Pursuit to Appomattox
Historian recounts Lee’s surrender in Civil War on April 9 at Lincoln Presidential Library
 

[April 06, 2015]  SPRINGFIELD – Historian Mark DePue’s series of popular presentations on Civil War battles concludes April 9 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum with a discussion of Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, exactly 150 years after that critical event in American history.

Lee withdrew his decimated army from the besieged cities of Petersburg and Richmond on April 2 and headed west, hoping to link up with the Confederate army in the Carolinas. But Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant and spearheaded by the relentless Phil Sheridan managed to cut off Lee at the village of Appomattox Court House. North and South clashed there, briefly, on April 9 before Lee realized his situation was hopeless.

Using maps, photos and soldiers’ own words, DePue will explain the battle and the impact of Lee’s surrender. His previous presentations on key battles have attracted standing-room-only audiences.

The free event begins at 6:30 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Union Theater (212 N. Sixth Street, Springfield). It will be followed by a reception thanking Dr. DePue for his incredibly successful series of Civil War presentations.

Reservations can be made by visiting www.presidentlincoln.gov and clicking on “Special event tickets and reservations” or by calling 217-558-8934.

[Chris Wills, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum]