suddenly broke cover from the enemy side of a dense wood and
dashed straight at the headquarter staff. The escort made as if
to seize him. But a staff officer called out, "How d'ye do,
Campbell?" This famous scout then took a wad of tobacco out of
his mouth, a roll of tinfoil out of the wad, and a piece of
tissue paper out of the tinfoil. When Grant read Sheridan's
report ending "I wish you were here" (that is, at Jetersville,
halfway between Petersburg and Appomattox), he immediately got
off his black pony, mounted Cincinnati, and rode the twenty miles
at speed, to learn that Lee was heading due west for Farmville,
less than thirty miles from Appomattox.

On Thursday the sixth, Lee, closely beset in flank and rear, lost
seven thousand men at Sailor's Creek, mostly as prisoners. The
heroes of this fight were six hundred Federals, who, having gone
to blow up High Bridge on the Appomattox, found their retreat cut
off by the whole Confederate advanced guard. Under Colonel
Francis Washburn, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and Colonel
Theodore Read, of General Ord's staff, this dauntless six hundred
charged again and again until, their leaders killed and most of
the others dead or wounded, the rest surrendered. They had gained
their object by holding up Lee's column long enough to let its
wagon. train be raided.

Grant, now feeling that his hold on Lee could not be shaken off,
wrote him a letter on Friday afternoon, saying: "The results of
the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further
resistance." That night Lee replied asking what terms Grant
proposed to offer. Next morning Grant wrote again to propose a
meeting, and Lee answered to say he was willing to treat for