Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/445

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GBANT 381 GRANTHAM of 1865, Lee, whose position and re- sources were quite exhausted by the self- possession and strategy of the Union commander-in-chief, now determined to assume the offensive, and on the night of March 27, 1865, he massed three divisions of his troops in front of Fort Steadman, and on Grant's right, and by a sudden rush at daybreak on the follow- ing morning, succeeded in surprising and capturing that important position. Be- fore noon of the same day, however, it was retaken by the Union troops, with all its guns and 1,800 Confederate prisoners. At this time a battle, which continued until evening, was raging at Hatcher's Run. Three corps were massed under General Sheridan below Peters- burg, and on Sunday morning, April 2. flanked the Confederates at Big Five Forks, capturing their intrench- ments with 6,000 men. The attack, under General Grant's direction, then commenced along the whole line, and the assault was so successful that on the same night his forces held the Confeder- ate intrenchments from the Appomat- tox, above Petersburg, to the river below. At 3 o'clock that afternoon General Lee telegraphed to Jefferson Davis that he had been driven from hia intrenchments, and that Petersburg and Richmond must be abandoned, which operation was per- formed that night; and on the next day, April 3 1865, the National army entered Petersburg, and General Weitzel occu- pied Richmond. By rapid movements. General Grant cutting off Lee's retreat to Lynchburg and Danville, came up with him at Appomattox Courthouse, and de- manded his immediate surrender. The two chiefs met and arranged the details, and on Sunday, April 9, the Army of Northern Virginia capitulated. The whole of General Lee's army, officers and men, were paroled, with permission at once to return to their homes. The former were granted the privilege of re- taining their side-arms, and each of the field-officers one horse. All other prop- erty belonging to the Confederate government within the department was surrendered to the United States. In 1866 General Grant was promoted to the rank of General, that honor being created specially for him. In August, 1867, on the suspension of Mr. Stanton by President Johnson, General Grant consented to fill the office of Secretary of War ad interim, but the Senate hav- ing refused to approve the suspension. General Grant, Jan. 13, 1868, surren- dered the office to Mi'. Stanton. On June 20, 1868, General Grant was unani- mously nominated by the Republicans as a candidate and elected the following November President of the United Vol. IV— Cyc— Y States, in which capacity he served till 1877, being re-elected at the end of his first term. On May 17, 1877, accompanied by his wife and one son, he sailed from Phila- delphia, Pa., for a tour around the world. Not only did he receive a grand farewell from his own countrymen, but when he arrived in the Mersey River, England, the ships of all nations gathered there displayed their flags to greet him. In England a grand reception was accorded him in every city he visited. He was re- ceived by Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales in London, and later visited the Queen at Windsor Castle. After visiting the other countries of Europe and being entertained by all the crowned heads, the United States man-of-war "Vandalia" was placed at his service and on board her he made a cruise of the Mediterranean Sea. He then visited Bombay and Calcutta in India, Hong Kong, Canton and Peking in China, and finally Japan. On Sept. 20, 1879, he arrived at San Francisco, where a mag- nificent demonstration was made in his honor, and during his route E. he was given public receptions and greeted with every mark of honor wherever he stopped. He was placed on the retired list of the army by a special act of Congress in March, 1885, with the rank and pay of General. During the last few months of his life he wrote his "Memoirs," which was published soon after his death, on Mount McGregor, near Saratoga, N. Y., July 23, 1885. The construction of a magnificent mausoleum for his remains was begun in Riverside Park, New York City, on April 27, 1891, and it was dedi- cated on April 27, 1897, in the presence of one of the greatest concourses of people and with one of the greatest parades ever witnessed in the United States. The mausoleum exclusive of steps and portico projections is about 100 feet square at the base and the height 160 feet from the ground and nearly 300 feet from the level of the Hudson river. There is an outer gallery 130 feet above the base from which the country may be seen for miles around. GRANTHAM (grant'am), a parlia- mentary borough of Lincolnshire, Eng- land, on the Witham river, 25 miles S. S. W. of Lincoln. It lies on the ancient Ermine street; is an important junction on the Great Northern railway; and a canal, 30 miles long, connects it with the Trent near Nottingham. Among the notable buildings is the St. Wolfran's Church, in style, mainly Early English of the 13th century- The quaint Angel Inn is still standing, in which Richard