On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. The Confederates had been forced to abandon Richmond and were blocked from reaching the Confederates in North Carolina. The Union Army seemed to be everywhere. Lee knew surrender was his only option. After the signing, General Grant asked his men to respect the Confederates: “The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again.”
