In view of this destruction, it is understandable that Sherman quoted "war is hell" (Sherman, William T.,Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. Westport, Conn.:Greenwood Press, 1972). Finally, on December 20, Sherman's men reached the city of Savannah and from there Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton" (Sherman, William T., Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. Westport, Conn.:Greenwood Press, 1972.
Grant had decided that the only way to win and finish the war would be to attack with numbers. He knew that the Federal forces held more than a modest advantage in terms of men and supplies. This in mind, Grant directed Sherman to turn around and start heading back toward Virginia. He immediately started making preparations to provide assistance to Sherman on the journey. General John M. Schofield and his men were to detach from the Army of the Cumberland, which had just embarrassingly defeated the Confederates at Nashville, and proceed toward North Carolina. His final destination was to be Goldsboro, which was roughly half the distance between Savannah and Rich
At daybreak the Confederate battle line was formed to the west of Appomattox. The Union soldiers were in position in front of the line with cannons. When the Federal cannons started to fire, the Confederate signal for attack was sounded and the troops charged. One soldier later remarked: "It was my fortune to witness several charges during the war, but never one so magnificently executed as this one." (McCarthy, Carlton, Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia 1861-1865. Richmond: Carlton McCarthy, 1882) This Confederate advance only lasted from about 7am to 9am, at which time the Rebels were forced back. The Confederates could no longer hold their lines and Lee sent word to Grant to meet at 1pm to discuss surrender. The two men met at the now famous McLean House and a surrender was agreed upon. It was 2pm on April 9, 1865. Johnston's army surrendered to General Sherman on April 26 in North Carolina; General Taylor of Mississippi-Alabama and General Smith of the trans Mississippi-Texas surrendered in May ending the war completely.
Grant had decided that the only way to win and finish the war would be to attack with numbers. He knew that the Federal forces held more than a modest advantage in terms of men and supplies. This in mind, Grant directed Sherman to turn around and start heading back toward Virginia. He immediately started making preparations to provide assistance to Sherman on the journey. General John M. Schofield and his men were to detach from the Army of the Cumberland, which had just embarrassingly defeated the Confederates at Nashville, and proceed toward North Carolina. His final destination was to be Goldsboro, which was roughly half the distance between Savannah and Richmond. This is where he and his 20,000 troops would meet Sherman and his 50,000 troops.
The Confederates, in their rush to leave Farmville in the night of April 7th, did not get the rations they so desperately needed, so they were forced to forage for food. Many chose to desert and leave for home. General Lee saw two men leaving for home and said "Stop young men, and get together you are straggling" and one of the soldiers replied "General, we are just going over here to get some water" and Lee replied "Strike for your home and fireside" (Freeman, Douglas Southall, R.E. Lee: A Biography, Vol 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935): they did.
Sherman immediately left Goldsboro to travel up to City Point and meet Grant to discuss plans of attack. When he arrived there, he found not only Grant, but also Admiral David Porter waiting to meet with President Lincoln. So on the morning of the March 28th, General Grant, General Sherman, and Admiral Porter all met with Lincoln on the riverboat "River Queen" to discuss a strategy against General Lee and General Johnston of the Confederate Army. Several times Lincoln asked "can't this last battle be avoided" (Angle and Miers, Tragic Years,
Lee's forces were pushing west toward Amelia and the Federals would be hot on their tails. Before leaving Richmond, Lee had asked the Commissary Department of the Confederacy to store food in Amelia and the troops rushed there in anticipation. What they found when they got there however was very disappointing. While there was an abundance of ammunition and ordinance, t
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