George G. Meade plans to advance against Robert E. Lee’s weakened Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, but only as part of a probing action.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
George G. Meade plans to advance against Robert E. Lee’s weakened Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, but only as part of a probing action.
Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia begins withdrawing into Virginia as President Abraham Lincoln laments a missed opportunity.
March 19, 1865 – General Joseph E. Johnston’s makeshift Confederate army moved to crush the left wing of Major General William T. Sherman’s Federal army
March 18, 1865 – General Joseph E. Johnston concentrated all the Confederates he could muster near Bentonville, North Carolina, to oppose the advancing left wing
March 15, 1865 – A small Confederate force dug in near Averasboro and partially blocked the path of Major General William T. Sherman’s advance into
March 10, 1865 – Lieutenant General Wade Hampton’s Confederate cavalry caught Federal horsemen by surprise in a fight separate from the main Federal thrust into