Ulysses S. Grant fought battles in Virginia.
The Battle of Appomattox Court House , fought on the morning of April 9 , 1865 , was one of the last battles of the American Civil War . 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 . The Richmond -- Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg , Virginia , fought from June 9 , 1864 , to March 25 , 1865 , during the American Civil War . Ulysses S. Grant . In April 1865 , Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox , effectively ending the war .