1. Fall of Richmond: On April 2, 1865, Union forces under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. The fall of Richmond was a major psychological blow to the Confederacy and signaled the beginning of the end.
2. Retreat of the Confederate Government: As Union troops advanced towards Richmond, the Confederate government abandoned the city and retreated westward. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet fled to Danville, Virginia, and then eventually to Greensboro, North Carolina.
3. Surrender of Lee's Army: On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lee's surrender effectively ended the Army of Northern Virginia, the largest and most powerful Confederate army.
4. Surrenders of Other Confederate Armies: Following the surrender of Lee's army, other Confederate armies across the south also began to surrender. Confederate generals such as Joseph E. Johnston, Richard Taylor, and Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered their forces in April and May of 1865.
5. End of the Civil War: On May 9, 1865, the last Confederate army, under the command of General Kirby Smith, surrendered in Galveston, Texas. The surrender of Kirby Smith's army marked the official end of the Civil War.
6. Reconstruction Begins: With the end of the war, the United States began the process of Reconstruction, which aimed to reintegrate the southern states back into the Union and address the social, political, and economic changes brought about by the war.
By the spring of 1865, the Confederacy was crumbling and the south was on the verge of defeat. The surrender of Lee's army and the subsequent surrenders of other Confederate armies effectively marked the end of the Civil War, paving the way for the United States to begin the long process of Reconstruction and healing the wounds of the nation.