Grant, in his autobiography, explained that Sherman was to attack Gen. Joseph Johnston’s army in the South and capture Atlanta and the railroads, effectively cutting the Confederacy in two. Grant was to pummel Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia.

But abandoning it, he knew he could move more freely. So when General Philip Sheridan’s troops overran Confederate defenses at Five Forks on Saturday April 1, Lee made the decision to abandon the Petersburg defenses and, in doing so, to abandon Richmond.

Richmond, Virginia served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for almost the whole of the American Civil War. The retreating Confederates chose to burn military supplies rather than let them fall into Union hands; the resulting fire destroyed much of central Richmond.

Gertrude Stein also admired the book, saying she could not think of Grant without weeping.

While in New York the Washingtons resided at a house at 3 Cherry Street, in lower Manhattan. On August 30, 1790, Washington left New York City for the last time en route to the nation’s new capital, Philadelphia. Bibliography: Bernstein, R.B.

The mansion was built of wood in a loose Palladian style; the original house was built by George Washington’s father Augustine, around 1734. George Washington expanded the house twice, once in the late 1750s and again in the 1770s….Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon Ladies Association The Association purchased Mount Vernon from George Washington’s heirs in 1858 for $200,000 with the goal of saving the estate and preserving its history.