Trade can connect an empire because trade is a very basic aspect of advancement in a civilization/empire
This pictures shows all the events
The Confederates burned Richmond as President Davis and his cabinet fled to make sure the Union Army could not use Confederate resources.
During the American Civil War, Richmond became the capital of the Confederate States of America.
On April 2, 1865, more than 25% of the buildings in the city were destroyed by fire after the withdrawal of the Confederate soldiers, who burned all the Confederate resources to make them unusable for the Union.
On April 3, 1865, Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army captured Richmond, and the state capital was then transferred to Lynchburg. The Army of North Virginia, commanded by Robert Lee retired and surrendered six days later before Grant in the Appomattox Court House, becoming the symbolic end of the war.
