Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate soldiers had established a long defensive line around Petersburg that extended to Richmond, about 25 miles away. Richmond was the Confederate capital. Food and other supplies reached the city through Petersburg. If Petersburg fell, Richmond would also fall.
The Union army dug a series of trenches most of the way along the Confederate lines. The ranks of the defending Confederate soldiers had grown thin as they spread out to stop the flanking attempts of the Union army. Hungry and cold after a long winter in the trenches, Southern soldiers began to desert in
large numbers to return to families and farms.
Spring 1865 brought warmer weather—and the time to resume fighting. Lee felt that his best option was to give up Richmond and Petersburg. He hoped to lead his Army of Northern Virginia south to join General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee in North Carolina. Their united forces might be strong enough to defeat Union major general William T. Sherman, who was headed north toward Virginia. Then Lee would face Grant.
Flanking means moving to the right or left side of a military position.
Pickets are a detachment of troops sent out ahead of a moving army or assigned a position along the front lines of a stationary army.
But first, Lee had to break the siege. He decided to launch a massive surprise attack. At certain locations, the two armies’ defenses were close together. Confederate Major General John B. Gordon suggested Fort Stedman as the best place for the attack. Not only was the distance between the lines short, but the Union supply depot at City Point was nearby.
This story is from the January 2025: 1865: A Year in the Civil War edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the January 2025: 1865: A Year in the Civil War edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
