At night Lee ordered his troops to assemble at Amelia Court House, his object being to get away, join Johnston if possible, and to try to crush Sherman before I could get there.  As soon as I was sure of this I notified Sheridan and directed him to move out on the Danville Railroad to the south side of the Appomattox River as speedily as possible.  He replied that he already had some of his command nine miles out.  I then ordered the rest of the Army of the Potomac under Meade to follow the same road in the morning.  Parke’s corps followed by the same road, and the Army of the James was directed to follow the road which ran alongside of the South Side Railroad to Burke’s Station, and to repair the railroad and telegraph as they proceeded.  That road was a 5 feet gauge, while our rolling stock was all of the 4 feet 8 1/2 inches gauge; consequently the rail on one side of the track had to be taken up throughout the whole length and relaid so as to conform to the gauge of our cars and locomotives.

Mr. Lincoln was at City Point at the time, and had been for some days.  I would have let him know what I contemplated doing, only while I felt a strong conviction that the move was going to be successful, yet it might not prove so; and then I would have only added another to the many disappointments he had been suffering for the past three years.  But when we started out he saw that we were moving for a purpose, and bidding us Godspeed, remained there to hear the result.

The next morning after the capture of Petersburg, I telegraphed Mr. Lincoln asking him to ride out there and see me, while I would await his arrival.  I had started all the troops out early in the morning, so that after the National army left Petersburg there was not a soul to be seen, not even an animal in the streets.  There was absolutely no one there, except my staff officers and, possibly, a small escort of cavalry.  We had selected the piazza of a deserted house, and occupied it until the President arrived.

About the first thing that Mr. Lincoln said to me, after warm congratulations for the victory, and thanks both to myself and to the army which had accomplished it, was:  “Do you know, general, that I have had a sort of a sneaking idea for some days that you intended to do something like this.”  Our movements having been successful up to this point, I no longer had any object in concealing from the President all my movements, and the objects I had in view.  He remained for some days near City Point, and I communicated with him frequently and fully by telegraph.