Battle of Five Forks - Beginning of the End of the Civil War

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Five Forks. Why is this important? It was the beginning of the end of the Civil War.

Grant's and Lee's armies had been in a 10-month siege involving trench warfare around Richmond and Petersburg. Grant kept trying to cut off Lee's supply lines, and on this day his army finally succeeded. Because of the Southern rout at Five Forks today which cut off the last railroad supply line, Lee could no longer feed his army.

The next day Grant attacked throughout the siege lines and Lee was forced to tell Jefferson Davis that Richmond had to be abandoned. Lee's army then rushed to the west to try to get around Grant's army but was stopped when he was surrounded at the town of Appomattox Court House eight days from today.