Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/11
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To my fairly certain knowledge, Ulysses Simpson Grant never set foot in
Virginia save for his jaunt from Washington, DC, to Richmond and the left
hook over to Appomattox.
Marc,
When U.S. Grant was given command of the Union army in the spring of 1864 he placed his headquarters with the Army of the Patomac and advanced with that army into Virginia. He stayed with that
army through the bloody spring campaign of 1864 and the subsequent siege of Petersburg and Richmond through the rest of 1864 and into 1865. After the breaking of the confederate lines at
Petersburg, Grant was with the combined union armies, those of the Patomac and the James, and pressed them to destroy Lee's remaining army. Lee's army of Northern Virginia was greatly depleted
when its escape route was cut off near Appomattox Court House. Lee arrived at the McLean house in a crisp new uniform carrying a splendid dress sword, Grant on the other hand was in the field and
had to make a hard ride to get the the surrender site and was dressed in a field uniform of a plain sack coat and carried no side arm (a brace of Remington army .44's were in a pair of saddle holsters
attached to his horse). The terms of surrender were laid out by Grant, they were considered very generous, the Officers would be allowed to retain their side arms {possibly because Grant didn't want to
take the sword that Lee was carrying} and the men who had houses would be allowed to keep them "For spring Planting". The details of the formal surrender and the parole of the surrendered troops
was left to subordinate officers. All in all Grant spent almost a full year in Virginia between 1864 and 1865, with a few trips to Washington to confer with Lincoln and one to Georgia to confer with
Sherman after the fall of Savanna. Grant was present with the army in Virginia at the battles of; The Wilderness, Spotsyvania, Cold Harbor, North Anna, Petersburg, Five forks, Saylors Creek and
Appomattox
Neal F
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