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ppomattox Courthouse

 

March 9-10, 2003





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Entrance to Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park
Entrance to Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park

The culmination of the retreat of the Confederate Army under General Robert E. Lee was surrender to the Union forces commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant. The surrender took a couple of days to arrange, but was finally signed and sealed here at Appomattox Courthouse, VA on April 9, 1865.

We had been very close to this site on a previous visit to Virginia, but unfortunately ran out of time arrived too late in the day to contemplate a visit. We were doubly happy therefore to find ourselves here on a cool and cloudy but dry March morning with plenty of time to soak up the history that was enshrined here. We had viewed the restored village from afar the previous afternoon as we were finishing our tour of the route of General Lee's army's retreat but had delayed our ultimate gratification so that we would be sure to have enough time to view the entire park.

The restored village is very small, as shown in the map below. It consists of only a handful of buildings, but it does include the McLean house where the actual surrender was . signedThe courthouse was closed for renovation when we were there, but the McLean house can be visited and is furnished exactly as it was on the day of the signing based on a famous painting of the event.

Road in Appomattox Courthouse Village
Road in Appomattox Courthouse Village
Map of Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park
Map of Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park

The Map shows the McLean House at the bottom, the Courthouse in the center, and to the right a store and other small trade shops. The photos below are of the McLean House and the room where the surrender was signed.

McLean House
McLean House
Room where surrender of Army of Northern Virginia was signed
Room where surrender of
Army of Northern Virginia was signed

Imagine the scene as the two armies, one camped on one side of the village, the other on the other, came together on the day of surrender so that the defeated Army of Virginia could surrender its arms to the victorious Union Army. One of Lee's conditions of surrender was that his men be allowed to go home as soon as and provided that they surrender their arms. Picture to yourself those confederate troops marching into the village to find Union troops lined up on both sides of the street. But the union troops didn't jeer or insult there adversaries. Indeed for one of their famous generals who saluted them courageously, they cheered. This is the story told by the ranger who accompanied us on our tour of the McLean House.

McLean
McLean House
Room
. P. Guide

Imagine also, the condition of the surrendered troops. When they arrived at Appomattox, they were near starving having not had rations for several days. Although they were fed here by order of General Grant (another of Lee's conditions), they had to somehow find their way home with no money in their pockets and precious little food available in the parts of the country, the South, that they had to cross, even if they could have afforded to pay for it.

McLean
McLean House
Room
Outer Buildings
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Updated August 9, 2003