It  was  Sunday,  and  the  tidings  reached  Davis  while  at  church.  He
Richmond  '^^^t  hardly  a  moment  in  making  preparations  to  leave  the
abandoned,  ^j^y  That  uight  was  One  of  terror  in  Richmond.  The  mob
broke  into  riot,  and  plundered  warehouses  and  dwellings.  To  add  to
the  confusion,  Ewell,  who  commanded  here,  set  fire  to  the  bridges
and  storehouses.  The  conflagration  spread,  and  in  a  few  hours  one
third  of  Richmond  was  in  flames.  Early  the  next  morning  a  small
body  of  the  Federal  force  took  possession  of  the  Confederate  capital ;
and  something  like  order  was  soon  restored.
1865.]


SIEGE  OF  PETEESBURG.
597


At  night-fall  of  that  Sunday  a  portion  of  the  Confederate  force  still
cinng  to  the  Btrong  interior  lines  of  Petersburg,  and  the  ii„hii(,t
Federal  commanders  thought  there  was  to  be  hard  fighting  '"«»"'>"■■
for  their  possession.  At  two  o'clock  on  Monday  morning  the  Con-
federate pickets  were  still  out.  But  the  evacuation  had  begun  hours
before.  An  hour  later  it  was  completed.  The  troops  were  all  across
the  Appomat-


army,  was  fully  surrendered.     At  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon  the
Union  flag  was  raised  upon  the  court-house  at  Petersburg.
When  Lee  evacuated  Petersburg  and  Richmond  his  purpose  was  to
retreat  to  Danville,  where  he  hoped  to  unite  with  Johnston.  i>,-,^
The  pressing  necessity  was  to  concentrate  his  forces,  now  '""'
widely  scattered.     In  all,  they  still  numbered  40,000  men.     His  im-


698  THE  CLOSING   SCENES  OF  THE  WAR.     [Chap.  XXIII.
