Appomattox Courthouse

Appomattox Court House Museum:
The Place Where Our Nation Reunited
By
Peter Smolens
Almost 150 years ago in the small Virginia village of Appomattox Court House,
General Robert E. Lee leader of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. The “War Between the States” that ripped this
country apart had finally ended after more than four years. During the war at least
630,000 Americans died - more than in all of our other wars together. In addition,
another million were wounded.
Although it’s not much more than a dot on the map, this small town in the Southwest part of
Virginia is where the “Civil War” ended. Located east of Lynchburg, VA the town of Appomattox Court House was little more than a small cluster of buildings. that spread across the Virginia
Piedmont.
The National Park Service has put together an impressive museum recreating the town to look
just like it did in 1865 to illustrate what life was like at the end of Civil War. This museum is a
tribute to the dignity, the honor and the generosity of the two sides in the final days of the conflict.
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The McLean House – the site of Meeting
The End of Civil War
In the center of the town is the old courthouse building. As the visior center for the museum, it provides
an overview by taking you back to the time period.
Throughout the building are a number of exhibits
showing some artifacts from the time period. On the
walls there is a list of all the men who were in the
town at the time of the surrender. To help get you
acclimated upstairs in the theature there are two 15minutes movies shown throughout the day that explain
the final days of the war from two different points of
view.
In late March of 1865 Union army leader Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant cut off the three of the
four railroad lines that brought supplies from south to
Petersburg and Richmond that serviced the Confederate capital.
Losing the railroads meant the confederate army
would soon run out of food. Leading his men to Danville, Lee found a train full of munitions and clothing, but no food. It was there that they encountered
the Union army. The Battle of Five Forks was fought
on April 1, 1865 – a battle that many believe was the
“Waterloo of the Confederacy”. The confederate army
was defeated, capturing nearly a third of Lee’s men.
As Grant’s men pursued, Gen. Lee took the rest of his
troops to a Confederate supply train at Appomattox
Courthouse near Lynchburg.
The battle at Sailors Creek cost Lee another 7,700 men
including Lee’s own son Custis, who was captured in
heavy fighting. Grant sent a group of men under the
leadership of Major General Philip H. Sheridan and
General George Armstrong Custard to Appomattox
Station. They captured and destroyed the supply train.
Sign at Appomattox Court House
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Seeing his supply lines cut off from the South, the
James River to his north and an army full of starving
men, Lee sent Grant a message requesting a meeting in
this small village. The most prominent place in town
was owned by Wilber McLean.
The Meeting
Upstairs on the second floor of the courthouse building an audio description and a Tom Lovell painting of
the famous meeting between Grant and Lee that took
place at the McLean House. Located just a short walk
down the gravel road from the courthouse, it was in
the parlor where on April 9, 1865 that Lee and Grant
met to discuss and sign terms that ended the Civil War.
Although the originals are located at the Smithsonian
and other museums, visitors can see authentic reproductions of the two small tables and chairs that sit
about 10 feet apart. On that day General Lee arrived
at the Mclean home shortly after 1:00 p.m., followed
30-minutes later by General Grant. Just as it was depicted in the painting, once in the parlor Grant and Lee
sat across from each other. It was decided that it would
be best if the surrender terms could be put in writing.
Grant writes out his terms in pencil and hands it to Lee
for review. After reading the document Lee makes a
few minor requests. Grant agrees to the changes and
the final draft is put to ink, making duplicate copies for
each side. Once completed, each signed the documents
ending the war. Afterwards they shook hands and Lee
left. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and a
half.
Interpeter playing a Confederate solider
The Museum
On April 10, 1940 Appomattox Court House National
Historical Monument was created by Congress to include approximately 970 acres. Eighty-four years after
the historic meeting reuniting the country, the National
Park Service opened the McLean House for the first
time to the public. A crowd of approximately 20,000
witnessed Major General U.S. Grant and Robert E.
Lee IV cut the ribbon at the dedication ceremony on
April 16, 1950.
One of the most impressive aspects of this museum is
seeing the last days of the war from both sides. Periodically throughout the day during the summer months,
interpreters provide a human perspective to the last
days of the Civil War. A Confederate soldier from
town described the last months of the war from his
point of view. Although they never lost pride in their
cause, there were frustrating days of having no
In truth while McLean did own the house, he was not
living there at the time of the battle. He had rented the
place to the Confederate army (at reportedly a very
high price). After the battle he became a sugar speculator, selling sugar from the Caribbean to the confederate army. With all his money tied up in confederate
bills, when the war ended McLean lost everything.
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food. On the other hand, a
Union soldier explains how
after Grant tightened his grip
around the Confederate capital
in Richmond, Virginia they
chased Johnny Reb west to
this small town in the middle
of the Virginia Piedmont, beating them at every turn.
Replica desk where General Ulysses S. Grant
sat during the signing
Replica desk where General Robert E. Lee sat
during the signing.
The rest of the museum is a self-guided walking
tour (pamphlet available at the Visitor Center) that
includes a six-mile History Trail along with an audio-visual program. Overall there are 27 structures in
the national historical park that have been restored.
Inside the CloverHill Tavern you will see a replica of
the printing press used to create the parole passes for
the Confederate solders. Built in 1819 it’s the oldest
original structure in the museum.
A Stillness at Appomattox” is the title historian Bruce
Catton gave to this time at the end of the Civil War.
The museum at Appomattox Court House is a tribute
to the “compassion, generosity and honor” both sides
showed after four long years of war.
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