The Last Positions – Virginia historical marker MG2 is northwest of Appomattox at the intersection of Virginia Route 26 and County Route 677.
MG2
The Last Positions
On 8 Apr. 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee and his
Army of Northern Virginia, retreating from
Petersburg toward Pittsylvania County, reached
the hills to the northeast. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
and his Federal army, pursuing Lee to the
south, blocked him here. At dawn on 9 April,
Palm Sunday, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon’s corps, with
Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry, assaulted
the Union line. Initially successful, the
attempted breakout failed when additional Union
infantry arrived on the field. That afternoon,
Lee rode through the lines here to surrender
his army.
Department of Historic Resources 1997
Location of the marker:
The marker is northwest of Appomattox at the intersection of Virginia Route 26 and County Route 677, on the east side of Route 26. It is about 400 yards north of the intersection with US 460.