About the first of April General Lee suffered several reverses on his extreme right, which resulted in turning his right flank on the 2nd of April. On the morning of the 3rd he commenced the evacuation of Richmond, abandoned his entire line in front of Petersburg and retreated in the direction of Danville. The overwhelming numbers of Grant against him made his retreat very difficult and enabled the Federals to harass him on every side. When General Lee reached Burkeville he found the Federals between him and Danville, his objective point, and it became necessary for him to change the direction of his column. There was but one way open for him and that was the road to Lynchburg. But this road was soon closed. At the battle of Sailors' Creek, near Farmville, on the 6th of April, the Confederates lost over six thousand men and several general officers. From the result of this engagement it was plainly seen that the end had come. By fighting in the day and marching at night General Lee reached Appomattox Courthouse on the 9th, with what few soldiers he had left, broken down from hunger and marching, his horses jaded and unable to do their work, and his artillery and wagon trains were falling an easy prey to the pursuing army. Although the men's courage never failed them, in the condition in which Gen. Lee found himself, there was nothing to do but to surrender. General Grant had already communicated with him and demanded his surrender, upon the ground that he could not longer resist, but he had not felt a willingness to yield until the morning of the 9th. On that eventful morning General Lee opened communication with General Grant and invited a conference, to discuss the terms of surrender. They met, it is said, under an apple tree and adjourned to the residence of Mr. Wilmer McLane,[40] where the terms were agreed upon, written out and signed. It was from this building that General Lee mounted old Traveller,[41] to return to his lines to announce the sad news to the remaining remnant of his once magnificent army. General Hooker declared the army of the Potomac, prior to his move to Chancellorsville, "the grandest army on the planet," but more than one of the Federal generals of high rank, who served in the Army of the Potomac, have since the war declared "that for sacrifice, suffering and for fighting qualities the world could not surpass the Army of Northern Virginia."