Source Review of Correspondence of Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia
Grant, Ulysses S. Grant & Lee: The Surrender Correspondence at Appomattox (Official Records of the War of the Rebellion) 1865. http://www.civilwar.org/ Text. Web. April 2, 2017. The Battle of Sayler’s creek proved horrendous for the Army of Northern Virginia, with the Confederates suffering thousands of casualties while the North experienced a casualty count of roughly a thousand men. This battle was the battle that broke the Confederate machine and proved that the Army of Northern Virginia’s success was losing hope. As a reaction to the bloody defeat, Ulysses S. Grant sent a telegram to Robert E. Lee, General of the Army of Northern Virginia, asking Lee for an end to the useless violence by surrendering his army. In Grant’s initial telegram, he immediately begins speaking on the defeat at the Battle of Sayler’s Creek, telling Lee that the Army of Northern Virginia seems hopeless for continuing its campaigns. He then requests, due to wanting to end the ruthless bloodshed, that Lee surrender his army. Lee responded to Grant’s telegraph within the same day. Lee informed grant that he doesn’t believe that the Army of Northern Virginia is hopeless, yet he shared the same
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Grant also went on to discuss arranging a meeting for the surrender of Lee’s army. Lee received Grant’s telegram the same day and replied to Grant, explaining how he believes his army should be surrendered, yet he could not disarm his army until it is proven that peace will be the result, not a takeover. Although Lee said that he could not guarantee surrender of his army, he did mention that he would be willing to surrender forces directly under his command at the moment. Lee then requests that Grant meet him on the picket lines of both of the armies near Richmond, Virginia at ten o’clock AM the next