Chapter 23: the fall of 1864
- The situation in August. -- Hood appointed to succeed Johnston. -- evacuation of Atlanta. -- capture of Mobile. -- reflection of Lincoln. -- battle of Franklin. -- Sherman's march. -- Fort Fisher. -- conference at Fortress Monroe. -- Fort Stedman. -- movements of Grant. -- five Forks. -- Fort Whitworth and Fort Gregg. -- evacuation of Petersburg. -- Appomattox. -- correspondence between Lee and Grant. -- conversations with Lee. -- the meeting at Appomattox. -- the surrender. -- visit to Washington. -- conversations with Mr. -- Washburne. -- return home. -- record of the army of Northern Virginia.
Gen. Humphreys writes of the situation in Aug., soon after the fiasco of the Mine, as follows: 1—
‘Between this time and the month of March, 1865, several movements of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James were made to the right and to the left, which resulted in the extension of our line of intrenchments in both directions, and caused a corresponding extension of the Confederate intrenchments on our left, and their occupation in stronger force of their intrenchments on the north bank of the James. By this process their lines finally became so thinly manned, when the last movement to our left was made in March, 1865, as to be vulnerable at one or two points, where some of the obstructions in their front had been in a great measure destroyed by the exigencies of the winter.’In other words, attacks upon our lines were now abandoned for a succession of feints, first upon one flank and then upon the other, by which our lines were extended at both ends to the point of breaking. This point was reached in eight months at one or two places, where the Confederates had been tempted by the severity of the winter to burn the abattis in front of their breastworks. We will not attempt to follow either these efforts of the enemy, or Lee's aggressive counter-movements, of which
