Spring 1865When Gen. Robert E. Lee fled from Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, in April 1865, many observers did not realize that the Civil War had reached its nadir. A large number of Confederates, from Jefferson Davis down to the rank and file, were determined to continue fighting. Though Union successes had nearly extinguished the Confederacys hope for an outright victory, the South still believed it could force the Union to grant a negotiated peace that