Battle of Appomattox Station

On the afternoon of April 8, 1865, near Appomattox Station Depot on the South Side Railroad, Union cavalrymen under Gen. George A. Custer dealt the Army of Northern Virginia a final blow by capturing trains loaded with Confederate supplies and then attacking and capturing Gen. R. Lindsay Walker’s wagons and artillery in bivouac half a mile to the north. When news of this disaster reached Gen. Robert E. Lee at his headquarters a few miles northeast, he knew the end was near. He and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had exchanged letters about surrender, and Lee had suggested a meeting between the lines the next day. With Union horsemen now blocking his escape route, Lee’s only hope was to punch through them with a combined force of infantry and cavalry, so he scheduled a breakout attack for dawn; if it failed, or if Federal infantry also stood in front of him, he would have no choice but to surrender.

Appomattox, Virginia · United States