What events led to lees surrender?

Answer 1

• Realizing that he could no longer protect the city,April 2 Lee tried to slip around Grant's army.
• Each time Lee tried to turn his soldiers south,Grant's troops cut them off.
• April 9 Lee's army arrived at the small Virginia town of Appomattox Court House,there was a much larger Union force;Lee rejected his soldiers idea that they scatter & continue to fight...he admitted there was nothing left to do but go see General Grant.Lee surrendered in 1861.

Answer 2

We may look at Lee's situation after 4 years of continuous war, or the take the perspective of the last three weeks of the war to answer this question.

After 4 years of war, including two major attempts to invade the north and slowly but steadily being pushed backwards, the likelihood of any kind of victory for the south had ended. The south had lost around 260,000 dead (perhaps more) and the finances of the southern states were in ruins. All of the southern states (except perhaps Texas and North Carolina) had seen the devastation of total war. Their armies were desperately short of manpower and unable to gain any more people. They were also unable to fill the need for cannon, powder, fuel, food, locomotives, tracks, and any number of other supplies. By these measures the real question might be why they did not surrender six months or a year earlier.

The last three or four weeks of the war in Virginia saw the Union forces increasing their ability to encircle Richmond and Petersburg. They were able to cut off all supplies by railroad to the two cities in what is sometimes called the Siege of Petersburg. Nine months of fixed fighting positions, trenches, siege guns, burned railroads and massive shortages of supplies left the Confederates desperate. They attempted to break through the Union lines at Fort Stedman, gaining quite a lot of ground and opening a huge gap on March 25, 1865. The attack ran out of energy and the Union counterattacked, taking back the ground. That moment was the last success for Lee's men; their final 15 days of war were of frustration and hardship. They finally surrendered when Grant's men captured four supply trains and the Confederates faced the certainty of fighting without food.

Answer 3

Grant and his staff had trapped Lee's Army of Virginia from escape to the south. They were low on provisions and had little with which to fight.