The Fall of Richmond

Dec 18

3 min read

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The Fall of Richmond

April 2, 1865

In May of 1861, the Confederate capital had been moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia. Richmond was a center for international trade in the South. Cotton and tobacco were traded for coffee, spices, slaves, and other goods from foreign countries. Before the war, about thirty-eight thousand people lived in Richmond. By the end of the war, the city had grown to about 150,000 residents.

Lee and his forty-four thousand men were trying desperately to defend the city against Grant’s 128,000 Union soldiers, but the leaders of the Confederacy knew the end was near. Twice they asked Lincoln and Grant for a peace treaty that would allow them to maintain a part of the Confederacy. Twice Lincoln and Grant refused.

By March of 1865, things were looking grim for the citizens of Richmond. In February, the last Confederate port had been captured by the Union. No port meant Richmond was cut off from any trade with the outside world. As a result, tradable goods were rare and expensive. A pair of boots cost five hundred dollars. People who were able began fleeing the city. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, sent his family to North Carolina. He warned his wife that if North Carolina wasn’t safe, she should get to Florida and take a ship to a foreign country.

On April 2, 1865, Lee launched a desperate campaign against the Union troops who had sieged the town of Petersburg just south of Richmond. His attack was repelled, and the Union army marched on Petersburg. Lee sent a telegram to Jefferson Davis with the news. Lee hoped he could hold the Union off until nightfall, but Richmond would have to be evacuated.

All that day, Richmond saw an orderly evacuation. All important officials and their belongings were evacuated by train. The Confederate navy destroyed their ships in the harbor and joined Lee’s infantry. In the evening, government representatives set fire to all of the tobacco, cotton, and weapons in the city. The calm of the day gave way to chaos in the night. People rioted, setting fire to anything they could find. It was a terrifying night.

The next morning, the Union arrived at Richmond. Major Joseph Mayo rode out under the cover of the white flag to surrender the city. Once inside the city, federal troops put out the fires that had burned through the night and dispersed the mobs. They took down the Confederate flags that had flown over the city and replaced them with the stars and stripes of the flag of the United States of America.

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