The surrender at Appomattox courthouse

The road to General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse was a long one. It began in December 1860 in South Carolina when that state became the first to secede from the Union. By the end of May 1861, ten other states, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee had followed.

Then on April 12, 1861 Brig. Gen. Pierre Beauregard’s artillery batteries fired upon the Union’s Fort Sumter. Two days later the commander of Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson lowered the flag and evacuated the Fort without a single loss of life.

The first engagement between the two armies took place at Bull Run (Manassas) on Sunday, July 21, 1861. At 5:30 am the Union artillery sent a shell from its largest gun across the Run at the Confederate troops. The supreme commanders of the armies were

General McDowell on the side of the Union and General Beauregard for the Confederates. These were not the only famous names that participated in this battle.

It was here that General Thomas Jackson received his nickname, “Stonewall.” Generals J.E. Johnston, M.L. Bonham, James Longstreet and so many more were with the Confederate forces that day while the Union had General McClellan, Col. Sherman as well as others.

Over the next four years there would be another Battle of Bull Run, The Wilderness, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg and of course, Sherman’s March to the Sea.

By February 1865 General Lee’s troops were badly beaten, starving, knew they had no chance of winning and were deserting in droves. Both General Lee and General Longstreet were starting to look into possible means of ending the war. On March 3, 1865 Gen. Lee wrote President Davis informing him of his intention to meet Gen. Grant. In the dispatch he also told Davis that he believed Grant would accept nothing short of the Confederate States returned to the Union.

Lee then sent a message to Grant requesting an interview with him in the hopes of ending the “calamities of war.” Thinking Lee was more interested in political terms than military terms, Grant response was “Such authority is vested in the President of the United States alone.”

On April 7th, Grant himself made an attempt to contact Lee concerning the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was aware of seven trains of provisions that were waiting for Lee at Appomattox Station. He also knew if Lee acquired these provisions the Confederate troops could continue fighting even longer. General Sheridan was sent to capture the supplies.

At 5:00 pm Grant wrote to Lee about the uselessness of continuing to fight. He spoke about the responsibility of further bloodshed when both of them knew it was needless. Sending his note by his adjutant general, Gen. Seth Williams with instructions to take it to the Confederate lines. Grant received Lee’s reply after midnight.

Lee told Grant that he too wished to avoid the further “effusion” of blood and asked about the terms and conditions of surrender. Grant replied to this correspondence by stating his main priority was for peace. He did insist upon one condition though:

“That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged. I will meet you or will designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received.”

During the entire back and forth correspondence between the two, Gen. Lee refused to admit the truth of his men’s condition or chances of winning to Grant. His aides would tell later of the desperation Lee felt and his anguish in watching his men suffer. But he refused to allow his enemy to know of it.

On the evening of April 8th the Confederates rested a few miles east of Appomattox. It was also on this evening Lee called his officers in for a conference. Lt. Gen. Longstreet, Major Gen. John B. Gordon, Major Gen. Fitzhugh Lee as well as a number of the division commanders and staff officers all attended the meeting.

It was decided that Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry would leave at 1 am and attempt to break through Grant’s troops on the main road. If he were successful, the infantry would then be able to leave. If the cavalry wasn’t able to break through, the officers knew surrender would be their only option.

Meanwhile General George Custer’s cavalry had gone towards Appomattox Station to destroy the railroad. In doing so, he found the seven supply trains waiting for Lee’s army.

While attempting to take the trains, Custer’s men lost three of the trains because the men on the train had seen the Union cavalry coming and ran off. Custer was able to apprehend four of the trains but was quickly attacked by Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry. The confederate cavalry was soon backed up by Gen. John B. Gordon’s infantry and were able to burn one of the trains to keep it out of Union hands.

The Union and Confederate cavalries began fighting and it seemed the northerners were going to lose until they gave way and Gen. Lee’s group was able to see the massive number of troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Charles Griffin. It was at this time the southerners realized Gen. Gordon’s troops were quickly being closed in upon on both flanks and from the rear.

Gen. Gordon sent word to Gen. Robert E. Lee that he couldn’t move, his “corps had been fought to a frazzle” and that there was nothing he could do unless Gen. Longstreet was able to move up and support him.

Witnesses to Lee receiving the dispatch from Gordon related that he was “convulsed with grief” and that his verbal response was “Then there is nothing left for me to do but go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.”

After several meetings between Lee and Grant the following terms were agreed upon and written down:

1. Rolls of all officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to both armies.

2. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged.

3. Each company or regimental commander is to sign a like parole for the men of their commands

4. The arms, artillery and public property to be parked, stacked and turned over to the designated Union officers.

5. The above condition will not embrace the side arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage (this condition is why Gen. Lee didn’t lose his faithful Traveler after the surrender).

6. Each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by the United States authority as long as they observe their parole.

Although it wasn’t in the final draft, Gen. Lee was able to convince Grant that the horses and mules were the personal property of his men. The Confederate Army had not supplied them and that the men going home would have a difficult time planting or doing any farming with out their livestock. Gen. Grant agreed with Lee’s reasoning and ordered his officers to allow any Confederate soldier who claimed an animal as his own to be allowed to keep it.

On April 12, 1865 Generals Longstreet, Gordon and Pendleton led the troops to Appomattox for surrender. Approximately 1,500 Union soldiers who had been taken prisoner were returned. Gen. Robert E. Lee did not stay to witness the surrender of arms to the Union officers. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee had ridden away with the majority of his cavalry because he refused to have anything to do with the surrender. By the end of April 12, 1865 some 26,018 Confederate soldiers surrendered themselves and their arms.