Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on this day 157 years ago...

April 9, 1865. A stillness at Appomattox.

Ever since the Union army had punched through his defenses around Petersburg on April 2, Lee and the remnants of his once proud Army of Northern Virginia had been on the run. The Gray Fox had been operating on a forlorn hope that his army could retreat to the west, board trains at some railroad junction, and then link up with Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina to continue the fight.

Richmond, the Confederate capital, fell to Union forces on April 3 but Grant did not waste any time celebrating the historic moment. His objective was to catch up with Lee and to cut off his retreat. Union cavalry harassed the rear of Lee's column, inflicting damage and slowing up the march. The black day of the Confederate army came on April 6 when Sheridan's cavalry, the 2nd Corps, and 6th Corps caught up with the rear of the Confederate column at Sailor's Creek, near the hamlet of Farmville, Virginia.

The battle was a disaster for the Confederacy, with nearly 8,000 Confederates being casualties of war (most of them captured). Confederate Lt. General Richard S. Ewell was among those Confederates taken prisoner. When Lee had learned of the extent of the disaster that had taken place on the 6th, he exclaimed to Major General William Mahone, "My God, has the army dissolved?"

On April 7, Grant began open correspondence with Lee, suggesting that it was time to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee, however, did not see it that way and refused this request as he still believed escape to the Carolina's to be feasible. First Lee needed to resupply his army and supplies waited for him at Appomattox Station. On the 8th, however, Union forces finally overtook the Army of Northern Virginia.

A cavalry force under the command of Major General George Armstrong Custer arrived at Appomattox ahead of the Confederates and put the supplies waiting for the Army of Northern Virginia to the torch. Lee's last hope for resupply and escape was the city of Lynchburg. All that stood between him and freedom was a force of Federal cavalry. As such, he once again refused a request by Grant to surrender the night of April 8. However, he did add a caveat to his reply, telling Grant that he was willing to discuss how Grant's terms of surrender would affect the Confederacy.

The Union's 24th Corps under the command of Major General John Gibbon marched 30 miles in 21 hours to reinforce the cavalry that stood between Lee and Lynchburg. The 5th Corps followed close behind, as did three divisions of cavalry under the command of Major General Phil Sheridan. These divisions deployed on a ridge overlooking Appomattox on the morning of April 9.

The battle began at dawn when the Confederate 2nd Corps under Major General John B. Gordon attacked Sheridan's cavalry divisions and quickly brushed them aside. When they took the crest of the ridge, however, they were appalled to find the entire Union 5th and 24th Corps arrayed in line of battle against them.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Lt. General James Longstreet's Confederate 1st Corps was being pressed by Major General Edward Ord's Army of the James and the 2nd Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Lee looked to Gordon to save the Army of Northern Virginia and sent a member of his staff to ascertain what the commander of his 2nd Corps needed to continue the fight. The answer that came back did not please Lee: "Tell General Lee I have fought my corps to a frazzle, and I fear I can do nothing unless I am heavily supported by Longstreet's corps."

With Longstreet being heavily pressed by overwhelming forces, and with Gordon unable to press any further, Lee now knew that his situation was hopeless. "Then there is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths."

A white linen dish towel was used by the Confederates as a flag of truce and was carried by one of Longstreet's staffers into Custer's lines. After several hours of back and forth communications between Grant and Lee, the two generals agreed to meet at the McLean House to discuss terms of surrender. Wilmer McLean had lived at a farmhouse near Manassas Junction at the start of the war. His home had been used by then Brigadier General P.G.T Beauregard as his headquarters during the Battle of First Manassas. McLean had been so appalled by the battle and its aftermath that he had moved his family far away to the west where he suspected war would never reach them. Now the commanders of the two great armies were meeting in his front parlor to bring an end to that war which had essentially begun in his front yard some four years earlier.

Robert E. Lee arrived at the McLean House in full ceremonial uniform while Grant came in muddy field dress. Such a contrast in appearance was appropriate as Lee came from Virginia royalty while Grant, the son of a tanner, came from a more blue collar background.

Grant tried to make small talk with Lee before getting to the business at hand. While Lee maintained an air of politeness, it was clear to Grant that the Virginia gentleman wanted no part in casual conversation, being more concerned with Grant's terms of surrender. Those terms surprised Lee in their generosity. His men would not be imprisoned nor brought up on charges of treason; officers were allowed to keep their sidearms, horses, and personal baggage; and, most importantly, food would be supplied to the Confederates to satiate their empty stomachs.

The documents were drafted by Colonel Ely S. Parker, a member of Grant's staff and a full-blooded Senaca indian. Lee, upon discovering that Parker was Native American, was said to have remarked: "It is good to have one real American here." To which Parker is said to have replied: "Sir, we are all Americans." However, it is likely that this exchange - reported only by Parker in the post-war years - is apocryphal.

The documents were signed by Grant and Lee shortly after 4:00 PM. Lee rode away from the McLean House as quickly and as quietly as he had come. Upon learning of the surrender, Grant's men began cheering and cannons began to boom in celebration. Grant, however, quickly ordered these celebrations stopped. The Confederates were now their countrymen once more and there was no sense in celebrating their downfall.

On April 10, Lee issued an emotional farewell address to the Army of Northern Virginia and, on April 12, the Confederate army ceremoniously surrendered by stacking their arms in front of the Army of the Potomac. Some 28,000 men were all that was left of the once proud Army of Northern Virginia.



The McLean parlor where Lee surrendered to Grant