WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO MAY 1865
Find out what all happened March to May 1865

American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time. (10. April 1865)

American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina. (19. March 1865)

The steamboat SS Sultana, carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom are Union survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons. (27. April 1865)

American Civil War: The Confederate States of America agree to the use of African American troops. (13. March 1865)

The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance (1. May 1865)

Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. (15. April 1865)

The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress. (4. March 1865)

Astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX's yacht, the L'Immaculata Concezion. (20. April 1865)

American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins. (29. March 1865)

American Civil War: the Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas. (26. May 1865)

The New York State Senate creates Cornell University as the state's land grant institution. (27. April 1865)

American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6. (10. May 1865)

In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the first train robbery in the United States takes place. (5. May 1865)

American Civil War: The Battle of Sayler's Creek – Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia. (6. April 1865)

American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken – Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat. (2. April 1865)

American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. (3. April 1865)

American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war. (9. April 1865)

East Cape War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand. (2. March 1865)

American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. (2. April 1865)

American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital. (4. April 1865)