midnight
In September , Atlanta fell and , in that same month , Dan saw his great leader , John Morgan , dead in Tennessee . In December , the Confederacy toppled at the west under Thomas 's blows at Nashville . In the spring of ' 65 , one hundred and thirty-five thousand wretched , broken-down rebels , from Richmond to the Rio Grande , confronted Grant 's million men , and in April , Five Forks was the beginning of the final end everywhere . At midnight , Captain Daniel Dean , bearer of dispatches to the great Confederate General in Virginia , rode out of abandoned Richmond with the cavalry of young Fitzhugh Lee . They had threaded their way amid troops , trains , and artillery across the bridge . The city was on fire . By its light , the stream of humanity was pouring out of town -- Davis and his cabinet , citizens , soldiers , down to the mechanics in the armories and workshops .