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Forced from Richmond and Petersburg by the encircling Federals, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia retreated west, planning to turn south to North Carolina. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade kept part of the Army of the Potomac south of Lee, however, while the rest pursued the Confederates. At Appomattox Court House, Grant caught up with Lee, who surrendered on April 9, 1865, ending the bloodiest war in American history. Follow the trailblazing signs from Petersburg to Appomattox and other Southside sites.
In May 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant accompanied Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac as it maneuvered south from Germanna Ford toward Richmond to lure Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into a decisive fight. At Massaponax Church, on May 21, Grant, Meade, and other officers stopped to confer after the battles of Spotsylvania Court House. Photographer Timothy O'Sullivan captured the event in a unique series of images taken from the second story of the church. Follow the trailblazing signs from Germanna Ford to Petersburg by way of historic Massaponax Church.