Final answer:
General Lee surrendered to General Grant at the McLean House in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, following a series of correspondences and recognizing the futility of continued resistance due to overwhelming Union forces. The surrender led to a wave of subsequent Confederate surrenders, effectively ending the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Events Leading to General Lee's Surrender
The culmination of General Robert E. Lee's surrender began with General Ulysses S. Grant's letter to Lee on April 7, 1865, marking the futility of further resistance. In response to Lee's inquiry about possible surrender terms, correspondence between the two leaders ensued.
On April 9, 1865, at the McLean House in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, Lee officially surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Grant. This act came after Lee had abandoned Petersburg and Richmond in an attempt to join forces with General Johnston's army. By then, Lee was vastly outnumbered, fielding less than 35,000 soldiers to Grant's 100,000.
Grant's generous terms offered at the surrender facilitated a peaceful transition and a significant reduction in Confederate resistance. Other Confederate armies soon followed Lee's lead, with General Joseph E. Johnston surrendering on April 26, 1865, and General Stand Watie surrendering in June 1865.
President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond but was eventually captured on May 10, 1865. Lee's surrender, while critical, was not the immediate end of the Civil War but symbolized a prevailing attitude, later known as the "Appomattox Spirit," that led to subsequent surrenders and the final cessation of the conflict.