Inflicting an ever-tightening
naval blockade of Confederate ports, the Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to the
fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union general
William Tecumseh Sherman, followed by his
March to the Sea, which culminated in his taking
Savannah. The last significant battles raged around the ten-month
Siege of Petersburg, gateway to the Confederate capital of
Richmond. The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following the
Battle of Appomattox Court House, setting in motion the
end of the war. Lincoln lived to see this victory but
was shot by an assassin on April 14, dying the next day.
