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Confederate General Robert E. Lee assumes the role of general-in-chief in April
Featured Event 1865 Event

January 31

Lee Named General-in-Chief: Confederacy's Last Hope

Confederate General Robert E. Lee assumes the role of general-in-chief in April 1865, a desperate move that arrives too late to alter the war's outcome. This final consolidation of command fails to prevent his surrender at Appomattox Court House just days later, effectively ending the American Civil War.

January 31, 1865

161 years ago

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