Magical History Tour: Appomattox Court House

On the second day of my vacation, I spent the morning in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, site of the end of the Civil War.

The war never should have lasted as long as it did, but it labored on for years thanks in large part to the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. But he became outmatched when Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union army. Grant was aggressive, and he sent troops into the heart of Confederate strongholds. The Union army may not have been successful in Appomattox Court House, but a communication error left the Confederate soldiers without a renewed food supply. After a week of hard fighting, Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865.

There weren't many buildings in this small town in which to house two generals and their staffs. Moreover, there just weren't that many people in town at the time, what with a battle raging just a few miles away. They were finally able to use the home of Wilmer McLean:


Mr. McLean left his previous home in Manassas, Virginia, when the First Battle of Bull Run destroyed much of his kitchen and fireplace. Ironically, his desire to escape the Civil War brought the surrender to his front parlor:

General Grant brought just one or two men with him, and he sat at the large marble table on the left:

General Lee was flanked by an army of supporters (pun very much intended), but he was relegated to the smaller wooden table:

After the generals left the McLeans' home, other soldiers immediately realized the historical significance of what just happened, and they took anything that wasn't bolted down. Just a few years later, also recognizing the home's historical significance, historians dismantled the house brick by brick so that it could be preserved (more Civil War irony) in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, funds dried up quickly, and the house was left in a pile until the mid-20th Century when the town was named a National Historic Park and the house was reconstructed.

The surrender was an incredibly generous one. Lee was not forced to give up his sword, and every member of the Confederate army was given a pass to travel home without being harmed. Over the next several days, the passes were printed in the town's tavern:

Though generous, the surrender did call for the Confederate army to lay down their arms. They marched down the main street of Appomattox Court House and presented guns, flags, etc. By all accounts, the Union forces were quietly respectful of the brothers they had been fighting against just a week before.

Addition for my mom: this picture of the Appomattox Court House court house (now a very informative visitors' center)