This is another offering in the Landmark series, which does an admirable job of describing the events at the close (sort of) of the Civil War, arguably the most devastating period in American history. There was a major battle just prior to the meeting between the two generals to discuss terms of surrender, but the book primarily focuses on their meeting and the logistics of arranging a truce sufficient to come to acceptable terms to avoid further slaughter.
Most people (if they know the significance at all) don't know that the end of the Civil War came, not at a "courthouse" at all, but in the parlor of a private residence, in Appomattox Court House, a village, was not just an actual courthouse, but rather an entire town. In one of America's most ironic twists of fate, as the book notes, Robert E. Lee formally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the home of one Wilmer McLean (1814-1882) - the man who owned the property where the Civil War had essentially begun, four years earlier.
McLean, a wholesale grocer from Virginia, owned a property near Manassas, Virginia, where the First Battle of Bull Run occurred, in 1861, at his Yorkshire Plantation. Seemingly traumatized by the events at the outbreak of the war, like so many others - artillery was actually fired at his house, which at the time was being used as Confederate Brigadier General Beauregard's headquarters - McLean fled 90 miles south, to the small village of Appomattox Court House. It came as something of a shock when, in April, 1865, officials came knocking at his door, asking if his house could serve as the setting for a meeting between generals Lee and Grant, to discuss terms of surrender. McLean was reported to have said of the momentous occasion: "the war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."
One of the more humorous (although certainly not at the time) episodes, albeit unintentionally, as the book notes, and as the photos attest, were the actions of some of the personnel in attendance, who began acting like enterprising souvenir hunters. Immediately following the formal signing of the surrender, they began to purchase (and others to "liberate," as the book states) from the owner items associated with the event, such as the table on which Grant had drafted the surrender document, for a reported $20 in gold, and a larger, marble-top table where Lee had signed it, which was purchased by Major General Ord for $40. Others just shoved money into McLean's hands as they made off with his property, despite his protests, which fell on deaf ears.
The aforementioned small table, used by Grant, was purchased by Philip Sheridan - who, in turn, asked one George Armstrong Custer to transport it astride his horse; of course, he did, as he had already garnered a reputation for outlandish stunts - carting off a table on horseback was no mean feat for the soon-to-be-infamous Custer, who would meet his end at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The table was later presented to Custer's wife, and is now on display at the National Museum of American History, in the Smithsonian collection. The book includes photographs of several of the other items, including the two chairs the generals sat in, which are likewise on display, as is Lee's impressive custom-made ceremonial sword.
McLean's house, later called the "Surrender House," did not fare well, after the war's end. McLean defaulted on the loan, so the bank seized and then sold it at public auction, in November, 1869. The house changed hands several times, before someone got the idea of making it a tourist attraction: but not in far-flung Appomattox Court House. It was even proposed that the house be moved to Chicago as an attraction at the 1893 World's Fair, but this plan never came to fruition.
Later, an even more ambitious plan saw the house dismantled and packed for shipping, with the intent of moving it to Washington, DC. However, due to a lack of funding, it sat in pieces for more than a half-century. It was rescued in 1940 by the Congress, with the creation of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument, and plans were made to reconstruct it, but measures were interrupted by WWII. Finally, reconstruction began, and in 1949, more than 80 years after the event, the McLean house was opened to the public. The dedication ceremony took place in 1950.
I won't recap all the events, but the book does a good job of hitting the highlights, and what was involved in the planning and execution of the fateful meeting between the two generals, who couldn't have been more different. This volume is more expansive than some of the others in this series, at least the version I read, and has the added benefit of numerous color photographs, drawings and documents. A major feature seems to be the generals' horses, who apparently became almost as famous as the men themselves! Perhaps the most famous was Lee's gorgeous gray American Saddlebred, Traveller, but Grant had his share of famous mounts, also, which included the son of the fastest racehorse in the country.
One thing which just about drove me crazy with this volume, however, - petty, i know, but inexcusable in a later addition which was ostensibly a revision of an earlier volume - were all of the grammatical mistakes in this volume, to the degree that the editor needs a new line of work! Misspellings, conflated words, misused terms - this one has it all, which is very surprising, considering that I haven't noticed a single error in any of the others I have read in this series. We all make them every once in a while, but the number in this book were at the point of distraction. Still a good read, however, and a capable introduction to one of the most momentous events in US history.
Most people (if they know the significance at all) don't know that the end of the Civil War came, not at a "courthouse" at all, but in the parlor of a private residence, in Appomattox Court House, a village, was not just an actual courthouse, but rather an entire town. In one of America's most ironic twists of fate, as the book notes, Robert E. Lee formally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the home of one Wilmer McLean (1814-1882) - the man who owned the property where the Civil War had essentially begun, four years earlier.
McLean, a wholesale grocer from Virginia, owned a property near Manassas, Virginia, where the First Battle of Bull Run occurred, in 1861, at his Yorkshire Plantation. Seemingly traumatized by the events at the outbreak of the war, like so many others - artillery was actually fired at his house, which at the time was being used as Confederate Brigadier General Beauregard's headquarters - McLean fled 90 miles south, to the small village of Appomattox Court House. It came as something of a shock when, in April, 1865, officials came knocking at his door, asking if his house could serve as the setting for a meeting between generals Lee and Grant, to discuss terms of surrender. McLean was reported to have said of the momentous occasion: "the war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."
One of the more humorous (although certainly not at the time) episodes, albeit unintentionally, as the book notes, and as the photos attest, were the actions of some of the personnel in attendance, who began acting like enterprising souvenir hunters. Immediately following the formal signing of the surrender, they began to purchase (and others to "liberate," as the book states) from the owner items associated with the event, such as the table on which Grant had drafted the surrender document, for a reported $20 in gold, and a larger, marble-top table where Lee had signed it, which was purchased by Major General Ord for $40. Others just shoved money into McLean's hands as they made off with his property, despite his protests, which fell on deaf ears.
The aforementioned small table, used by Grant, was purchased by Philip Sheridan - who, in turn, asked one George Armstrong Custer to transport it astride his horse; of course, he did, as he had already garnered a reputation for outlandish stunts - carting off a table on horseback was no mean feat for the soon-to-be-infamous Custer, who would meet his end at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The table was later presented to Custer's wife, and is now on display at the National Museum of American History, in the Smithsonian collection. The book includes photographs of several of the other items, including the two chairs the generals sat in, which are likewise on display, as is Lee's impressive custom-made ceremonial sword.
McLean's house, later called the "Surrender House," did not fare well, after the war's end. McLean defaulted on the loan, so the bank seized and then sold it at public auction, in November, 1869. The house changed hands several times, before someone got the idea of making it a tourist attraction: but not in far-flung Appomattox Court House. It was even proposed that the house be moved to Chicago as an attraction at the 1893 World's Fair, but this plan never came to fruition.
Later, an even more ambitious plan saw the house dismantled and packed for shipping, with the intent of moving it to Washington, DC. However, due to a lack of funding, it sat in pieces for more than a half-century. It was rescued in 1940 by the Congress, with the creation of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument, and plans were made to reconstruct it, but measures were interrupted by WWII. Finally, reconstruction began, and in 1949, more than 80 years after the event, the McLean house was opened to the public. The dedication ceremony took place in 1950.
I won't recap all the events, but the book does a good job of hitting the highlights, and what was involved in the planning and execution of the fateful meeting between the two generals, who couldn't have been more different. This volume is more expansive than some of the others in this series, at least the version I read, and has the added benefit of numerous color photographs, drawings and documents. A major feature seems to be the generals' horses, who apparently became almost as famous as the men themselves! Perhaps the most famous was Lee's gorgeous gray American Saddlebred, Traveller, but Grant had his share of famous mounts, also, which included the son of the fastest racehorse in the country.
One thing which just about drove me crazy with this volume, however, - petty, i know, but inexcusable in a later addition which was ostensibly a revision of an earlier volume - were all of the grammatical mistakes in this volume, to the degree that the editor needs a new line of work! Misspellings, conflated words, misused terms - this one has it all, which is very surprising, considering that I haven't noticed a single error in any of the others I have read in this series. We all make them every once in a while, but the number in this book were at the point of distraction. Still a good read, however, and a capable introduction to one of the most momentous events in US history.
