The war’s end was in sight when President Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865. On April 4, 1865, as news of the fall of Richmond spread, public buildings throughout Washington were illuminated in celebration. A week later, after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, crowds of Washingtonians again took to the streets in jubilation. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered that guns be fired in salute to commemorate the day.