Chapter DV: Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article (1)

by appropriate legislation."

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February).
The Hampton Roads Peace Conference.

"Several informal attempts at opening negotiations for the
termination of hostilities were made in the course of this
Winter—Honorable Francis P. Blair, of Maryland, visiting
Richmond twice on the subject, with the consent, though not by
the request, of President Lincoln. At length, upon their
direct application, Messrs. Alex. H. Stephens, John A.
Campbell, and Robert M. T. Hunter, were permitted to pass
General Grant's lines before Petersburg, and proceed to
Fortress Monroe; where [on board a steamer in Hampton Roads]
they were met by Gov. [Secretary of State] Seward, followed by
President Lincoln; and a free, full conference was had."

_H. Greeley,
The American Conflict,
volume 2, chapter 30._

Secretary Seward first went to meet the three Confederate
Commissioners, with the following letter of instructions from
President Lincoln, dated January 31, 1865: "Honorable William
H. Seward, Secretary of State: You will proceed to Fortress
Monroe, Virginia, there to meet and informally confer with
Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell, on the basis of my
letter to F. P. Blair, Esq., of January 18, 1865, a copy of
which you have. You will make known to them that three things
are indispensable, to wit:
1. The restoration of the national authority throughout all
the States.
2. No receding by the executive of the United States on the
slavery question from the position assumed thereon in the late
annual message to Congress, and in preceding documents.
3. No cessation of hostilities short of an end of the war and
the disbanding of all forces hostile to the government.

You will inform them that all propositions of theirs, not
inconsistent with the above, will be considered and passed
upon in a spirit of sincere liberality. You will hear all they
may choose to say, and report it to me. You will not assume to
definitely consummate anything. Yours, etc., Abraham Lincoln."
Two days later, the President followed him, persuaded by a
telegram from General Grant to meet the Commissioners
personally. In a subsequent message to the Senate, Mr. Lincoln
reported the results of the conference as follows: "On the
morning of the 3d, the three gentlemen, Messrs. Stephens,
Hunter, and Campbell, came aboard of our steamer, and had an
interview with the Secretary of State and myself, of several
hours' duration. No question of preliminaries to the meeting
was then and there made or mentioned. No other person was
present; no papers were exchanged or produced; and it was, in
advance, agreed that the conversation was to be informal and
verbal merely.
{3547}
On our part the whole substance of the instructions to the
Secretary of State, hereinbefore recited, was stated and
insisted upon, and nothing was said inconsistent therewith;
while, by the other party, it was not said that in any event
or on any condition, they ever would consent to reunion; and
yet they equally omitted to declare that they never would so
consent. They seemed to desire a postponement of that
question, and the adoption of some other course first which,
as some of them seemed to argue, might or might not lead to
reunion; but which course, we thought, would amount to an
indefinite postponement. The conference ended without result."

_A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 644-649._

ALSO IN:
_B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 20._

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 10, chapter 6._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February: South Carolina).
Evacuation of Charleston by the Confederates.
Federal occupation of the City.

While General Hardee, with 14,000 men, waited at Charleston
for the expected coming of General Sherman to attack that
city, the latter pursued a movement which made Charleston
untenable and shook it like a ripened apple into the hands of
General Gillmore, who was waiting at the gates. The
Confederates evacuated the city in haste and with reckless
disorder, and it was occupied by the Federal troops on the
morning of the 18th of February. The following is the report
of Colonel A. G. Bennett, who was the first to enter the city:
"On the morning of February the 18th I received information
that led me to believe the defences and lines guarding the
city of Charles·ton had been deserted by the enemy. I
immediately proceeded to Cummings Point, from whence I sent a
small boat in the direction of Fort Moultrie, which boat, when
40 yards east from Fort Sumter, was met by a boat from
Sullivan's Island, containing a full corps of band musicians
abandoned by the enemy. These con·firmed my belief of an
evacuation. I had no troops that could be available under two
hours, as, except in a few pontoon boats, there were no means
whatever of landing troops near the enemy's works or into the
city. I directed Major Hennessy to proceed to Fort Sumter and
there replace our flag. The flag was replaced over the
southeast angle of Fort Sumter at 9 o'clock A. M. I now pushed
for the city, stopping at Fort Ripley and Castle Pinckney,
from which works Rebel flags were hauled down and the American
flag substituted. … I landed at Mill's wharf, Charleston, at
10 o'clock A. M. where I learned that a part of the enemy's
troops yet remained in the city, while mounted patrols were
out in every direction applying the torch and driving the
inhabitants before them. I at once addressed to the Mayor of
the city [a communication demanding its surrender]. … My whole
force consisted of five officers and the armed crews of two
small boats, comprising in all 22 men. Both officers and men
volunteered to advance from the wharf into the city; but no
reenforcements being in sight, I did not deem it expedient to
move on. Public buildings, stores, warehouses, private
dwellings, shipping, etc., were burning and being fired by
armed Rebels, but with the force at my disposal it was
impossible to save the cotton and other property. While
awaiting the arrival of my troops at Mill's wharf, a number of
explosions took place. The Rebel commissary depot was blown
up, and with it is estimated that not less than 200 human
beings—most of whom were women and children—were blown to
atoms. These people were engaged in procuring food for
themselves and their families by permission from the Rebel
military authorities. … Observing a small boat sailing toward
the bay under a flag of truce, I put off to it, and received
from a member of the common council a letter [from the Mayor,
announcing the evacuation of the city by the Confederate
military authorities]. … The deputation sent to convey the
above letter represented to me that the city was in the hands
of either the Rebel soldiery or the mob. They entreated of me
in the name of humanity to interpose my military authority and
save the city from utter destruction. … Two companies of the
52d Pennsylvania regiment and about 30 men of the 3d Rhode
Island volunteer heavy artillery having landed, I proceeded
with them to the citadel. I here established my headquarters,
and sent small parties in all directions with instructions to
impress negroes wherever found, and to make them work the fire
apparatus, until all fires were extinguished."

_A. G. Bennett,
Report, February 24, 1865
(quoted in Tenney's Military and Naval History
of the Rebellion, chapter 49)._

At noon on the 14th of April, 1865, the fourth anniversary of
the lowering of the flag of the United States at Fort Sumter,
it was formally raised by General Anderson over the ruins of
the fort, with impressive ceremonies, in which many visitors
from the North took part. An address was delivered on the
occasion by the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865
(February-March: The Carolinas).
Sherman's march from Savannah to Goldsboro.
The burning of Columbia.
The Battle of Bentonsville.

"By the middle of January, a lodgment had been effected in
South Carolina [at Pocotaligo, on the railroad between
Savannah and Charleston], and Sherman had his whole army once
more in hand as a moving column. He had no idea of wasting
time on either Charleston or Augusta, but he determined to
play upon the fears of the rebels, and compel them to retain a
force to protect those places. … Accordingly he gave out with
some ostentation that he was moving upon either Charles·ton or
Augusta. Early in January the heavy winter rains set in,
rendering the roads almost impassable. … This flood delayed
the departure of the column for quite two weeks. … On the 1st
of February, the army designed for the active campaign from
Savannah northward was again 60,000 strong; and, as before,
was composed of two wings, the right under Howard and the left
under Slocum. Kilpatrick was once more chief of cavalry.
Sixty-eight guns accompanied the command. The wagons were
2,500 in number, and carried an ample supply of ammunition for
one great battle, forage for a week, and provisions for twenty
days. For fresh meat Sherman depended on beeves driven on the
hoof, and such cattle, hogs, and poultry as might be gathered
on the march. … Sherman … started on his northward march on
the 1st of February. On that day his right wing was south of
the Salkehatchie river, and his left still struggling in the
swamps of the Savannah, at Sister's Ferry. … The division
generals led their columns through the swamps, the water up to
their shoulders, crossed over to the pine land beyond, and
then, turning upon the rebels who had opposed the passage,
drove them off in utter disorder.
{3548}
All the roads northward had been held for weeks by Wheeler's
cavalry, and details of negro laborers had been compelled to
fell trees and burn bridges to impede the national march.
Sherman's pioneers, however, removed the trees, and the heads
of columns rebuilt the bridges before the rear could close up,
and the rebels retreated behind the Edisto river at
Branchville. … Sherman determined to waste no time on
Branchville, which the enemy could no longer hold, and turned
his columns directly north upon Columbia, where it was
supposed the rebels would concentrate. Attempts were made to
delay him at the crossings of the rivers; there were numerous
bridge-heads with earth or cotton parapets to carry, and
cypress swamps to cross; but nothing stayed his course. On the
13th, he learned that there was no enemy in Columbia except
Hampton's cavalry. Hardee, at Charleston, took it for granted
that Sherman was moving upon that place, and the rebels in
Augusta supposed that they were Sherman's object; so
Charleston and Augusta were protected, while Columbia was
abandoned to the care of the cavalry." With little or no
resistance, Sherman entered the capital of South Carolina on
the 17th of February. "Hampton had ordered all cotton, public
and private, to be moved into the streets and fired. Bales
were piled up everywhere, the rope and bagging cut, and the
tufts of cotton blown about by the wind, or lodged in the
trees and against the houses, presented the appearance of a
snow-storm. Some of these piles of cotton were burning in the
heart of the town. Sherman, meanwhile, had given orders to
destroy the arsenals and public property not needed by his
army, as well as railroad stations and machines, but to spare
all dwellings, colleges, schools, asylums, and 'harmless
private property'; and the fires lighted by Hampton were
partially subdued by the national soldiers. But before the
torch had been put to a single building by Sherman's order,
the smouldering fires set by Hampton were rekindled by the
wind and communicated to the buildings around. About dark the
flames began to spread, and were soon beyond the control of
the brigade on duty in the town. An entire division was now
brought in, but it was found impossible to check the
conflagration, which by midnight had become quite
unmanageable. It raged till about four A. M. on the 18th, when
the wind subsided, and the flames were got under control. …
Beauregard, meanwhile, and the rebel cavalry, had retreated
upon Charlotte, in North Carolina, due north from Columbia;
and on the 20th and 21st Sherman followed as far as Winnsboro.
… At Winnsboro, however, Sherman turned his principal columns
northeastward towards Goldsboro, still 200 miles away. Heavy
rains again impeded his movements … and it was not till the 3d
of March that the army arrived at Cheraw. At this point large
quantities of guns and ammunition were captured, brought from
Charleston under the supposition that here, at least, they
would be secure. Hardee had moved due north from Charleston by
his only remaining railroad, through Florence, but only
reached Cheraw in time to escape with his troops across the
Pedee river, just before Sherman arrived. … Having secured the
passage of the Pedee … Sherman had but little uneasiness about
the future. … On the 11th of March, Fayetteville was reached,
and Sherman had traversed the entire extent of South Carolina.
On the 12th, he sent a dispatch to Grant, the first since
leaving the Savannah. … On the 15th of March, the command
began its march for Goldsboro." The scattered Confederate
forces were now getting together and General Johnston had been
put in command of them. "Sherman estimated the entire rebel
force at 37,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry; but only Hardee,
with 10,000 infantry and one division of cavalry, was in the
immediate front." On the 15th Hardee was encountered at
Averysboro, where he attempted to check Sherman's advance
while Johnston concentrated in the rear. Some sharp fighting
occurred, in which Sherman lost 77 men killed and 477 wounded.
Hardee reported his loss at 500. In the morning he had
disappeared. "From Averysboro both wings turned eastward by
different roads, and on the night of the 18th of March the
army was within 27 miles of Goldsboro, and only five from
Bentonsville. The columns were now about ten miles apart." At
Bentonsville, on the 19th, Slocum's wing was attacked by
Johnston, who had marched his whole command with great
rapidity, hoping to "overwhelm Sherman's left flank before it
could be relieved by its co-operating column." But Slocum held
his ground that day against six distinct assaults, and the
next day Sherman brought his whole army into position. He did
not push the enemy, however, either on the 20th or on the
21st, being uncertain as to Johnston's strength. During the
night of the 21st the latter retreated. "The total national
loss was 191 killed, and 1,455 wounded and missing. Johnston
states his losses to have been 223 killed, 1,467 wounded, and
653 missing; but Sherman captured 1,621 prisoners. Sherman
admits that he committed an error in not overwhelming his
enemy. Few soldiers, however, are great enough to accuse
themselves of an error, and fewer still but might accuse
themselves of greater ones than can ever be laid at Sherman's
door. At daybreak on the 22d … the army moved to Goldsboro,
where Schofield had already arrived.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 1865
(FEBRUARY-MARCH: NORTH CAROLINA).

… Thus was concluded one of the longest and most important
marches ever made by an organized army in civilized war."

_A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapter 31 (volume 3)._

At Columbia, "I observed, as I passed along the street, that
many shops had been gutted, and that paper, rags, and litter
of all kinds lay scattered on the floors, in the open
doorways, and on the ground outside. I was told on good
authority that this had been done by the Confederate troops
before our arrival. It was a windy day, and a great deal of
loose cotton had been blown about and caught on the fences and
in the branches of the shade trees along the street. It has
been said that this had something to do with spreading the
fire which afterward took place. I think this very doubtful. …
I have never doubted that Columbia was deliberately set on
fire in more than a hundred places. No one ordered it, and no
one could stop it. The officers of high rank would have saved
the city if possible; but the army was deeply imbued with the
feeling that as South Carolina had begun the war she must
suffer a stern retribution."

_W. B. Hazen,
Narrative of Military Service,
chapters 23-25._

{3549}

"I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire,
but, on the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia
remains unconsumed."

_Sherman's Official Report
(Rebellion Record, volume 11)._

ALSO IN:
_S. M. Bowman and R. B. Irwin,
Sherman and his Campaigns,
chapters 26-29._

_H. W. Slocum and W. Hampton,
Sherman's March and The Battle of Bentonville
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4)._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865
(February-March: North Carolina).
Occupation of Wilmington.
Battle of Kinston.
Junction with Sherman at Goldsboro.

On the 9th of February, General Schofield, transferred from
the west, arrived at Fort Fisher with Cox's division of the
Twenty-third Corps, and took command of the newly created
Department of North Carolina. Advancing on Wilmington, the
Confederates, under Hoke, retreating before him, he occupied
that city on the 22d. This accomplished, General Cox was sent
to Newberne to take command of forces ordered there, and to
open communication thence by railroad with Goldsboro,
preparatory to the arrival of General Sherman at that point.
In the prosecution of this undertaking, he fought the battle
of Kinston, March 10, repelling a fierce attack by Bragg with
the forces which were being collected against Sherman: "After
Bragg's retreat, Schofield steadily pressed the work of
rebuilding the railway. Kinston was occupied on March 14th."
On the 21st Schofield entered Goldsboro, "and there, in a
couple of days more, was reassembled the grand army under
Sherman, whose march from Savannah had been quite as
remarkable as the former one from Atlanta to the sea."

_J. D. Cox,
The March to the Sea
(Campaigns of the Civil War),
chapter 9._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (February-March: Virginia).
Sheridan's destroying march through Central Virginia.
Battle of Waynesborough.

"The last campaign against Lee may be said to have been
inaugurated when General Sheridan started with his cavalry
from Winchester, Virginia, on the 27th of February, 1865, with
a sort of carte blanche of destruction as to the enemy's
supply depots and communications. The general's instructions
looked to his crossing the James River above Richmond, and his
possible junction with the command of General Sherman
somewhere in North Carolina; but the swollen condition of the
James and the destruction of the bridges prevented his
crossing. … General Sheridan's command on this expedition
consisted of the first cavalry division, under Brevet
Major-General Wesley Merritt, and the third cavalry division,
under Brevet Major-General George A. Custer, to whose division
was added one brigade of the cavalry of the old army of West
Virginia, under Colonel Capehart. … They left Winchester on a
damp, disagreeable morning. … But the spirits of the bold
dragoons were not dampened, and they felt lively enough to
push on to Waynesborough to the camp of General Jubal Early,
late of the Confederacy, upon whom the brilliant Custer fell
with his division, and soon had his guns, and men, and
'materiel,' and would have had him but that he had sufficient
presence of mind to absent his person when he found how things
were going. This was General Early's last appearance in public
life. … Early's command at Waynesborough being now dispersed
or captured, … General Sheridan proceeded to occupy
Charlottesville. … Then on again toward Lynchburg and the
James River. … When it was found impossible to cross the James
River, attention was for a while directed to the demolition of
the James River and Kanawha Canal. … When the ingenious
destruction corps could devise no further damage here, the
command turned off to try its hand upon a railroad or two. All
the time the rains had descended—the flood-gates of the clouds
were up and the water kept pouring through. … Although nothing
short of a flotilla seemed likely to ride out the storm, the
cavalry rode on hopefully, and came safely to harbor at the
White House, on the Pamunkey, where supplies were furnished
them, and where the March winds blew them dry again. …
Immediately upon his arrival at this depot, General Sheridan
reported to General Grant, at City Point, for orders."

_With General Sheridan in Lee's Last Campaign;
by a Staff Officer,
chapter 2._

ALSO IN:
_G. E. Pond,
The Shenandoah Valley in 1864,
chapter 14._

_A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
chapter 31 (volume 3)._

_P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 2, chapter 4._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March).
Emancipation of the families of colored soldiers.

"The President in his annual message, December, 1863, had
estimated the colored soldiers in the service at 'nearly
100,000.' They were mostly from the border States, and the
slaves of loyal masters. While they were fighting the battles
of the country, their masters, who were generally opposed to
their enlistment, could sell into perpetual slavery their
wives and children. To deter slaves from enlisting, or to
punish them when they did enlist, slave-masters made
merchandise of the wives and children of colored soldiers, and
often sold them into a harsher bondage. To put an end to a
practice so cruel, unjust, injurious, and dishonorable to the
country, Mr. Wilson introduced into the Senate on the 8th of
January [1864], in his bill to promote enlistments, a
provision declaring that when any man or boy of African
descent, owing service or labor in any State, under its laws,
should be mustered into the military or naval service of the
United States, he, and his mother, wife, and children, should
be forever free." The bill was warmly debated and its
supporters did not succeed in bringing it to a vote during
that session of Congress. At the next session, on the 13th of
December, 1864, Mr. Wilson introduced a joint resolution "to
make free the wives and children of persons who had been, or
might be, mustered into the service of the United States."
This passed the Sen·ate a few days later, by a vote of 27 to
10; was passed by the House on the 22d of February, 1865, and
signed by the President on the 3d of March.

_H. Wilson,
History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,
volume 3, chapter 30._

{3550}

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March).
President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

"The days of the Confederacy were evidently numbered. Only the
last blow remained to be struck. Then Lincoln's second
inauguration came [March 4, 1865], and with it his second
inaugural address. Lincoln's famous 'Gettysburg speech has
been much and justly admired. But far greater, as well as far
more characteristic, was that inaugural in which he poured out
the whole devotion and tenderness of his great soul. It had
all the solemnity of a father's last admonition and blessing
to his children before he lay down to die. … No American
President had ever spoken words like these to the American
people. America never had a President who found such words in
the depth of his heart."

_C. Schurz,
Abraham Lincoln: an Essay,
pages 103-104._

The following is the text of the Inaugural Address:

"Fellow-countrymen: At this second appear·ing to take the oath
of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an
extended address than there was at the first. Then a
statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued,
seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four
years, during which public declarations have been constantly
called forth on every point and phase of the great contest
which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies
of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The
progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is
as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust,
reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope
for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. On
the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all
thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war.
All dreaded it—all sought to avert it. While the inaugural
address was being delivered from this place, devoted
altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents
were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to
dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both
parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather
than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war
rather than let it perish. And the war came. One-eighth of the
whole population were colored slaves, not distributed
generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part
of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful
interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause
of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this
interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend
the Union, even by war; while the government claimed no right
to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it.
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the
duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated
that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even
before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an
easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding.
Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each
invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that
any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing
their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us
judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could
not be answered—that of neither has been answered fully. The
Almighty has his own purposes. 'Woe unto the world because of
offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to
that man by whom the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that
American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the
providence of God, must needs come, but which, having
continued through his appointed time, he now wills to remove,
and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war,
as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we
discern therein any departure from those divine attributes
which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him?
Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty
scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that
it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's 250
years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop
of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn
with the sword, as was said 3,000 years ago, so still it must
be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.' With malice toward none; with charity for all;
with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the
nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves,
and with all nations."

_A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 656-657._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (March-April: Virginia).
The Flanking of Lee's lines.
Battle of Five Forks.
Final assault at Petersburg and Confederate retreat.

"One of the most anxious periods of my experience during the
rebellion," wrote General Grant, "was the last few weeks
before Petersburg. I felt that the situation of the
Confederate army was such that they would try to make an
escape at the earliest practicable moment, and I was afraid,
every morning, that I would awake from my sleep to hear that
Lee had gone, and that nothing was left but a picket line. … I
was naturally very impatient for the time to come when I could
commence the spring campaign, which I thoroughly believed
would close the war. … Sherman was anxious that I should wait
where I was until he could come up, and make a sure thing of
it; but I had determined to move as soon as the roads and
weather would admit of my doing so. I had been tied down
somewhat in the matter of fixing any time at my pleasure for
starting, until Sheridan, who was on his way from the
Shenandoah Valley to join me, should arrive, as both his
presence and that of his cavalry were necessary to the
execution of the plans which I had in mind. However,
[Sheridan] having arrived at White House on the 19th of March,
I was enabled to make my plans. … It is now known that early
in the month of March Mr. Davis and General Lee had a
consultation about the situation of affairs in and about
Richmond and Petersburg, and they both agreed that these
places were no longer tenable for them, and that they must get
away as soon as possible. They, too, were waiting for dry
roads, or a condition of the roads which would make it
possible to move. General Lee, in aid of his plan of escape,
and to secure a wider opening to enable them to reach the
Danville road with greater security than he would have in the
way the two armies were situated, determined upon an assault
upon the right of our lines around Petersburg." The assault
was made by General Gordon early in the morning of March 25th,
and Fort Stedman, with three contiguous batteries, were taken
by surprise. The captured fort and batteries were soon
recovered, however, and the Confederate troops who entered
them were made prisoners.
{3551}
"This effort of Lee's cost him about 4,000 men, and resulted
in their killing, wounding and capturing about 2,000 of ours.
… The day that Gordon was making dispositions for this attack
(24th of March) I issued my orders for the movement to
commence on the 29th. Ord, with three divisions of infantry
and Mackenzie's cavalry, was to move in advance on the night
of the 27th, from the north side of the James River, and take
his place on our extreme left, 30 miles away. … Ord was at his
place promptly. Humphreys and Warren were then on our extreme
left with the 2d and 5th corps. They were directed on the
arrival of Ord, and on his getting into position in their
places, to cross Hatcher's Run and extend out west toward Five
Forks, the object being to get into a position from which we
could strike the South Side Railroad and ultimately the
Danville Railroad. There was considerable fighting in taking
up these new positions for the 2d and 5th corps, in which the
Army of the James had also to participate somewhat, and the
losses were quite severe. This was what was known as the
battle of White Oak Road. … The 29th of March came, and
fortunately, there having been a few days free from rain, the
surface of the ground was dry, giving indications that the
time had come when we could move. On that day I moved out with
all the army available after leaving sufficient force to hold
the line about Petersburg. It soon set in raining again,
however, and in a very short time the roads became practically
impassable for teams, and almost so for cavalry. … It became
necessary … to build corduroy roads every foot of the way as
we advanced, to move our artillery upon, The army had become
so accustomed to this kind of work, and were so well prepared
for it, that it was done very rapidly. The next day, March
30th, we had made sufficient progress to the south-west to
warrant me in starting Sheridan with his cavalry over by
Dinwiddie with instructions to then come up by the road
leading north-west to Five Forks, thus menacing the right of
Lee's line, … The column moving detached from the army still
in the trenches was, excluding the cavalry, very small. The
forces in the trenches were themselves extending to the left
flank. Warren was on the extreme left when the extension
began, but Humphreys was marched around later and thrown into
line between him and Five Forks. My hope was that Sheridan
would be able to carry Five Forks, get on the enemy's right
flank and rear, and force them to weaken their centre to
protect their right, so that an assault in the centre might be
successfully made. General Wright's corps had been designated
to make this assault, which I intended to order as soon as
information reached me of Sheridan's success. … Sheridan moved
back to Dinwiddie Court-House on the night of the 30th, and
then took a road leading northwest to Five Forks. He had only
his cavalry with him. Soon encountering the rebel cavalry he
met with a very stout resistance. He gradually drove them back
however until in the neighborhood of Five Forks. Here he had
to encounter other troops, besides those he had been
contending with, and was forced to give way. In this condition
of affairs he notified me of what had taken place and stated
that he was falling back toward Dinwiddie gradually and
slowly, and asked me to send Wright's corps to his assistance.
I replied to him that it was impossible to send Wright's corps
… and that I would send Warren. Accordingly orders were sent
to Warren to move at once that night (the 31st) to Dinwiddie
Court-House and put himself in communication with Sheridan as
soon as possible, and report to him. He was very slow in
moving, some of his troops not starting until after 5 o'clock
next morning. … Warren reported to Sheridan about 11 o'clock
on the 1st, but the whole of his troops were not up so as to
be much engaged until late in the afternoon. … Sheridan
succeeded by the middle of the afternoon or a little later in
advancing up to the point from which to make his designed
assault upon Five Forks itself. He was very impatient to make
the assault and have it all over before night, because the
ground he occupied would be untenable for him in bivouac
during the night. … It was at this junction of affairs that
Sheridan wanted to get Crawford's division in hand, and he
also wanted Warren. He sent staff officer after staff officer
in search of Warren, directing that general to report to him,
but they were unable to find him. At all events Sheridan was
unable to get that officer to him. Finally he went himself. He
issued an order relieving Warren and assigning Griffin to the
command of the 5th corps. The troops were then brought up and
the assault successfully made. … It was dusk when our troops
under Sheridan went over the parapets of the enemy. The two
armies were mingled together there for a time in such manner
that it was almost a question which one was going to demand
the surrender of the other. Soon, however, the enemy broke and
ran in every direction; some 6,000 prisoners, besides
artillery and small-arms in large quantities, falling into our
hands. … Pursuit continued until about 9 o'clock at night,
when Sheridan halted his troops, and knowing the importance to
him of the part of the enemy's line which had been captured,
returned. … This was the condition which affairs were in on
the night of the 1st of April. I then issued orders for an
assault by Wright and Parke at 4 o'clock on the morning of the
2d." The assault was successfully made, and the outer works of
Petersburg were soon in the hands of the National troops.
Early in the morning of the 3d the enemy evacuated Petersburg
and Grant and Meade took possession of the city. The following
day they were visited there by President Lincoln, who had been
at City Point for a week, or more, watching the course of
events.

_U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapters 63-65 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN:
_P. H. Sheridan,
Personal Memoirs,
volume 2, chapters 5-6._

_A. A. Humphreys,
The Virginia Campaign of 1864 and 1865,
chapters 12-13._

_H. Porter,
Five Forks and the Pursuit of Lee
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4)._

_R. de Trobriand,
Four years with the Army of the Potomac,
chapter 34._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April 11).
President Lincoln's last public address.
His view of Reconstruction in Louisiana.

On the evening of the 11th of April, a great multitude of
people gathered about the White House, to convey their
congratulations to the President and to signify their joy at
the sure prospect of peace. Mr. Lincoln came out and spoke to
them, expressing first his participation in their gladness,
and then turning to discuss briefly the criticism which had
opened upon his policy of reconstruction, as practically
illustrated in Louisiana.
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He spoke of his message and proclamation of December, 1863
(quoted above); of the approval given to them by every member
of his cabinet; of the entire silence at the time of all who
had become critics and objectors since action under the plan
had been taken in Louisiana. He then went on as follows: "When
the message of 1863, with the plan before mentioned, reached
New Orleans, General Banks wrote me that he was confident that
the people, with his military cooperation, would reconstruct
substantially on that plan. I wrote to him and some of them to
try it. They tried it, and the result is known. Such has been
my only agency in getting up the Louisiana government. As to
sustaining it, my promise is out, as before stated. But as bad
promises are better broken than kept, I shall treat this as a
bad promise, and break it whenever I shall be convinced that
keeping it is adverse to the public interest; but I have not
yet been so convinced. I have been shown a letter on this
subject, supposed to be an able one, in which the writer
expresses regret that my mind has not seemed to be definitely
fixed on the question whether the seceded States, so called,
are in the Union or out of it. It would perhaps add
astonishment to his regret were he to learn that since I have
found professed Union men endeavoring to make that question, I
have purposely forborne any public expression upon it. As
appears to me, that question has not been, nor yet is, a
practically material one, and that any discussion of it, while
it thus remains practically immaterial, could have no effect
other than the mischievous one of dividing our friends. As
yet, whatever it may hereafter become, that question is bad as
the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all—a
merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded
States, so called, are out of their proper practical relation
with the Union, and that the sole object of the government,
civil and military, in regard to those States is to again get
them into that proper practical relation. I believe that it is
not only possible, but in fact easier, to do this without
deciding or even considering whether these States have ever
been out of the Union, than with it. Finding themselves safely
at home, it would be utterly immaterial whether they had ever
been abroad. Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to
restoring the proper practical relations between these States
and the Union, and each forever after innocently indulge his
own opinion whether in doing the acts he brought the States
from without into the Union, or only gave them proper
assistance, they never having been out of it. The amount of
constituency, so to speak, on which the new Louisiana
government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it
contained 50,000, or 30,000, or even 20,000, instead of only
about 12,000, as it does. It is also unsatisfactory to some
that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I
would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very
intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers.
Still, the question is not whether the Louisiana government,
as it stands, is quite all that is desirable. The question is,
will it be wiser to take it as it is and help to improve it,
or to reject and disperse it? Can Louisiana be brought into
proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sustaining
or by discarding her new State government? Some 12,000 voters
in the heretofore slave State of Louisiana have sworn
allegiance to the Union, assumed to be the rightful political
power of the State, held elections, organized a State
government, adopted a free-State constitution, giving the
benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and
empowering the legislature to confer the elective franchise
upon the colored man. Their legislature has already voted to
ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by
Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These
12,000 persons are thus fully committed to the Union and to
perpetual freedom in the State—committed to the very things,
and nearly all the things, the nation wants—and they ask the
nation's recognition and its assistance to make good their
committal. Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost
to disorganize and disperse them. We, in effect, say to the
white man: You are worthless or worse; we will neither help
you, nor be helped by you. To the blacks we say: This cup of
liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips we
will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gathering
the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined
when, where, and how. If this course, discouraging and
paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring
Louisiana into proper practical relations with the Union, I
have so far been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary,
we recognize and sustain the new government of Louisiana, the
converse of all this is made true. We encourage the hearts and
nerve the arms of the 12,000 to adhere to their work, and
argue for it, and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed
it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The
colored man, too, in seeing all united for him, is inspired
with vigilance, and energy, and daring, to the same end. Grant
that he desires the elective franchise, will he not attain it
sooner by saving the already advanced steps toward it than by
running backward over them? Concede that the new government of
Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is to the
fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than
by smashing it. Again, if we reject Louisiana we also reject
one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the national
Constitution. To meet this proposition it has been argued that
no more than three-fourths of those States which have not
attempted secession are necessary to validly ratify the
amendment. I do not commit myself against this further than to
say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure
to be persistently questioned, while a ratification by
three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and
unquestionable. I repeat the question: Can Louisiana be
brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner
by sustaining or by discarding her new State government? What
has been said of Louisiana will apply generally to other
States. And yet so great peculiarities pertain to each State,
and such important and sudden changes occur in the same State,
and withal so new and unprecedented is the whole case that no
exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to
details and collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan
would surely become a new entanglement. Important principles
may and must be inflexible. In the present situation, as the
phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new announcement
to the people of the South. I am considering, and shall not
fail to act when satisfied that action will be proper."

_A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 673-675._

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (April: Virginia).
The abandonment of Richmond and retreat of Lee.
Battle of Sailor's Creek.
Surrender at Appomattox Court House.