Total Mileage for Journey: 2,627
May 8 - After a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, we loaded the van for the last time and headed out to Appomattox Court House (the name of the town, which is named for the county court house). A variety of engagements occurred between the Army of the Potomac (now commanded by Grant) and the Army of Northern Virginia (as always, commanded by Lee) leading up to the surrender. A Union calvary unit commanded by George Custer seized a critical supply train headed for Lee’s hungry and under-equipped army.The loss of these supplies and any chance of reinforcements gave Lee no choice but to surrender.
On April 9, 1965, Grant and Lee met at the house of Wilbur McLean. They chit-chatted about the Mexican War for awhile (both served on the same side that time) and then got down to business. Grant wrote a letter to Lee with the terms (which were generous: immediate parole, e.g. no prison camp, for anyone who agreed to stop fighting, officers retaining sidearms and horses, etc.) Lee then wrote an acceptance back. Afterwards they separated and never met again.
On April 12, 5,000 Union troops lined the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road as the Confederate soldiers surrendered and stacked their weapons and battle flags. The remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia then drifted home. The Union soldiers were mustered out throughout the summer.
In 1893, the McLean House was purchased by some investors who wanted to have it moved to DC. The house was disassembled and then the investment group went belly-up (Leahman Brothers, Sr. perhaps?) and the house materials sat in a pile for over fifty years. The components walked and wore away. The park service then bought the land and had the house rebuilt in 1948. Only about 5% of the bricks from the original house remained and were reused. We all really liked the house. It was originally built as a tavern and inn and has big, airy rooms, even in the basement.
We really liked Appomattox Court House. Since it hasn’t been developed, the landscape is much as it was in1865. We could easily imagine Grant, riding Cincinnati, and wearing his modified private’s uniform.
After our great visit to ACH, as we in-the-know call it, we headed back home, stopping to lunch in a park in Charlottesville. Had to eat huddled around the van as the only picnic area was occupied by a group celebrating the Sri Lankan New Year.
We arrived home at 5pm with one more task on our agenda for Sunday: a visit to the Grant Statue on the mall.
