There's no doubt that the Civil War was the bloodiest war in American History. The death toll of 618,000 men will probably never be matched. The fact that brother fought brother, neighbors face the terrible possibility of facing their neighbor over the barrel of a gun and hundreds of thousands lost their homes and livelihoods is next to impossible to comprehend today.
But that fighting and bloodshed ended in a very civilized manner. The victors did not pillage the defeated, nor did they imprison their armies. In fact, the soldiers were permitted to leave the battlefield paroled and unmolested, most with provisions and some were allowed to keep their horses and other animals to use on the home farms.
On April 9, 1865. Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee met in the home of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The area surrounding Appomattox had been the site of fierce battles in the previous 10 days as Lee's army desperately tried to regroup after disastrous defeats and Grant's army scrambled to cut the Confederates off at every turn.
Finally Lee determined that further fighting would needlessly cost more lives and the choice of surrender was clear. Through messages transmitted via courier between the two generals, an agreement was reached to meet at the home of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse and draw up the terms of surrender.
It's interesting to note here that the use of McLean's house was purely due to a series of happenstance. McLean and his wife Virginia had moved to Appomattox Courthouse in 1863 after being exposed to the war at their farm in Manassas during the battle of Bull Run. And the use of their home for the surrender was only because Wilmer was out in his yard when a Union Captain, looking for a place to hold the meeting asked him for the use of the home. I wonder what had happened if Wilmer had said no? Personally, I think it would have been interesting if the two generals had hashed out terms over a couple of pints at the local tavern, especially considering Grant's reputation for a love of the bottle and Lee's for temperance.
And here's the side note: Grant's reputation for drink was slightly exaggerated. Today he would be called a functional alcoholic. He did drink, many times to excess, but he had the discipline to resist the habit when necessary. Some had said that he was a better general because he could use that same discipline in his command. Lee on the other hand, was practically a teetotaler. He once said "I like whiskey. I always have. That why I don't drink it."
The two were opposites in another way: Grant loved a good cigar, smoking as many as 20 a day and Lee didn't smoke.
The terms of surrender were pretty simple. The confederate soldiers would lay down their arms, and in return would be given full paroles and allowed to return to their homes, keeping any animals in their care and given provisions for the trip. 28,000 troops stacked their rifles while a print shop was set up in the Clover Hill Tavern and 30,000 paroles were printed before the troops were sent home.
The surrender at Appomattox Courthouse did not end the war. That finally happened after the surrender of Edmund Kirby Smith's army in Texas on June 2. But the terms agreed to by Lee and Grant governed the surrender of all armies.
The Civil Was was over. And a peaceful and dignified end of hostilities was reached. It would be three more years before the last southern state rejoined the union, but that story is for another day.
The National Park at Appomattox Courthouse is very well done. The village is maintained as it was in 1865, with the McLean house restored after being dismantled for a failed exhibition venture and containing come of the original furniture, which is a surprise considering that many items were taken by soldiers and officers as souvenirs. In fact, the table where the terms were written was actually willed back to the home upon the death of the officer that took it.
Also in the park are the Clover Hill Tavern (the village was originally named for the tavern, only changing to Appomattox Courthouse when it became the county seat,) several original homes, a general store stocked with items from the period, the county jailhouse and a reconstructed Courthouse that serves as the visitor center.
OK, another side note: Appomattox is still the county seat, but the Courthouse in the National Park is not the current one. One of the Rangers at the park told me that has caused occasional confusion. Some people have gone the the "new" courthouse in town looking for the surrender site, and there have actually been lawyers come to the park for a court date!
I know I've gotten a little out of chronological order, what with not yet having reported on Antietam, Manassas or some of the other battlegrounds I've visited. Appomattox just happened to be on the front of my head this morning, so I decided to get that one done. I'll catch up on the next missive.
In the meantime...
Later, folks.
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