The headlines scream victory as General Grant closes in on Robert E. Lee near Lynchburg, Virginia. A telegram from Grant himself, dated April 8 at noon from Farmville, declares he is "very confident of receiving the surrender of Lee, and what remains of his army." The Confederate forces have been pushed from the Danville road and are now being pursued toward Lynchburg, with surrender appearing inevitable. Meanwhile, occupied Richmond tells a story of dramatic transformation. The price of butter has plummeted from $25 a pound under Confederate currency to just 50-60 cents in real money, while eggs dropped from $25 per dozen to 30 cents overnight. Over 350 convicts escaped during the chaos of evacuation, though more than 100 have been recaptured. Union officials are already running daily mail service to the North, and former Confederate officials like ex-Senator Hunter and Judge Campbell remain in the city to negotiate peace terms.

This April 9, 1865 front page captures America at the precise moment the Civil War is ending—though the editors don't yet know Lee will surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House this very day. The detailed reporting from Richmond shows a society in complete economic and social upheaval, with the Confederacy's worthless currency instantly replaced by Union greenbacks and former rebels lining up to take loyalty oaths. The transformation described here—from a desperate, starving Confederate capital to a Union-occupied city with restored commerce and communication—represents the beginning of Reconstruction and the reunification of a nation that had torn itself apart for four years.

• Confederate coupon bonds were literally "thrown into the streets of Richmond during the recent evacuation" and "can be purchased from the boys for a very insignificant sum"—imagine kids selling Confederate money as worthless paper
• No bar rooms are allowed open in occupied Richmond, and "what whisky is found is confiscated and poured into the culverts"—the Union Army was literally pouring liquor down the storm drains
• A group of rebel prisoners arrived in Richmond "marched to their quarters in charge of a negro guard"—formerly enslaved people now guarding Confederate soldiers
• Twenty-seven men claiming to be refugees seized the steamer Harriet Deford on the Patuxent River, then "landed twenty five passengers, retaining several negroes, whom they said they would take to the West Indies"
• A lady leaving Vicksburg was caught with "an accurate map of the fortifications of Vicksburg" hidden "in the heel of one of her shoes"

• The paper mentions Jefferson Davis departing Richmond at 7 p.m. on Sunday—he was actually beginning a month-long flight that would end with his capture in Georgia wearing his wife's shawl, leading to decades of mockery
• Those worthless Confederate bonds being sold by street boys? Today they're valuable Civil War collectibles worth hundreds of dollars each—the kids were unknowingly sitting on future treasure
• General Stoneman's cavalry mentioned capturing Boone, North Carolina was part of the largest cavalry raid of the war—Stoneman would later become the first military governor of Virginia
• The $1,000 reward offered by Lincoln for arresting border-crossing felons was enormous money—equivalent to about $17,000 today, showing how seriously the government took Confederate agents
• Nassau merchants mentioned as being ruined by the end of blockade running had made fortunes during the war—some British firms saw 1,000% profits on successful runs through the Union blockade