Bitter Fruits Of Bondage: The Demise Of Slavery And The Collapse Of The Confederacy, 1861-1865
The process of social change initiated during the birth of Confederate nationalism undermined the social and cultural foundations of the southern way of life built on slavery, igniting class conflict that ultimately sapped white southerners of the will to go on.

Petersburg
The Breakthrough
Civil War Virginia

American Civil War
April 2, 1865


The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865
The Siege of Petersburg was the prelude to the final chapter of our Nation's Civil War. The work is thoroughly researched with a plethora of primary sources incorporated right into the text

With Confederate defeat at Five Forks on April 1, Grant and Meade ordered a general assault against the Petersburg lines by II, IX, VI and XXIV Corps on April 2.

A heroic defense of Fort Gregg by a handful of Confederates prevented the Federals from entering the city that night.

Lieutenant General A.P. Hill was killed trying to reach his troops in the confusion. After dark, Lee ordered the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. Grant had achieved one of the major military objectives of the war: the capture of Petersburg, which led to the fall of Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: City of Petersburg

Campaign: Appomattox Campaign (March-April 1865) next battle in campaign previous battle in campaign

Date(s): April 2, 1865

Principal Commanders: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: Armies

Estimated Casualties: 7,750 total (US 3,500; CS 4,250)


Swallowed Up in Victory: A Civil War Narrative, Petersburg, 1864-1865
A narrative of the last year of the American Civil War, follows the action surrounding the first attacks on Petersburg through the surrender at Appomattox


Grant's Secret Service: The Intelligence War from Belmont to Appomattox
The first scholarly examination of the use of military intelligence under Ulysses S. Grant's command during the Civil War. Feis makes the new and provocative argument that Grant's use of the Army of the Potomac's Bureau of Military Information played a significant role in Lee's defeat
March - April 1865

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April 9, 1865

Lee's Surrender to Grant

The Fall of Richmond, Refugees, April 2, 1865
Black refugees on a boat with household belongings

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To 'Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women's Lives and Labors after the Civil War
Thousands of former slaves flocked to southern cities in search of work, they found the demands placed on them as wage-earners disturbingly similar to those they had faced as slaves: seven-day workweeks, endless labor, and poor treatment

Virginia State Battle Map 1865
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American Civil War Book Titles

The Passing of Armies: An Account Of The Final Campaign Of The Army Of The Potomac
The beginning of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac against Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. It was the spring of 1864 and General Grant had Lee and his army backing up toward what finally became the siege of Petersburg, Virginia.
Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History
The Army of Northern Virginia was able to compile a large number of impressive victories during the war. The Army of Tennessee was only able to win at Chickamauga, and even that victory proved barren strategically.
The Beginning and the End: The Civil War Story of Federal Surrenders Before Fort Sumter and Confederate Surrenders After Appomatox
Surrenders continued for months after Appomattox. The background of Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, Taylor's in Alabama , Jones's in Florida,  the same day that Davis was captured—and Kirby-Smith's, west of the Mississippi
April 1865: The Month That Saved America
There was nothing inevitable about the end of the Civil War, from the fall of Richmond to the surrender at Appomattox to the murder of Lincoln. It all happened so quickly, in what was the most moving and decisive month not simply of the Civil War, but indeed, quite likely, in the life of the United States

Unconditional Surrender: U. S. Grant and the Civil War
This is the best juvenile biography on Ulysses S. Grant by a wide margin. Marrin has done an excellent job in introducing Grant to a young audience. I highly recommend it.


Grant's Lieutenants: From Chattanooga to Appomattox
This new volume assesses Union generalship during the final two years of the Civil War. Steven Woodworth, one of the war's premier historians, is joined by a team of scholars-- Grimsley, Marszalek, and Hess, among others--who critique Ulysses S. Grant's commanders
Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914
Known as the hero of Little Round Top and the commanding officer who accepted the Confederates' surrender at Appomattox.
From Manassas to Appomattox: General James Longstreet
According to some, he was partially to blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg; according to others, if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, they would have won that battle. He has been called stubborn and vain; and he has been lauded as one of the greatest tacticians of the Civil War

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
The Civil War in Virginia
Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many of their bloodiest battles. the program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia
The Last Days of the Civil War - April 1865: The Month That Saved America, Civil War Combat:
The Tragedy At Cold Harbor
The remarkable succession of events leading from the fall of Richmond to Appomattox.

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
American Experience: The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry
After Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the governor of Massachusetts was authorized to raise the first northern black regiment,  the Massachusetts 54th colored infantry.
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

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