The Fall of Richmond in 1865

Michael Streich May 9, 2009

By the end of March 1865 the Civil War was drawing to a long awaited close. Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, and Columbia had become a part of that brutal history, associated forever with General William Sherman’s often quoted phrase, “war is hell.” Only outside of Richmond, the Confederate capital was the final scene of this drama being played out. The fall of Richmond signaled the end of the war, evoking jubilation among Southern slaves and millions of Northerners while igniting absolute despair in the South.

 

Robert E. Lee Abandons Richmond

 

Richmond and Washington are separated by less than 100 miles. Yet in four years, neither side came close to capturing either capital. The South might have accomplished taking Washington early in the war, following up their victory at First Bull Run. Had Lee followed advice in June of 1863 to take his army east instead of engaging Meade at Gettysburg, the Confederacy might have captured Washington.

 

Similarly, General George McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign in 1862 aimed at taking Richmond came very close to success, yet the general’s vacillation enabled the South to thwart any serious attempt to take the city, and McClellan withdrew.

 

By March 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia was entrenched at Petersburg in a desperate attempt to stop Union advances. By April 2^nd, however, their lines were breached and General Lee sent messages to Jefferson Davis in Richmond that the city would have to be abandoned.

 

Sunday in the Confederate Capital

 

Davis was attending the Sunday morning service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church when word arrived that Richmond must be abandoned. Leaving the service, Davis returned to his executive mansion as the Confederate bureaucracy began to burn documents.

 

Having sent his family out of the city on a train bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, Davis and his Cabinet evacuated Richmond that evening on the last train out of the city, relocating the Confederate capital to Danville, Virginia.

 

General Lee’s plan was to withdraw south in order to link with Joseph Johnston, but was prevented from doing so by Phillip Sheridan. Cutoff and his troops disintegrating for lack of food and clothing, Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox Station on April 9^th, several days after Richmond fell.

 

A Night of Horror in Richmond

 

Richmond authorities ordered all alcohol to be destroyed. As casks of whiskey and other spirits were destroyed, homeless men, including escaped prisoners, helped themselves. With the liquid in their veins, they became a mob, numbering in the thousands before the night ended, looting and pillaging Richmond.

 

The order to burn the tobacco warehouses also caused unexpected calamities. Surging flames spread beyond the warehouses, igniting homes, churches, and businesses. Over 900 homes and businesses were destroyed. Many inhabitants were left homeless and pauperized.

 

Confederate vessels, notably iron-clad ships, were scuttled and set ablaze. These ships, however, stored thousands of shells. As the fires engulfed the sinking vessels, thousands of shells rained destruction on Richmond.  Union troops, arriving on April 3^rd, found a city smoldering.

 

Richmond Taken by Union Forces

 

One of the first units to arrive at Richmond was comprised of black cavalry, commanded by Major Charles Francis Adams, Jr., grandson of one President and great-grandson of another. Richmond, “Babylon the Great,” was finally captured. For Richmond’s black population, many of whom were slaves, it was the final Jubilee.

 

Union troops sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “John Brown’s Body.” Yet for the Southern whites, especially the many women adorned in black signifying mourning, it was the end of life itself.

 

On April 4^th, against the advice of his advisors, President Lincoln visited Richmond. It was a moment of sublime retribution. One former female slave expressed it best, saying, “I know that I am free, for I have seen Father Abraham…”

 

The capture of Richmond represented the final scene in a long and bloody war. Little wonder that Lincoln felt compelled to walk its streets. It was the end of a civilization and the beginning of decades of rebuilding.

 

Sources:

 

Page Smith, Trial By Fire: a People’s History of the Civil War and Reconstruction (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1982)

Jay Winik, April 1865: the Month that Saved America (Harper Perennial, 2001)

Copyright Michael Streich; republishing with written permission.