HERE ARE THE FACTS ABOUT THE SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE
The surrender at Appomattox Court House took place on April 9, 1865. It was then that Confederate General Robert E. Lee found himself and his men surrounded by General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union forces. Lee formally threw in the towel 157 years ago, eventually leading to the end of the U.S. Civil War. Read next:Meet Isoroku Yamamoto, the Man Who Planned the Pearl Harbor Attack
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House
What was the surrender at Appomattox Court House? Where was the surrender at Appomattox Court House? And why is it so important to historians, Americans, and military strategists? The surrender at Appomattox is often confusing to people for a number of reasons. For one thing, Appomattox Court House is not an actual courthouse but a village in Virginia. And the actual surrender took place inside a house owned by resident Wilmer McClean. The surrender at Appomattox Court House is also often cited as the end of the Civil War – the bloodiest war in American history. But this actually isn’t true, and the official end to the war didn’t arrive until 16 months after Lee surrendered to Grant in the village. The real end of the Civil War occurred on August 20, 1866, when President Andrew Johnson made the official proclamation. While this isn’t the date that the war ended for good, it’s important for another reason. After the surrender at Appomattox, 1865 to the end of the war in 1866 constituted a mop-up duty situation for the Union. Only those desperate to hold fast to the dream of the Confederacy hung on after that.
Who Was Present at the Appomattox Surrender?
Those present at the surrender were many of the principal figures involved in the earlier battle. The Battle of Appomattox Court House began early that morning and arrived at a pivotal, decisive moment before 8:00 a.m. Lee knew his war had been lost before lunchtime. The surrender was the direct outcome. It signaled the official end of the Civil War altogether, as well as the end of this enormously decisive and historic battle. Lee’s aide de camp, Lt. Colonel Charles Marshall, went through the village to scout a location appropriate for a meeting between the two generals. Generals Grant and Lee sat in the parlor of the McClean house along with Marshall, Lt. Colonel Orville Babcock of the Union, and perhaps a dozen other aides. The meeting itself lasted for an estimated two-and-a-half hours.
The Appomattox Court House Battle
The Appomattox battle began at dawn and was over just a few hours later. The first letter came soon after from Lee to Grant, and a reply to Lee allowed the Confederate general to pick the place they would meet. Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander was opposed to the surrender, while no one else in the Confederate leadership took his side. He warned Lee that if he were to go through with meeting Grant and discussing terms, then every other Confederate army would soon follow suit. He was right. There were no official terms of surrender at Appomattox. The most official terms came in the letters that Grant and Lee exchanged after the battle had been decided. At the McLean house, Grant was hesitant and overwhelmed with emotion at having bested Lee, and he couldn’t bring himself to discuss terms until Lee urged him to do so after engaging in small talk about their previous association in the Mexican War. Grant scribbled a few short, quick sentences then and there and passed them to Lee. The whole event was immortalized by Tom Lovell, who created an artwork showcasing Lee surrendering to Grant at Appomattox, painting the two of them a century later in 1965 for the 100th anniversary of their meeting.
When Did the Confederates Surrender at Appomattox Court House?
3:00 p.m. was the official time that terms were accepted after the meeting between Grant and Lee. Grant allowed the Confederate officers to keep their sidearms, their horses, and other gear, providing them with liberties not often seen among defeated enemies. Only a few short days later, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. Killed by actor John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln would not live to see the end of the crisis that tore his country apart. Confederate President Jefferson Davis dissolved the Confederate government on May 5, 1865, and he and his wife were captured on May 10. The final battle of the war was fought on May 13, 1865. Then, with the official proclamation from President Johnson, the Civil War was over. And the course of the nation was forever changed.
Surrender at Appomattox Facts
- When was the surrender at Appomattox Court House?
- April 9, 1865
- Who was present?
- General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union and General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy, along with aides and staff.
- Where was the surrender at Appomattox Court House?
- In the parlor of the house owned by village resident Wilmer McClean.
- Who was president during the surrender at Appomattox?
- President Abraham Lincoln of the Union and President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy.
- How long did the war go on after the surrender at Appomattox?
- The war officially lasted until August of 1866, when U.S. President Andrew Johnson formally declared it over. But the last battle was fought on May 13, 1865.
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