Robert E. Lee Surrenders
At Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General
Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant,
effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate
capital of Richmond, blocked from joining the surviving Confederate force in
North Carolina, and harassed constantly by Union cavalry, Lee had no other
option.
In retreating from the Union army’s Appomattox
Campaign, the Army of Northern Virginia had stumbled through the Virginia
countryside stripped of food and supplies. At one point, Union cavalry forces
under General Philip Sheridan had actually outrun Lee’s army, blocking their
retreat and taking 6,000 prisoners at Sayler’s Creek. Desertions were mounting
daily, and by April 8 the Confederates were surrounded with no possibility of
escape. On April 9, Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to
surrender. The two generals met in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean home at one
o’clock in the afternoon.
Lee and Grant, both holding the highest rank
in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican
War and exchanged awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant arrived
in his muddy field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete
with sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them
out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with
their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a
late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving
men would be given Union rations.
Shushing a band that had begun to play in
celebration, General Grant told his officers, “The war is over. The Rebels are
our countrymen again.” Although scattered resistance continued for several
weeks, for all practical purposes the Civil War had come to an end.