LEE SURRENDERS AT APPOMATTOX
Appomattox Court House, Virginia (JFK+50) On April 9, 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia was surrendered by General Robert E. Lee here at Appomattox Court House.
General Lee arrived at the home of Wilmer McLean* at 1:00 p.m. while General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of all Union armies, arrived a half hour later.
The two generals met for about 25 minutes in the parlor of the McLean home.
Lee accepted Grant's generous terms in behalf of his weary army of 28,000. The terms provided that all Lee's men would be pardoned, could keep their horses, and return to their homes.
Lee, wearing a full dress military uniform with sword, presented a stark contrast to the characteristically modest Grant who wore a private's blouse.
The Confederate general requested that the terms of surrender be put in writing. Once completed, Lee said..."This will have a very happy effect on my army." Adding to that happiness were the 25,000 rations provided to Lee's men by order of General Grant.
After the ceremony was over a Union band began to play, General Grant stopped them saying...
"The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again."
*Wilmer McLean (1814-1882) was born in Manassas, VA. WM was 47 years old & a retired major in the Virginia militia in 1861. He was living on a farm in Manassas when the war started & later moved to Appomattox where he lived when the war ended.
SOURCE
"The Surrender Meeting," Appomattox Court House National Historic Park, Virginia, www.nps.gov/
McLean House
Appomattox, Virginia
Photo by Billy Hathorn (2011)
