578.