THE WAR IS OVER! That's right, we have reached the end of the bloodiest war on American soil. We start off the episode with the battle of Columbus, GA on April 16th, 1865, where Wilson's Raid comes to an end. Some historians have argued that this battle was the actual last battle of the war instead of the widely accepted battle of Palmito Ranch.  

Next up is the small battle of Anderson, SC on May 1st. The Union troops arrived in Anderson to look for the fleeing Jefferson Davis, when he was not located they looted the city.  

May 12th-13th, The Battle Of Palmito Ranch, the OFFICIAL last battle of the war. This battle basically took place because of a young Union Colonel hoping to make a name for himself and move up in rank according to some historians. A pointless battle, which some consider a post war action, it nevertheless was the last battle of the war. THE WAR IS OVER.  

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Even though General Lee surrendered his troops at Appomattox Court House April 9th, 1865, that didn't mean the war was over. On the very same day of Lee's surrender, the battle of Fort Blakeley took place where the Union took the last major Confederate port.  

On April 13th-15th the last battle between Sherman and Johnston took place at the battle of Morrisville. After this battle, all hope was lost and Johnston surrenders his army to Sherman just two weeks later, which is the largest surrender of the war. We will cover the surrender in detail.  

For the last battle of this episode we will go to Georgia for the battle of West Point on April 16th which is the first part of a two pronged attack. One section of the Union Army would attack West Point while another would move down to Columbia. The point of taking out West Point was to take out the river crossing there. We will cover what some say is last battle of the war next week, which is Columbia.

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The time has come as we have reached the de facto end of the war with General Grant's army finally stopping General Lee. After being on the run since the fall of Petersburg, Lee's luck finally runs out at the battle of Appomattox Station on April 8th, 1865 where he is forced to surrender his army the next day at Appomattox Court House. Although there is still around 160,000 Confederate troops in other armies, the war is basically over once Lee surrenders as the other armies soon follow suit. The official end is near.

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We are getting closer to the end with this week's battles taking us one day away from Lee's surrender. At this point, Lee and his army are still retreating hoping to get rations and supplies, but the Union are one step ahead the whole way.  

The Confederates suffer a huge defeat in the battle of Sailor's Creek on April 6th, 1865 where a large portion of Lee's Army was captured, including Kershaw and Ewell.  

The next day at the battle of Cumberland Church, all hope is lost as he is forced to retreat to Appomattox Court House, only for the Union to make it there first. It is after this battle that Grant sends Lee a letter asking for his surrender, but Lee is quite finished. Not yet.  

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We are on our way to the end of the war and in this episode we will see Robert E. Lee and the Confederates start their retreat from Petersburg and Richmond. We have the battle of Namozine Church on April 3rd, the battle of Amelia Springs on April 5th, and the battle of Rice's Station on April 6th.  

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The Third Battle Of Petersburg occurred on April 2nd, 1865, and it was essentially the beginning of the end for General Lee's Army. The Union push the Confederate line back and force a retreat of Lee's Army. The Confederates are forced to abandon Petersburg as well as Richmond taking documents and archives with them. The defeat eventually leads to the infamous surrender of Lee's Army at Appomattox Courthouse.  

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The Battle Of Five Forks occurred on April 1st, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign with a Union effort to capture Five Forks to control the South Side Railroad which was one of the last major supply lines and evacuation routes for the Confederates. The win here would cause Robert E. Lee to abandon Petersburg and Richmond and the war is all but over.  

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We have officially reached the beginning of the end as we start the Appomattox Campaign. First, we take a look at the small battle of Spanish Fort in Alabama on March 27th- April 8th, 1865 where Union forces attempt to take the fort.  

The Appomattox Campaign begins with the battle of Lewis's Farm on March 29th as the Union works to dislodge the Confederate lines at Petersburg and Richmond. This leads us directly into the simultaneous battles of White Oak Road and Dinwiddie Court House on March 31st and the Confederate chances of winning the war are all but over.  

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It's the month of March of 1865 and it’s only a matter of time before the collapse of the Confederates. We start out the episode with the Battle of Averasborough on March 16th as Sherman was moving his Army towards Goldsboro, he split it in two where Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee decided to attack the force led by Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum. This was a preclude to our next battle of Bentonville.  

At Bentonville on March 19th-21st the Confederate forces were entrenched when Slocum came up upon them and the battle began. After Sherman sent reinforcements, all hope was lost for the Rebels.  
We finish off the episode at the Siege of Petersburg and the battle of Fort Stedman on March 25th. Confederate Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon, under orders of General Lee, attack the siege lines of the Union at the Fort. This would be the last serious attempt by the Confederates on the Union lines of Petersburg.  

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This week, we cover 4 battles as the war winds down. We start in Virginia with the battle of Waynesboro on March 2nd, 1865 where Brigadier General George Custer and his troops defeat Lt. General John Bell Hood and eliminate his army. Hood would not see the battlefield for the rest of his career.  

Next, we head to Florida on March 6th with the battle of Natural Bridge. A Confederate force tries to stop the Yankee's from crossing the bridge.  

For the last two battles of the episode, we go back to the Carolinas Campaign at the battles of Wyse Fork and Monroe's Crossroads, where Sherman continues his trek through the states to meet up with Grant up north.  

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