Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell (1865) | Ken Burns Documentary' (Apr. 1, 1865, 36:41)

(Saturday, April 1, 1865; during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War) — Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan routed Confederate soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. George Pickett today in the Battle of Five Forks in Virginia.

The Union force inflicted over 1,000 casualties on the Confederates and took between 2,400 and 4,000 prisoners while seizing Five Forks, the key to control of the South Side Railroad (sometimes shown as Southside Railroad), a vital Confederate supply line to, and retreat line from, Petersburg.

Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell (1865) | Ken Burns Documentary' (Mar. 27, 1865, 33:50)

(Monday, March 27, 1865, evening; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln met with union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman and Admiral David D. Porter onboard the passenger steamboat River Queen tonight at City Point, Virginia, to plot the final stages of the Civil War. The four met again the next day, Mar. 28, 1865.

Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell (1865) | Ken Burns Documentary' (Mar. 25, 1865, 36:26)

(Saturday, March 25, 1865, 4:15 a.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — The Battle of Fort Stedman was fought today as the Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon.

The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon’s men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.

Video: 'PBS The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell 1865' (Mar. 13, 1865, at 26:30)

(Monday, March 13, 1865; during the American Civil War) — Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed a measure today allowing black slaves to enlist in the Confederate States Army with the promise they would be set free.

(Saturday, March 11, 1865; during the Carolinas Campaign, part of the American Civil War) — Union forces under General William T. Sherman occupied Fayetteville, North Carolina, today.

Video: 'Sherman's March: Final Revenge 3/5' (Feb. 17, 1865, at 0:00)

(Friday, February 17, 1865; during the Carolinas Campaign, part of the American Civil War) — Columbia, South Carolina, burned today as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. It’s not clear which side was responsible for setting the blaze, or whether it had been deliberate. Continue reading Columbia burns; Confederates abandon Fort Sumter, evacuate Charleston 150 years ago today (Feb 17 1865) →

(Friday, February 3, 1865; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference on the River Queen, near Union-controlled Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, today; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.

Video: 'PBS The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell 1865' (Carolinas Campaign begins at 21:00)

(Wednesday, February 1, 1865; during the American Civil War) — After about two weeks of preliminary movements and extensive preparations, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman today actively began his march into South Carolina from Savannah, Georgia, and Beaufort, South Carolina.

Video: 'The Conquerors - Episode 8: Sherman's March to the Sea (History Documentary)' (Dec. 22, 1864, at 22:13)

(Thursday, December 22, 1864; during the American Civil War) — One day after capturing Savannah, Georgia, and concluding his March to the Sea, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman said today in a message to President Abraham Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas-gift the city of Savannah.”