General Lee’s Final Palm Sunday
The McLean family on their front porch.
On Palm Sunday April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the front parlor of the Wilmar McLean home at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively bringing the bloodiest war in American history toward conclusion. In handing over his sword to his opponent, Lee also ended the Confederate States’ attempt at seceding from the Union and settled the arguments over states’ rights vs federal law and whether slavery would continue in the land of the free. At the time and to this day, the Union victory is one for which all Americans should be forever grateful. We are stronger as a whole than we could have ever been apart.
While most Americans recognize the importance of Appomattox Court House, the following are some facts that may not be as well known.
Lee and Grant meet in McLean front parlor to sign the terms of surrender.
1. While Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia, this did not end the war. Gen. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee did not surrender until April 26 when Johnston surrendered almost 90,000 men to William T. Sherman. Even so, minor battles and skirmishes continued to take place into May, mostly in the West. The final battle of the war was at Palmito Ranch in Texas. The last large Confederate force surrendered on June 2 at Galveston, Texas.
2. The victors’ actions at the surrender demonstrated the respect that existed between the former combatants. Soldiers on both sides laughed and cried upon learning that four years of hell had come to an end. On April 12 when the formal surrender of weapons and battle flags occurred, Union soldiers saluted the Confederates and there were many reports of kindness and friendliness between the former enemies.
3. In the week leading up to surrender, Lee had lost more than half his army to death and surrender to superior Union forces during the Siege of Petersburg and battles at Five Forks and Sailor’s Creek. Desertion was also a major problem. Confederate soldiers were poorly supplied and said to be on the verge of starving. Grant’s victory at the Battle of Appomattox Court House earlier on the morning of April 9 dealt the Army of Northern Virginia a final blow.
4. Discovering there was no escape, Lee chose to surrender his army rather than send troops in smaller bands to try to join Gen. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee in North Carolina as some of his officers suggested. He reasoned “…the men would be without rations and under no control of officers. They would be compelled to rob and steal in order to live. They would become mere bands of marauders… We would bring on a state of affairs it would take the country [the Confederate states] years to recover from.” He surrendered to prevent his army from inflicting additional pain and suffering on their fellow countrymen.
5. The Army of Northern Virginia was paroled rather than taken as prisoners. Grant allowed the Confederate soldiers to return home. He also let officers, cavalrymen, and artillerymen keep their swords and horses if they agreed to stop fighting and abide by federal law. In addition, Grant supplied the Rebels with sorely needed rations.
6. Lee’s decision not to fight a guerrilla war and Grant’s leniency toward his former enemies are believed to be two contributing factors in the relative peace of Reconstruction.
Ely Parker, far left, with Grant and staff.
7. A Native American drafted the surrender treaty. Grant’s personal secretary and friend, Lt. Col. Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Indian chief from New York, had studied law and was a natural choice for the task of drafting the terms of surrender. The two men met early on in their careers and became friends. After the Mexican-American War, Grant secured Parker’s army commission. Parker was with Grant at the signing of the terms of surrender which he had written.
George W. C. Lee, Robert E. Lee (seated), and another officer.
8. In addition to wishing to spare the South further damage, it is suspected that family was also on Lee’s mind as he made his decision to surrender. His son, Maj. Gen. William Henry Fitzhugh “Rooney” Lee, commanded a calvary division during the last battle. His division was under the leadership of his cousin, Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. In addition, both Lee’s eldest son, Maj. Gen. George Washington Custis Lee, and his youngest, Capt. Robert E. Lee, Jr., were missing in action. Both sons survived the war.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
9. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was displeased with Lee’s surrender, but truly appalled by Johnston’s giving up virtually all Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida without being defeated by Sherman.
Today, McLean House stands as the centerpiece to a national historic park established in 1940. The park spreads across approximately 1700 acres that include parts of the battlefield, the courthouse, and Lee’s headquarters among other sites of importance. Link for park information: http://www.nps.gov/apco/index.htm
This one is the best yet! Way to work Holy Week in
It was Joshua Chamberlain who managed the formal surrender, was it not? I had the impression he ordered the standing at attention and salute.
My husband’s folks were with Sherman in the Carolinas. They had been on the march, mostly chasing Johnston, for almost a year.
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Carol, yes, he certainly was present at the surrendering of arms. The following is taken directly from Chamberlain’s personal account of events of surrender. Even though he gave the order to his troops, the general feeling of respect for a worthy opponent would have come from Grant as commander of the victors and seems evident in his (Grant’s) approval of the rather generous terms of surrender. Here follows Chamberlain’s account of the days (April 9-12) of surrender. The previous paragraphs dealt with his involvement in the battles leading up to the surrender.
“Having thus formed, the brigades standing at ‘order arms,’ the head of the Confederate column, General Gordon in command, and the old ‘Stonewall’ Jackson Brigade leading, started down into the valley which lay between us, and approached our lines. With my staff I was on the extreme right of the line, mounted on horseback, and in a position nearest the Rebel solders who were approaching our right.
“Ah, but it was a most impressive sight, a most striking picture, to see that whole army in motion to lay down the symbols of war and strife, that army which had fought for four terrible years after a fashion but infrequently known in war.
“At such a time and under such conditions I thought it eminently fitting to show some token of our feeling, and I therefore instructed my subordinate officers to come to the position of ‘salute’ in the manual of arms as each body of the Confederates passed before us.
“It was not a ‘present arms,’ however, not a ‘present,’ which then as now was the highest possible honor to be paid even to a president. It was the ‘carry arms,’ as it was then known, with musket held by the right hand and perpendicular to the shoulder. I may best describe it as a marching salute in review.
“When General Gordon came opposite me I had the bugle blown and the entire line came to ‘attention,’ preparatory to executing this movement of the manual successively and by regiments as Gordon’s columns should pass before our front, each in turn.
“The General was riding in advance of his troops, his chin drooped to his breast, downhearted and dejected in appearance almost beyond description. At the sound of that machine like snap of arms, however, General Gordon started, caught in a moment its significance, and instantly assumed the finest attitude of a soldier. He wheeled his horse facing me, touching him gently with the spur, so that the animal slightly reared, and as he wheeled, horse and rider made one motion, the horse’s head swung down with a graceful bow, and General Gordon dropped his swordpoint to his toe in salutation.
“By word of mouth General Gordon sent back orders to the rear that his own troops take the same position of the manual in the march past as did our line. That was done, and a truly imposing sight was the mutual salutation and farewell.
“At a distance of possibly twelve feet from our line, the Confederates halted and turned face towards us. Their lines were formed with the greatest care, with every officer in his appointed position, and thereupon began the formality of surrender.
“Bayonets were affixed to muskets, arms stacked, and cartridge boxes unslung and hung upon the stacks. Then, slowly and with a reluctance that was appealingly pathetic, the torn and tattered battleflags were either leaned against the stacks or laid upon the ground. The emotion of the conquered soldiery was really sad to witness. Some of the men who had carried and followed those ragged standards through the four long years of strife, rushed, regardless of all discipline, from the ranks, bent about their old flags, and pressed them to their lips with burning tears.”
Source: Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XXXII, Richmond, Va., January -December. 1904.
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Once again, I’ve learned from Linda’s post. Although I spent many years living in Virginia, I’ve never been to Appomattox. I did tour the Manassas battlefield, though, and the though of what all those young men faced on the same hills and valleys sent a shiver down my spine.
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I agree regarding the feeling one gets when visiting battlefields. We recently toured Vicksburg Battlefield, one of the bloodiest and most costly battles of the war. It is easy to imagine what it must have been like 150 years ago when you read the markers and monuments. It is awe inspiring to read of the sacrifice.
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A few weeks ago, they showed a symposium on C-Span 3 about Appomattox. I never realized it was on Palm Sunday though. Lots to commemorate for April 1865 and I want to enjoy all of it. Thanks for the great post, Linda!
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Thank you, Piper! Hope you and your family have a joyous Easter weekend!
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