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Interesting US History
A Website Devoted to Interesting Events in U.S. History

 

 
 

 

ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

April 3, 1865

Union Forces Capture Richmond, Virginia,
the Capital of the Confederate States of America

On this day in 1865, the first Union troops entered the city of Richmond, Virginia. Two days earlier, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had made the decision to abandon his defenses in Petersburg leaving the door open for Union troops to march on Richmond. Lee realized that losing Richmond would be a major blow but believed that he would be able to continue to fight the war more effectively without the constraint. As it turns out, Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his army was able to pursue Lee and force him to surrender in Appomatox, Virginia on April 9.