Ulysses S. Grant was in a battle with the chief leader of the Confederate Army.
Battle of Appomattox Court House . It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant . Robert Edward Lee ( January 19 , 1807 -- October 12 , 1870 ) was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865 . Ulysses S. Grant . In 1862 , Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee , and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh , earning a reputation as an aggressive commander . In April 1865 , Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox , effectively ending the war .