#DYK: at its most prosperous, in the mid 1850's, the village of Appomattox Court House was home to about 120 people. The community contained the County Courthouse and jail, 2 general stores, 2 taverns, 3 blacksmith shops, several lawyer's offices, and additional homes. #CivilWar

#DYK ~1,000 Federal soldiers, held as POWs by the Army of Northern VA up until April 9, 1865, were considered paroled prisoners of war. Per Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's orders, they were sent to Camp Parole, Annapolis, MD until the remaining Confederate armies surrendered. #CivilWar

#OTD in 1864, the mine explosion at Petersburg, VA goes off successfully, blowing a large gap in the Confederate lines. However, the following Federal assault fails due to miscommunication, mismanagement, and fierce Confederate resistance. Total casualties number 5,500. #CivilWar

#DYK the ~30,000 Confederate officers and soldiers surrendered at Appomattox CH with the Army of Northern VA were technically paroled prisoners of war. They were to go home and not take up arms again until officially exchanged. The #CivilWar ended before such an exchange occurred

#OTD in 1864 the Battle of Ezra Church rages west of Atlanta, GA as Gen. John B. Hood once again concentrates his forces against one prong of Gen. William T. Sherman's Federal armies, moving against Atlanta's RRs. The Confederate attack is repulsed with heavy casualties #CivilWar

#StillnessAtAppomattox: Storm clouds begin gathering over the village of Appomattox CH on a recent #Summer day. The 2-story, frame Meeks General Store is one of the many original buildings in the park. During the #CivilWar the store doubled as the local post office. #FindYourPark

#DYK in the summer of 1864, Gen. Rufus Ingalls developed City Point, VA into the largest supply depot of the #CivilWar. Docks and warehouses covered the area where the James and Appomattox rivers converge just east of Petersburg. Hundreds of ships could typically be seen each day

#OTD in 1864, Federal troops outside of Petersburg, VA finish excavating a tunnel >500 feet long underneath the Confederate lines and pack it with 4 tons of gunpowder. As plans continue for an attack here, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant begins a diversion north of the James. #CivilWar

#OTD in 1865, the U.S. Government begins renting Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. for use as an office building for the War Department's Record and Pension Bureau. In 1893, a large portion of the floor collapses, killing 22 people and injuring 65. #CivilWar #DidYouKnow

#OTD in 1885, former General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant dies at Mount McGregor, NY after a long, painful battle with throat cancer. He had finished writing his memoirs only days before, ensuring financial support for his wife Julia. #CivilWar #POTUS

#OTD in 1864, Gen. John B. Hood again throws the Army of TN against Gen. William T. Sherman's approaching Federals, this time to the east of Atlanta, GA. Despite some initial gains, the Confederate attacks ultimately fail. Combined casualties number close to 10,000. #CivilWar

#OTD in 1861, the first major battle of the #CivilWar is fought near Manassas, VA, along the banks of Bull Run. Among the Confederates present, helping to achieve a Southern victory, are soldiers of the "Appomattox Rangers" (2nd VA Cav.) and the "Appomattox Grays" (18th VA Inf.)

#OTD in 1864, Gen. John B. Hood attacks part of Gen. William T. Sherman's forces as they cross Peachtree Creek, just north of Atlanta, GA. Several Confederate attacks and a fierce Federal defense result in more than 4,000 casualties, but Hood's first sortie against Sherman fails.

#StillnessAtAppomattox: Looking west along the "USCT Approach Trail" on a hot #Summer day. On the morning of April 9, 1865, skirmishers of the 8th and 41st U.S. Colored Infantry advanced from the ridgeline in the distance and engaged Confederate sharpshooters here. #CivilWar

#DYK: Lawyer John W. Woodson kept an office in the village of Appomattox CH. During the #CivilWar, Woodson failed to organize a company of soldiers but instead put his education and expertise to work as a Captain in the Confederate Quartermaster Dept. He died of disease in 1864.

#OTD in 1864, President Lincoln issues a call for 500,000 additional volunteers to fill the ranks of the U.S. armies. Meanwhile, newspaper editor Horace Greeley meets with Confederate envoys at Niagara Falls to discuss potential peace talks. The effort comes to nothing. #CivilWar

#OTD in 1864, Confederate President Jefferson Davis relieves Gen. Joseph E. Johnston of command of the Army of TN for his failure to stop the Federal advance against Atlanta, GA. Replacing him is Gen. John B. Hood, a former division commander in the Army of Northern VA. #CivilWar

#OTD in 1864, Gen William T Sherman's Federal armies begin crossing the major obstacle of the Chattahoochee River, north of Atlanta, GA. Gen Joseph E Johnston writes Jefferson Davis, "We must be on the defensive. My plan of operations must depend on that of the enemy." #CivilWar

#DYK: During the last year of the #CivilWar, the Confederacy's Conscription Acts mandated that all able-bodied white men, aged 17-50, serve indefinitely. Exemptions for industrial workers, government officials, and large slaveholders were still available but harder to come by.

#DYK 18-year-old village resident Lafayette Meeks joined the Confederate Army in May 1861, serving in the "Appomattox Rangers." He died of Typhoid Fever in the fall of that year, one of the first local casualties during the #CivilWar. He was buried near his father's general store