Here, on the afternoon of April 8, 1865, Union cavalrymen under Gen. George A. Custer dealt the Army of Northern Virginia a final blow.

When word of this disaster reached Gen. Robert E. Lee at his headquarters a few miles northeast, he knew the end was near.

He and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had exchanged letters on the subject of surrender, and Lee had suggested a meeting between the lines the next day.

With Union horsemen now blocking his escape route, Lee’s only hope lay in punching through them with a combined force of infantry and cavalry, and he scheduled a breakout attack for dawn.

If it failed, or if he found Federal infantry in front of him as well, then he would have no choice but to surrender.