This twenty-eighth of March saw the last farewells between the
President and his naval and military lieutenants at the front.
Admiral Porter immediately wrote down a full account of the
conversations, from which, together with Grant's and Sherman's
strong corroboration, we know that Lincoln entirely approved of
the terms which Grant gave Lee, and that he would have approved
quite as heartily of those which Sherman gave to Johnston.

Next morning the final race, pursuit, defeat, and victory began.
Grant marched all his spare, men west to cut Lee off completely.
He left enough to hold his lines at Petersburg, in case Lee
should remain; and he arranged with Sherman for a combined
movement, to begin on the tenth of April, in case Johnston and
Lee should try to join each other. But he felt fairly confident
that he could run Lee down while Sherman tackled Johnston.

On the first of April Sheridan won a hard fight at Five Forks,
southwest of Petersburg. On Sunday (the second) Lee left
Petersburg for good, sending word to Richmond. That morning Davis
rose from his place in church and the clergyman quietly told the
congregation that there would be no evening service. On Monday
morning Grant rode into Petersburg, and saw the Confederate
rearguard clubbed together round the bridge. "I had not the
heart," said Grant, "to turn the artillery upon such a mass of
defeated and fleeing men, and I hoped to capture them soon." On
Tuesday Grant closed his orders to Sherman with the words, "Rebel
armies are now the only strategic points to strike at," and
himself pressed on relentlessly.

Late next afternoon a horseman in full Confederate uniform