On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The surrender came after Lee’s army was surrounded and exhausted. Grant offered generous terms, allowing Confederate soldiers to return home with their horses and sidearms. The event effectively ended major fighting in the Civil War, although some Confederate forces held out a little longer. The meeting at Appomattox became a symbol of reunification and reconciliation. It marked the beginning of the challenging Reconstruction era in the United States.
