LEE SURRENDERS TO GRANT, CIVIL WAR IS OVER!
Appomattox Court House, Virginia (JFK+50) On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert Edward Lee surrendered his 28,000 troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses Simpson Grant here at Appomattox.
The meeting of the two opposing commanders took place in the parlor of the home of Wilmer McLean. General Lee arrived at 1 p.m., followed by General Grant at 1:30 p.m.
The surrender proceedings lasted 90 minutes. Lee accepted Grant's generous terms which included pardons for all of his soldiers. They were permitted to keep their horses and return home.
After the ceremony, the U.S. Army band began to play, but General Grant stopped them. He said...
"The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again."
Trevor K. Plante points out, however, that while Appomattox "marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy," Lee surrendered only his own army. Confederate troops under other commanders continued to fight.
It was not until August 20, 1866 that President Andrew Johnson was able to declare that the War Between the States was truly over.
SOURCES
"Ending the Bloodshed," by Trevor K. Plante, Spring 2015, National Archives, Prologue Magazine, www.archives.gov/
"Surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865," www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/
