Danville became the last capital of the Confederacy in 1865 when the Confederate government moved there from Richmond to escape advancing Union troops. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, established his headquarters at the home of Major William T. Sutherlin on April 3 and fled on April 10 after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, 90 miles north of Danville. The Sutherlin Mansion still stands at 975 Main Street.