had not the heart," said Grant, "to
turn the artillery upon such a mass of defeated and fleeing men,
and I hoped to capture them soon." On Tuesday Grant closed his
orders to Sherman with the words, "Rebel armies are now the only
strategic points to strike at," and himself pressed on relentlessly.

Late next afternoon a horseman in full Confederate uniform suddenly
broke cover from the enemy side of a dense wood and dashed straight
at the headquarter staff. The escort made as if to seize him. But
a staff officer called out, "How d'ye do, Campbell?" This famous
scout then took a wad of tobacco out of his mouth, a roll of tinfoil
out of the wad, and a piece of tissue paper out of the tinfoil. When
Grant read Sheridan's report ending "I wish you were here" (that
is, at Jetersville, halfway between Petersburg and Appomattox),
he immediately got off his black pony, mounted Cincinnati, and
rode the twenty miles at speed, to learn that Lee was heading due
west for Farmville, less than thirty miles from Appomattox.

On Thursday the sixth, Lee, closely beset in flank and rear, lost
seven thousand men at Sailor's Creek, mostly as prisoners. The
heroes of this fight were six hundred Federals, who, having gone
to blow up High Bridge on the Appomattox, found their retreat cut
off by the whole Confederate advanced guard. Under Colonel Francis
Washburn, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Colonel Theodore Read,
of General Ord's staff, this dauntless six hundred charged again
and again until, their leaders killed and most of the others dead
or wounded, the rest surrendered. They had gained their object
by holding up Lee's column long enough to let its wagon train be
raided.

Grant, now feeling that his hold on Lee could not be shaken off,
wrote him a letter on Friday afternoon, saying: "The results of
the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further
resistance." That night Lee replied asking what terms Grant proposed
to offer. Next morning Grant wrote again to propose a meeting,
and Lee answered to say he was willing to treat for peace. Grant
at once informed him that the only subject for discussion was the
surrender of the army. That evening Federal cavalry under General
George A. Custer raided Appomattox Station, five miles southwest of
the Court House, and held up four trains. A few hours later, early
on Sunday, the famous ninth of April, 1865, Lee's advanced guard was
astounded to find its way disputed so far west.