Killing Lincoln

The chapter opens with President Lincoln, who only has 14 days to live, pacing back and forth on the deck of a steamboat called River Queen. Despite the sounds of gunfire and the fact that the boat is docked at City Point, a Virginia port that has been infiltrated by Confederates, Lincoln paces the boat without fear of snipers shooting him. The mortar fire he hears is meant to reduce the perimeter around Petersburg so that his army, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, can storm the final holdout of the Confederate army, a town that has withstood the Union army’s attacks for 10 long months. If Lincoln’s army prevails, Grant will trap Confederate General Robert E. Lee and force his surrender, which would mean that the four years of war will be over, even though no one really knows what will happen next if this outcome does come true. Lincoln also knows that Lee is an expert at evading capture and surrender, and that the Confederate general hopes to slip through the Union’s defenses and make for the North Carolina border.

Even now, Confederates wear pilfered Union clothing—mostly because their clothes are tattered, and the Union dead have nicer clothing—to evade capture. Lincoln knows that Lee’s escape might be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back in that many in the North are sick of the war. Protests are rampant and some openly question Lincoln’s leadership. If Lee escapes, it will be as if the South has won the war, especially as they will refuse any future terms of surrender. To this end, Lincoln has asked Grant to give Lee the most lenient surrender terms possible and has promised that no Confederate soldiers will be punished. The country will need men and families to rebuild, not prisoners of war. Despite all odds, Lincoln believes that the country must heal and that he can get the job done. Even though his top advisers tell him that assassination is not an American way, Lincoln knows better, especially as the war is nearing an end. Despite the danger, Lincoln entrusts his fate to God. Lincoln eventually goes to sleep and has a powerful dream that will shock those he tells at a later date.

While the American Civil War is known in terms of North versus South, for the people of Petersburg, Virginia, the war is between Grant and Lee. The two have been trying to outwit one another for 11 months, even though Grant has the upper hand. Both want to control Petersburg, a 200-year-old city, as it is 23 miles north of the Confederate capital of Richmond. The current situation began earlier in June when Grant pulled off one of the greatest military maneuvers in history: he abandoned a battle at Cold Harbor, withdrawing 115,000 men and marching toward Petersburg without losing any soldiers. At the time, Petersburg was unprotected. Had Grant continued, he could have taken the city, but he never did. Grant’s commanders didn’t take advantage of their upper hand, and Lee was able to move in reinforcements. Grant’s army could have then surrounded the city and laid siege.

Another main reason for the long siege is that the Appomattox River runs through Petersburg, and Lee’s army is using it as a natural border, which also allows trains to feed the Confederate army without Union interference. This allows life to go on as normal for many of the upper echelon soldiers, including Lee, who goes to church regularly as if back home. His commanders, A.P. Hill and John B. Gordon, also live lives of relative ease and are entrusted with the town’s defenses. Lee’s army, however, has been reduced to 50,000 men, with only 35,000 of those men able to fight. Yet the men have consistently staved off attacks from Grant’s army.

Lee knows, however, that he cannot win the battle at Petersburg. More than attacks from Grant, starvation is killing his soldiers. Disease is also taking a heavy toll. Due to these problems, Confederate soldiers are also surrendering under cover of night so that they can eat, while the soldiers that remain are at their breaking point. Lee’s two options for reigniting the fight in his men are to either retreat to Richmond or try and break through Grant’s lines and go South. Both options will allow Lee’s army to flee to the Carolinas, where reinforcements—and food—are waiting.

Grant, however, removes the option of punching through his line when his army decimates the Southern army on the evening of April 1. At the Battle of Five Forks, General Phil Sheridan captures an important crossing that leads to North Carolina, thus defeating General George Pickett (the infamous General who was previously defeated at Gettysburg). The Southern army lost almost 3,000 men in the battle, making the battle “the most lopsided Union victory of the War” (17).

Grant then orders another attack, which is what all the noise was that Lincoln heard the previous day while waiting on the boat. After shelling, 100,000 Union soldiers attack Lee’s line, fighting hand-to-hand combat for most of the time. General G. Parke and Major General Horatio Wright crush much of Lee’s remaining forces. Wright employs a revolutionary attack he learned at West Point, and he will also later be known for completing the Washington Monument and working on the Brooklyn Bridge. In the battle, A.P. Hill’s Third Corp is decimated and Wright’s soldiers march on Petersburg. All of this happens in under two hours. Wright’s soldiers are so far in front of the rest of the Union army, however, that they must stop and wait for the others to catch up. Meanwhile, Lee and his generals, Hill and Pete Longstreet, watch from Lee’s front porch as Union soldiers advance. Lee must act quickly or the road to Richmond, too, will fall into Union hands. He dresses in his finest gear in case he must surrender to Union forces.

In the ensuing confusion, Lee must do three important things: escape back into Petersburg (he’s on the outskirts now, in his Confederate headquarters); send orders to his generals that they must fall back to the city and hold defenses until the last man is safe or until night falls; and then evacuate Petersburg and head to the Carolinas. Lee’s army, though weak and starving, is formidable when fighting on open ground, and he believes he will have an advantage during this retreat. If any of the above-three things don’t happen, Lee knows he will be forced to surrender. Luckily for Lee, Wright’s soldiers do not realize who he is. If they did, they’d have attacked and captured him, thus ending the war for good. Wright’s soldiers notice an artillery battery by the Confederate headquarters, the Turnbull House, and imagine it is a small part of a larger defense system. Weary of being gunned down, they don’t advance. Lee flees, and by nightfall, he crosses the Appomattox River and orders his army to do the same, thus creating the war’s “final chase” (19).

Lee’s retreat from Petersburg is time-consuming and chaotic, so much so that Grant can see Confederate soldiers fleeing over eight hours later. If he’d wanted to, Grant could have given chase and slaughtered a number of the retreating Confederate forces, yet he also realizes that the same soldiers he could kill are the husbands, sons, and fathers that are needed to rebuild the country once the war is done. He allows Lee to retreat without attacking him, which he will soon come to regret. Lee plans to make it to Amelia Court House where food and supplies are supposedly waiting. Then Lee’s army will run into a Union force that is 100,000 soldiers strong. This is when Grant plans on finishing Lee off and capturing the Confederate army.

Grant telegraphs Lincoln, who is in City Point, and requests a meeting. Petersburg is completely empty, and Grant is in the city awaiting word from Lincoln. Grant is described as the complete opposite of Lee. He was in charge of supplies and a lieutenant when Lee was already a decorated war hero. Although he had a low position, Grant learned a lot about military operations. Lee also chastised him for being slovenly, which to the polished Lee is disgraceful for a soldier. Grant knows many other Confederate soldiers, including James “Pete” Longstreet, who served as his best man and is now serving with Lee, and Jefferson Davis, the future Confederate president. Grant now waits for word that Richmond has fallen while smoking his favored cigars (something that will kill him later in life). He and Lincoln believe that if the Confederacy doesn’t have a capital, it will help with its demise.

Lincoln arrives with a limited entourage that includes his 11-year-old son. Lincoln constantly skirts danger, even though he knows that the last days of a war are an opportune time for a president to be assassinated. While Lincoln is constantly worried about all other aspects of life and the nation, he doesn’t pay any heed to his own safety. Lincoln is greeted by freed slaves, and he and Grant then meet. Grant and Lincoln are a team, and Lincoln considers Grant instrumental in fighting the war. The two finally finish their meeting and part ways. Grant will one day be president, while Lincoln will try to heal the nation—but die in pursuit of this and because of this. Lincoln returns to City Point, once again putting himself in harm’s way. He walks through a battlefield where the dead are littered. He doesn’t look away, feeling a tinge of guilt. He is constantly faced with people—even Northerners—who wish him harm or harbor hateful feelings for him because of how the war lingers on. When he returns to City Point, he receives word that Richmond has fallen. Lincoln is excited to have lived to see this, and he unknowingly has only 12 days to live.

John Wilkes Booth has traveled to Rhode Island in secret with his fiancée, Lucy Hale. Newport is known as the getaway destination for the well-to-do and has been since the Revolutionary War. Booth is one of eight children. His father, a flamboyant man named Junius Brutus Booth, abandoned his wife and two kids in England and fled to America with a British girl, who is Booth’s mother. Booth’s father and brother are both far more successful than him, which adds to his anger and resentment. On his way to Rhode Island, he is inundated with the news of a fallen Richmond and Jefferson Davis’s flight into hiding. With the South’s collapse, Booth increasingly believes that he is the only person who can do something about the demise of the South. Booth has hated Lincoln for some time, but even more so since the Emancipation Proclamation. While recovering from a sickness, he began recruiting people to help him kidnap Lincoln, successfully recruiting friends Michael O’Laughlen and Samuel Arnold in August 1864. He then traveled in October to meet with agents of Jefferson Davis. Davis had over $1 million in gold stored in Montreal to help pay for “acts of espionage and intrigue against the union” (27). Booth’s meetings helped link him to the Confederacy, as well as Confederate sympathizers Samuel Mudd and John Surratt, both of whom will be instrumental in his plot against Lincoln. Booth continued with his plans by meeting with secret agents, and movers and shakers, thus solidifying his plans for kidnapping Lincoln.

No one outside of the secessionist movement knows of Booth’s plans, especially not his fiancée, Lucy Hale. The two have barely had time together, especially due to the fact that their engagement is secret. Lucy’s dad is a prominent pro-war senator who would refuse this engagement outright. Lucy is a good match for Booth in that she shares many of his vanities. She often toys with men and has many suitors, one of which is Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., and another of which is Robert Todd Lincoln, president Lincoln’s son. Lucy knows nothing of Booth’s clandestine meetings, or even the fact that he makes use of prostitutes. Booth begins ranting to Lucy about his pro-Confederacy leanings yet again after seeing how the North hasn’t even been touched by war. But Lucy understands politics and argues back until the two reach a point that they must change the subject. Booth genuinely loves Lucy and considers her the love of his life. It’s because of her that he hasn’t done anything dangerous as of yet. The two return to the hotel and make love, but they realize that there is an irreparable rift in their relationship. Booth also senses that Lucy is the last thing holding him back from his plans and is glad when they take a train to Boston and part ways.

As Booth and Lucy Hale head to Boston, Lee’s army marches to Amelia Court House. Lee has an eight-hour head start, and he hopes to feed his troops with promised rations at the rendezvous spot. Even though Jefferson Davis has already fled, he hopes to refuel his men and be in better fighting order once Grant appears. The march is a day-and-a-half’s journey, 40 miles on foot that soon turns into a march of death. The soldiers are worn out and already malnourished. Many desert, and the 20-mile line of soldiers is speckled with blue as many soldiers wear Union clothing because of their threadbare uniforms. The soldiers retreating from Richmond have it worse as many are sailors and others are civilians, all of whom are unaccustomed to marching. Lee soon receives word that the bridges from Petersburg have been blown, meaning that Grant cannot follow his retreat. This news ignites Lee’s desire to get to Amelia Court House. Although Grant is moving west to block Lee’s future advance—a tactic Lee already suspects—Lee feels confident that his army can fend off Grant’s forces while on open ground. Lee’s enthusiasm trickles down to his men, and the ragtag group of soldiers finally reach Amelia Courthouse with renewed vigor just before noon. Lee is relieved, but horror soon ensues as the boxcars that are supposed to contain food are revealed to contain only ammunition.

John Wilkes Booth is in Newport, while General Robert E. Lee is at Amelia Court House and Grant races to cut him off. While all this is taking place, Lincoln is sailing on the Malvern for Richmond. The ship must navigate dangerous waters filled with anti-ship mines. Although Lincoln is elated to be journeying to Richmond, the city has been burned to the ground by its own inhabitants. Lincoln must eventually go ashore with bodyguard William Crook when it becomes too dangerous for the ship to go any further. The author mentions that Richmond never thought it would fall, and so when it did the population went mad. The first thing destroyed was the alcohol supply, as Union soldiers had earlier burned a South Carolina city to the ground after getting drunk. The food rations were then attacked, including the ration of food that was supposed to have been at Amelia Court House—Confederate robbers stole Lee’s supply. The tobacco crop was also set ablaze as the South knew Lincoln wanted to sell the tobacco to the British. But the bales of tobacco incinerated the very buildings they were being held in, creating a large fire. The fire then met up with the alcohol running in the streets—alcohol that even respectable citizens were lying on the ground and drinking—and a firestorm ensued. This was made worse by the navy igniting its own ships so that the Union army couldn’t make use of them. The shells in the ships then exploded and landed indiscriminately into the crowds. The crazed actions of Richmond’s citizens killed hundreds.

The author also notes how Richmond was a proud city that was perhaps even more American than Washington, D.C. In 1775, Patrick Henry gave the famous speech in which he said: “Give me liberty or give me death” (38), to a crowd that included Thomas Jefferson and George Washington from this very same city. Union soldiers are able to walk into the city without harm even though the Confederate soldiers left landmines because the mines still have their red flags on them. The Union soldiers are met by freed slaves who are shocked to see Black soldiers among the army. A flag is hoisted that has 36 stars, significant in that it includes the newly admitted Nevada. The flag is symbolic of postwar America, the America that Lincoln always envisioned. Ironically, 11 days later, a similar flag will be placed near Lincoln’s head after John Wilkes Booth kills him.

Abraham Lincoln walks the streets of Richmond, greeted by freed slaves and angry stares from Richmond’s white inhabitants. As tall as he is, he’s a perfect target for anyone harboring a grudge. Yet he walks without concern. Lincoln walks to the former home of Jefferson Davis, the former Confederate president who has since fled. Lincoln has no plans to hunt him down or try Confederate masterminds for war crimes. His one goal is reunification. Now that Richmond has fallen, he just needs Grant to finish the war so that the task of rebuilding can begin.

Lee and his army are beyond desperate now. The only hope that kept soldiers marching was the hope of food. Soldiers now desert in groves, some making it home months later and many dying enroute from starvation and malnourishment. Even Lee is dejected. He sends wagons out to scour the countryside, but no food is found. Soldiers take to eating anything they can find, even rancid food. Pack animals are killed as well. Lee knows he must move again before Grant finds him. His plan is another march to Danville, which is 100 miles south. Lee can surrender to Grant if he chooses, but his pride won’t let him surrender just yet. Lee gives the order, and the army moves out again, but a Union blockade outside stops the men. Lee wants to charge the army and make a last-ditch attack, yet he knows that he must protect his men who are counting on him. Instead of engaging the enemy, he moves the army west toward Paineville.

The Union cavalry harasses Lee’s army as they retreat across open plains. The cavalry burns supply wagons and attacks the rear. Lee orders his soldiers to attack the cavalry, and they manage to kill and injure the Union cavalry riders, proving that Lee’s army still has fight left in it. The march is a painful one. Supplies, animals, and weapons are left behind, as well as the dead who fall where they once stood. Of the 30,000-strong army that left Petersburg, Lee’s army is now reduced to half. Yet when it comes time to fight, the soldiers will undoubtedly find the strength to do so. The soldiers’ strength is that of a South who wants nothing to do with the “evil empire” (47) of the North. Lee later receives an intercepted message from Grant ordering his generals to attack Lee at first light. But Lee also hears from his scouts that rations are waiting at Farmville, so he turns his army toward food and shelter.

Grant is also riding at top speed. He’s received word that Lee is moving toward Farmville for rations. From Farmville, it’s a short distance to High Bridge, a stone-and-wood structure that can hold an army. Once Lee burns the bridge behind him, his escape will be complete, and the war will continue. Grant knows he must capture Lee now, and he wants to do so personally. His plan is always to get in front of Lee, but Lee always thwarts his plans. Grant is also annoyed at some of his top generals because, though the Union army is better prepared, his generals are not rising to the task. He has no qualms about General Phil Sheridan who commands the cavalry. General George Meade, however, disobeyed a direct order earlier and refused to attack Lee’s rear at Jetersville because he claimed his army was too tired. Grant knows that it’s really just an internal struggle between infantry and cavalry. The two sides think ill of each other. Sheridan was so incensed by Meade’s refusal to attack that he told Grant as much, which is why Grant is now racing toward his generals.

Grant knows that he has superior numbers, and his previously second-rate Union army is now a force to be reckoned with since Petersburg. Grant and Sheridan talk about battle plans, and when Meade claims he’s too ill to meet, Grant has him get his men ready for battle anyway. Oddly enough, Meade is a hero of Gettysburg, dealing a decisive blow to the Confederate forces on the battlefield. Grant knows that Meade’s infantry will not catch up to Lee, and that Lee has the means to put up a fight if they do. He realizes that a fast attack, like that of Sheridan’s cavalry, is needed to stop Lee. The plan of attack is for Meade’s infantry to catch up and harass Lee’s army while Sheridan travels fast and gets around to the front of Lee’s army, cutting Lee off.

It’s been four days since the Confederate army retreated from Petersburg as Lee rides into Rice’s Station to the cheers of his ragtag army. With him are his point man General Pete Longstreet, rear guard commander General John B. Gordon, and others. Rice’s Station is a hamlet, with one way leading to the safety of the Carolinas and the other leading back to Petersburg. Lee has artillery set up on this road to fight off any Union soldiers on their trail. The plan is for Longstreet’s army to remain at Rice’s Station until Lee’s entire army has evacuated. Farmville is less than an hour away and Lee is elated. Moreover, the provisions have been confirmed to be in Farmville. Lee plans to stop for food and then march to High Bridge. He has received word that a large contingent of Union cavalry are racing for High Bridge, with the obvious intent of burning the bridge before Lee can make use of it. For once, Lee isn’t sure what to do.

When General Thomas Lafayette Rosser arrives at Rice’s Station with his cavalry, Longstreet instructs him to go after the bridge burners, to Rosser’s delight. He’s a man eager for war and was the classmate of the infamous General George Armstrong Custer, who is a Union officer now. Rosser has a distinguished career that includes service at Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Manassas. Longstreet knows that if anyone can get the job done, Rosser can. Lee finally rests, realizing that all he can do is wait. If he can’t make it over High Bridge, he and the Confederate army are doomed.

The Union force that is heading to High Bridge to burn it consists of seventy-nine soldiers on horseback and 800 infantrymen. Rosser wouldn’t be able to catch this force if all of them were cavalry. Colonel Washburn tasks his cavalrymen with burning the bridge as he knows it’s the faster force. High Bridge itself is considered by many to be the best bridge in the world, with the Brooklyn Bridge being designed after it. The bridge is supported by brick columns. Washburn soon learns from General Theodore Read that the Confederates are soon to catch up with him. Moreover, a small group of Confederates are stationed at the bridge and have been for months. Read can cancel Washburn’s mission if it is deemed too risky. Read and Washburn discuss their plans atop Chatham plateau, with the bridge and its defensive mounds in full view. Read eventually orders the attack to commence, even though the two know their plan is risky and dangerous.

Washburn’s cavalry ride for High Bridge and are attacked by rebel cavalry, who lure the Union cavalry into traps as they give chase. Washburn is within range of High Bridge when its defenses attack his men, halting his advance. Although he knows he can end the war by burning the bridge, he soon hears gunfire behind him, telling him that the Confederate cavalrymen have found the infantry. He leaves High Bridge and returns to battle. To Washburn’s horror, some 1,200 Confederate cavalrymen are in wait to attack his force of 800 infantrymen. Washburn decides on a bold tactic. He has his cavalrymen charge the enemy with a show of force and showmanship, with some men wielding sabers and others shooting from the saddle. The tactic works briefly, with the Confederate army in disarray from Washburn’s display. Washburn is able to cut a hole through the rebel line, and the plan was for the infantry to move through the hole and escape, allowing them to meet up with the rest of Grant’s army. For whatever reason, however, the infantry doesn’t move as instructed. They stay on the ground. Rosser notes this and orders a counterattack. The ensuing battle unleashes carnage onto the field. General Dearing shoots and kills Read point-blank. Washburn then attacks Dearing, who is killed by other Union soldiers. Washburn is shot in the face, his jaw flopping off. He falls off his horse and is sabered in the head, though he miraculously survives until he is found the next day on the field. The Confederate forces lose 100 men, while the Union forces lose all 847 men.

Meade’s army catches up to Lee’s and attacks in skirmishes before pulling away, thus nagging and separating Lee’s retreating lines. At Rice’s Station, Lee wrongly guesses that Sheridan’s forces have gotten in front of him and are larger then he imagines. Because of this miscalculation, he holds all his forces at Rice’s Station when they should be on the move. Meanwhile, Sheridan’s commanders—Generals Custer, Thomas Devin, and George Crook—are searching for Lee. Custer is known for being flamboyant and not waiting for reinforcements, a trait kill him 11 years later in the infamous battle at Little Bighorn that he’s known for. Custer receives word that there’s a gap in Lee’s forces and rushes to attack without having received reinforcements, and he succeeds. He then makes it to Marshall’s Crossroads. Custer then requests help from Devin and Crook, and the three groups of soldiers lay waste to the rebels at Marshall’s Crossroads. Of the 3,000 rebels, only about 600 manage to escape. They are hunted by Union soldiers and driven into the woods to be rounded up later as prisoners. General Richard Ewell is captured by the Union forces, though he knows that a band of his forces are trapped on a stream known as Sayler’s Creek. The men there want to fight and will do so in a battle that will be known as “the most barbaric and ferocious of the entire war” (66).

Grant’s army has finally arrived to fight Lee’s forces. The battle at Sayler’s Creek may be the worst of the war. What makes the scene all the more remarkable is that Sayler’s Creek is a place of “outstanding beauty” (67). Lee’s men are tired and demoralized. Among them are a handful of hardened soldiers who are left over from Stonewall Jackson’s Brigade. Lee’s forces are attempting to cross a place called Double Bridges, which crosses over Big Sayler’s Creek and Little Sayler’s Creek. When the Union army comes into sight, panic ensues and the wagon clogging the small road becomes tangled. Because of this, the Confederate force comes to a halt on the road and the Union army attacks shortly after. The rebel forces try to hold but are overwhelmed, causing a retreat over open ground to Double Bridges. Many surrender while others retreat to Sayler’s Creek and are rewarded. Lee soon arrives to witness the horror of his flailing army.

The soldiers who make it to Sayler’s Creek cross the creek and take up positions on a mound. The Confederates hold the high ground now, meaning that any of the 4,000 men on their heels will be exposed. Also, the men will first have to cross the creek and then fight their way uphill. The Confederate forces on the hill are shelled but still refuse to retreat. Union soldiers march up the mound under cover of fire and taunt the Confederate soldiers, telling them to surrender. The Confederate forces then open fire, killing the entire first line of Union soldiers and sending the rest fleeing. The Confederate soldiers give chase but are then fired upon and retreat. This time, the Union soldiers charge the hill and quickly overrun the Confederate forces. Fighting soon becomes hand to hand, with some of the most barbaric instances of humanity being witnessed. The author notes that even though the battle of Sayler’s Creek is barely remembered in history, it was described as one of the worst by those who were there. Custer and other generals also bring their forces into the fight, until the Confederate soldiers left alive finally surrender. Lee retreats with his remaining men, and the next morning will retreat with only 8,000 left. The Union army loses 1,200 men. Of the survivors, 56 Union soldiers will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions. Despite everything, Lee cannot bring himself to surrender.

Lincoln awaits word of the war in Richmond, where his wife Mary Todd has joined him with a group of people who tour the city like a tourist attraction. Lincoln finally received word from Grant about the day’s successes and notes that Lee will probably surrender if they press the situation. Lincoln replies: “Let the thing be pressed” (74).

The time has finally come for Lee to surrender. His force of 8,000 is now trapped and surrounded by Grant’s 60,000 men. Lee had made it to Farmville but was attacked while eating and had to flee. He then made it across High Bridge, but his mortar didn’t burn the bridge, allowing Grant to follow and get in front of him. His path to the Carolinas is not blocked. Lee tries one last attack to punch through but is unsuccessful. He realizes it is now time to meet General Grant. Lee would rather “die a thousand deaths” (76) than surrender, however.

Grant dresses smartly for his surrender and travels with aides to the Union lines. He’s written to Grant repeatedly about the conditions of surrender, but Grant seems to be shaky on the details. When Lee arrives, he’s told to wait while Grant is found. While waiting, he notes the Union army’s preparation for battle. Lee is later met by a Union soldier who tells him that an attack on Confederate forces is imminent and that he must leave at once. Lee continues sending letters to Grant and asks for the attack to be postpones until he meets with Grant. When the Union forces start advancing, however, he has no choice but to retreat. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, Lee is stopped and told that Meade has granted a 60-minute truce until Grant can be found.

Lee finally receives word from Grant that he will meet with him. His aide finds a home for the meeting and he waits for Grant. Grant finally arrives, dirty and disheveled. The two know each other; 20 years earlier during the Mexican War, Grant was a lieutenant and Lee was a major that was about to be promoted to colonel. Grant’s officers are elated to be at the defining moment, while Sheridan thinks it is just another ruse to help Lee’s army escape. But Union soldiers have already captured the nearest ration of food that Lee might think to make use of. Lee and Grant talk about the past and then finally get down to the conditions of surrender. Lee is surprised at how lenient Grant is, as Grant states that essentially the Confederate army can return home and help rebuild the nation, as is Lincoln’s plan. Lee agrees, and members of Grant’s entourage journey to the Confederate lines to see old friends. Despite the meetings that are taking place between reunited friends on both sides of the armies, plans are being made to undo the current peace in other parts of the South.