General Robert E. Lee to James A. Seddon, December 10, 1864

PETERSBURG, December 10, 1864.

About noon yesterday the First Division of Second Corps of enemy, supporting their cavalry, forced back our cavalry pickets on the Vaughan road south of the Appomattox and advanced toward Dinwiddie Court-House. To-day our cavalry, re-enforced by infantry, drove them back across Hatcher's Run, capturing a few prisoners, and re-established our lines. General Longstreet made a reconnaissance of enemy's lines to-day on north side of James River as far as New Market Heights, driving in their pickets, and found them fortified along the whole distance.

R. E. LEE.

Hon. J. A. SEDDON,
        Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 42, Part 1 (Serial No. 87), p. 855

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: December 12, 1864

Clear and cold. Ice half an inch thick.

Gen. Longstreet is again in the old lines on this side of the river. The reconnoissance, however, is said to have been successful. Only a few were killed and wounded on either side.

And Grant's column was turned back from Meherrin bridge. Results of the movement unimportant, and the supposition is that both armies will now go into winter quarters, after a taste of this rigorous weather.

It is rumored and believed (though I have seen no dispatch to that effect) that Sherman has beaten and out-manoeuvred our generals, and got into communication with the Federal fleet.

I read President Lincoln's message carefully last night. By its commissions and omissions on Mexican affairs, I think he means to menace Louis Napoleon, who may speak out January 1st, 1865. Lincoln says:

"Mexico continues to be a theater of civil war. While our political relations with that country have undergone no change, we have at the same time strictly maintained neutrality between the belligerents."

And his reference to England is so equivocal, and his grouping of the Central and South American Republics so prominent, and the boastful allusion to the "inexhaustible" resources of the United States, may be considered as a premeditated threat to Great Britain.

A "confidential" letter came in to-day from Mr. Benjamin to the Secretary of War.

Dr. Powell has sent us a dozen rutabaga turnips, and a couple of quarts of excellent persimmons, which the family enjoys most thankfully.

Dispatches from Lee:

"HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

'December 10th, 1864.

"HON. JAMES A. SEDDON, SECRETARY of War.

 

"Gen. Hampton, after driving the enemy's cavalry upon his infantry, on the afternoon of the 8th, recrossed the Nottoway and reached Bellfield at daylight yesterday.

 

"In the afternoon the enemy attacked the position, but were successfully resisted. This morning the enemy is reported retiring and Hampton following.

 

"The bridge over the Meherrin was saved. Our loss, as far as known, was small. The garrison, under Garnett, and the reserves, behaved well.        R. E. LEE."

 

"HEADQUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

"December 10th, 1864.

"HON. JAMES A. SEDDON, SECREetary of War.

"About noon yesterday the first division of the Second Corps of the enemy, supporting their cavalry, forced back our cavalry pickets on the Vaughan Road, south of the Appomattox, and advanced toward Dinwiddie Court House.

 

'To-day our cavalry, reinforced by infantry, drove them back across Hatcher's Run, capturing a few prisoners and re-establishing our lines.           R. E. LEE."

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 352-3

Brevet Major-General George Armstrong Custer to the Soldiers of the 3rd Cavalry Division, April 9, 1865

HEADQUARTERS THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION,       

Appomattox Court-House, Va., April 9, 1865.

SOLDIERS OF THE THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION:

With profound gratitude toward the God of battles, by whose blessings our enemies have been humbled and our arms rendered triumphant, your commanding general avails himself of this his first opportunity to express to you his admiration of the heroic manner in which you have passed through the series of battles which to-day resulted in the surrender of the enemy's entire army. The record established by your indomitable courage is unparalleled in the annals of war. Your prowess has won for you even the respect and admiration of your enemies. During the past six months, although in most instances confronted by superior numbers, you have captured from the enemy in open battle 111 pieces of field artillery, 65 battle-flags, and upward of 10,000 prisoners of war, including general officers. Within the past ten days, and included in the above, you have captured 46 pieces of field artillery and 37 battle-flags. You have never lost a gun, never lost a color, and have never been defeated, and notwithstanding the numerous engagements in which you have borne a prominent part, including those memorable battles of the Shenandoah, you have captured every piece of artillery which the enemy has dared to open upon you. The near approach of peace renders it improbable that you will again be called upon to undergo the fatigues of the toilsome march, or the exposure of the battle-field, but should the assistance of keen blades, wielded by your sturdy arms, be required to hasten the coming of that glorious peace for which we have been so long contending, the general commanding is proudly confident that in the future, as in the past, every demand will meet with a hearty and willing response. Let us hope that our work is done, and that, blessed with the comforts of peace, we may soon be permitted to enjoy the pleasures of home and friends.

For our comrades who have fallen, let us ever cherish a grateful remembrance. To the wounded and to those who languish in Southern prisons, let our heartfelt sympathies be tendered.

And now, speaking for myself alone, when the war is ended and the task of the historian begins; when those deeds of daring which have rendered the name and fame of the Third Cavalry Division imperishable, are inscribed upon the bright pages of our country's history, I only ask that my name may be written, as that of the commander of the Third Cavalry Division.

G. A. CUSTER,

Brevet Major-General.

Official:

            L. W. Barnhart

                        Captain and A. A. A. G.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 1 (Serial No. 95), p. 1133-4  Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 156

Diary of Captain Luman Harris Tenney: April 8, 1865

Moved out early and met the 2nd Div., Crook's, at Prospect Station on R. R. A beautiful day. Troops all cheer for Custer. Captured at Appomattox Station 4 trains of cars, charged and captured 24 pieces of artillery and heavy train of wagons after fighting until 10 P. M. Did not stop till reached rebel camp at Appomattox C. H. Horse hit by a shell and I struck by a spent ball.

SOURCE: Frances Andrews Tenney, War Diary Of Luman Harris Tenney, p. 155-6

Diary of 1st Lieutenant Lemuel A. Abbott: Monday, September 19, 1864 – Part 16

But Lee never in war arose to such sublime heights if indeed ever in a military sense.

Even Longstreet's Chief of Artillery, General Alexander, a man of splendid sense and judgment, in his “Military Memoirs of a Confederate,” holds that the real crisis of the War did not occur until Grant's movement against Petersburg, which is correct, and that his strategy in that campaign was well planned and successfully executed. He acknowledges that Grant completely out-manoeuvered Lee for the last three days during the Petersburg movement, thus saving his army from attack by the combined forces of Lee and Beauregard, which is also correct. Imagine Lee's disappointment when he found out what had been going on after Grant had crossed the James river! It completely checkmated him, even his last kick — Early's Shenandoah Valley campaign — proving worse than a failure it so weakened Lee's army. Think you Lee then thought himself a greater field marshal than Grant? Or after being continually flanked by him from the Rapidan to Petersburg and later to Appomattox where his surrender occurred?

In bringing up this matter at this opportune time when contrasts can be sharply and tellingly drawn as at Winchester and Gettysburg, my purpose has not been to disparage anyone unfairly, but to get at the truth as I see it for the sake of true history. So long a time has elapsed since the war that I look upon it and its actors dispassionately, and I can award praise or censure on either side whenever deserved with calmness and impartiality. Therefore if, as a veteran, I have advanced any new ideas on a subject necessarily somewhat perplexing to the general public, at any period, my object in treating it will have been accomplished.

Possibly there may be some excuse for such as did not fight in the Army of the Potomac three years and have not read the latest history on the Civil War and made it a study, erring in their estimates of the leaders in that conflict. I always, even during the war, thought the South had abler men to command its army of Northern Virginia even in that army than Lee, but none more lovely in disposition and character. He was a good man and good but not a great general; and, much less, in the same class with Marlborough, Wellington, and others of modern wars, or Grant, Sheridan, and others of the Civil War, which facts prove. Any man who is a military expert familiar with the subject both from participation, history and study, if of good judgment and honest, will readily concede this. Lee's distinguished lineage has nothing to do with his military history. He should be judged on his own merits in such a way, but his antecedents and charming personal character seemingly makes it difficult for most writers to place him in a military sense where he belongs. In my opinion, all things being equal, he was no match for Grant.

SOURCE: Lemuel Abijah Abbott, Personal Recollections and Civil War Diary, 1864, p. 207-9

Parole of Louis T. Wigfall, alias J. A. White, April 10, 1865

appomattox Court House, Va.,

April 10th, 1865.

The Bearer, pri. J. A. White, of Co. M. First Regt. of Texas Vols., a paroled Prisoner of the Army of Northern Virginia, has permission to go to his home, and there remain undisturbed.

Jno. N. Wilson, Capt.

commdg.

SOURCE: Louise Wigfall Wright, A Southern Girl in ’61, p. 243

Diary of Margaret Junkin Preston: April 10, 1865

News has come that Lee's army has surrendered! We are struck dumb with astonishment! Why then all these four years of suffering — of separations — of horror — of blood — of havoc — of awful bereavement! Why these ruined homes — these broken family circles — these scenes of terror that must scathe the brain of those who witnessed them till their dying day! Why is our dear Willy in his uncoffined grave? Why poor Frank to go through life with one arm? Is it wholly and forever in vain? God only knows!

SOURCE: Elizabeth Preston Allan, The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston, p. 207-8

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, April 23, 1865

On Board River Queen In Potomac River

April 23, 1865

I think I must write you a letter, though it may get to you not much before the winter, to tell of the end of our campaign. Monday April 10 is a day worthy of description, because I saw the remains of our great opponent, the Army of Northern Virginia. The General proposed to ride through the Rebel lines to General Grant, who was at Appomattox Court House; and he took George and myself as aides; a great chance! for the rest were not allowed to go, no communication being permitted between the armies. At 10.30 we rode off, and, passing along the stage road, soon got to the picket line, where a row of our men were talking comfortably with an opposite row of theirs. There the General sent me ahead to see some general of theirs who might give us a guide through the lines. I rode a little beyond a wood, and came on several regiments, camped there. The arms were neatly stacked and the well-known battle-flags were planted by the arms. The men, looking tired and indifferent, were grouped here and there. I judged they had nothing to eat, for there was no cooking going on. A mounted officer was shown me as General Field, and to him I applied. He looked something like Captain Sleeper, but was extremely moody, though he at once said he would ride back himself to General Meade, by whom he was courteously received, which caused him to thaw out considerably. We rode about a mile and then turned off to General Lee's Headquarters, which consisted in one fly with a camp-fire in front. I believe he had lost most of his baggage in some of the trains, though his establishment is at all times modest. He had ridden out, but, as we turned down the road again, we met him coming up, with three or four Staff officers. As he rode up General Meade took off his cap and said: “Good-morning, General.” Lee, however, did not recognize him, and, when he found who it was, said: “But what are you doing with all that grey in your beard?” To which Meade promptly replied: “You have to answer for most of it!” Lee is, as all agree, a stately-looking man; tall, erect and strongly built, with a full chest. His hair and closely trimmed beard, though thick, are now nearly white. He has a large and well-shaped head, with a brown, clear eye, of unusual depth. His face is sunburnt and rather florid. In manner he is exceedingly grave and dignified — this, I believe, he always has; but there was evidently added an extreme depression, which gave him the air of a man who kept up his pride to the last, but who was entirely overwhelmed. From his speech I judge he was inclined to wander in his thoughts. You would not have recognized a Confederate officer from his dress, which was a blue military overcoat, a high grey hat, and well-brushed riding boots.

As General Meade introduced his two aides, Lee put out his hand and saluted us with all the air of the oldest blood in the world. I did not think, when I left, in '63, for Germantown, that I should ever shake the hand of Robert E. Lee, prisoner of war! He held a long conference with General Meade, while I stood over a fire, with his officers, in the rain. Colonel Marshall, one of his aides, was a very sensible and gentlemanly man, and seemed in good spirits. He told me that, at one time during the retreat, he got no sleep for seventy-two hours, the consequence of which was that his brain did not work at all, or worked all wrong. A quartermaster came up to him and asked by what route he should move his train: to which Marshall replied, in a lucid manner: “Tell the Captain that I should have sent that cane as a present to his baby; but I could not, because the baby turned out to be a girl instead of a boy!” We were talking there together, when there appeared a great oddity — an old man, with an angular, much-wrinkled face, and long, thick white hair, brushed a la Calhoun; a pair of silver spectacles and a high felt hat further set off the countenance, while the legs kept up their claim of eccentricity by encasing themselves in grey blankets, tied somewhat in a bandit fashion. The whole made up no less a person than Henry A. Wise, once Governor of the loyal state of Virginia, now Brigadier-General and prisoner of war. By his first wife he is Meade's brother-in-law, and had been sent for to see him. I think he is punished already enough: old, sick, impoverished, a prisoner, with nothing to live for, not even his son, who was killed at Roanoke Island, he stood there in his old, wet, grey blanket, glad to accept at our hands a pittance of biscuit and coffee, to save him and his Staff from starvation! While they too talked, I asked General Lee after his son “Roonie,”¹ who was about there somewhere. It was the “Last Ditch” indeed! He too is punished enough: living at this moment at Richmond, on the food doled out to him by our government, he gets his ration just like the poorest negro in the place! We left Lee, and kept on through the sad remnants of an army that has its place in history. It would have looked a mighty host, if the ghosts of all its soldiers that now sleep between Gettysburg and Lynchburg could have stood there in the lines, beside the living.

_______________

¹ He was at Harvard with Lyman.

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 359-62

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, April 9, 1865

April 9, 1865

We all were up, according to habit, about daylight, with horses saddled, having staid near Stute's house for the night. In reply to a summons from Grant, Lee has sent in a note to say that he would meet Grant at ten A.M. to confer on measures for peace. The Lieutenant-General answered that he had no authority in the premises and refused the interview; but repeated his offer to accept the army's surrender on parole. Indeed, we suspected his affairs were from bad to worse, for last night we could hear, just at sunset, the distant cannon of Sheridan. He, with his cavalry, had made a forced march on Appomattox Station, where he encountered the head of the Rebel column (consisting, apparently, for the most part of artillery), charged furiously on it, and took twenty cannon and 1000 prisoners; and checked its progress for that night, during which time the 24th and 5th Corps, by strenuous marching, came up and formed line of battle quite across the Lynchburg road, west of Appomattox C.H. Betimes this morning, the enemy, thinking that nothing but cavalry was in their front, advanced to cut their way through, and were met by the artillery and musketry of two corps in position — (Ah! there goes a band playing "Dixie" in mockery. It is a real carnival!) This seems to have struck them with despair. Their only road blocked in front, and Humphreys's skirmishers dogging their footsteps! Well, we laid the General in his ambulance (he has been sick during the whole week, though now much better) and at 6.30 A.M. the whole Staff was off, at a round trot — (90 miles have I trotted and galloped after that Lee, and worn holes in my pantaloons, before I could get him to surrender!). An hour after, we came on the 6th Corps streaming into the main road from the upper one. A little ahead of this we halted to talk with General Wright. At 10.30 came, one after the other, two negroes, who said that some of our troops entered Lynchburg yesterday; and that Lee was now cut off near Appomattox Court House. This gave us new wings! An aide-de-camp galloped on, to urge Humphreys to press the pursuit, and all waggons were ordered out of the road, that the 6th Corps might close in immediately on his rear. Away went the General again, full tilt, along the road crowded by the infantry, every man of whom was footing it, as if a lottery prize lay just ahead! A bugler trotted ahead, blowing to call the attention of the troops, while General Webb followed, crying, “Give way to the right! Give way to the right!” Thus we ingeniously worked our way, amid much pleasantry. “Fish for sale!” roared one doughboy. “Yes,” joined in a pithy comrade, “and a tarnation big one, too!” The comments on the General were endless. “That's Meade.” “Yes, that's him.” “Is he sick?” “I expect he is; he looks kinder wild!” “Guess the old man hain't had much sleep lately.” The heavy artillery firing we had earlier heard, now had suddenly ceased, and there was a perfect stillness — a suspicious circumstance that gave us new hope. Somewhat before noon we got to General Humphreys, some five miles east of the Court House and at the very head of his men. He reported that he had just struck the enemy's skirmish line, and was preparing to drive them back. At that moment an officer rode up and said the enemy were out with a white flag. “They shan't stop me!” retorted the fiery H.; “receive the message but push on the skirmishers!” Back came the officer speedily, with a note. General Lee stated that General Ord had agreed to a suspension of hostilities, and he should ask for the same on this end, of the line. “Hey! what!” cried General Meade, in his harsh, suspicious voice, “I have no sort of authority to grant such suspension. General Lee has already refused the terms of General Grant. Advance your skirmishers, Humphreys, and bring up your troops. We will pitch into them at once!” But lo! here comes now General Forsyth, who had ridden through the Rebel army, from General Sheridan (under a flag), and who now urged a brief suspension. “Well,” said the General, “in order that you may get back to Sheridan, I will wait till two o'clock, and then, if I get no communication from General Lee, I shall attack!” So back went Forsyth, with a variety of notes and despatches. We waited, not without excitement, for the appointed hour. Meantime, negroes came in and said the Rebel pickets had thrown down their muskets and gone leisurely to their main body; also that the Rebels were “done gone give up.” Presently, the General pulled out his watch and said: “Two o'clock — no answer — go forward.” But they had not advanced far, before we saw a Rebel and a Union officer coming in. They bore an order from General Grant to halt the troops. Major Wingate, of General Lee's Staff, was a military-looking man, dressed in a handsome grey suit with gold lace, and a gold star upon the collar. He was courageous, but plainly mortified to the heart. “We had done better to have burnt our whole train three days ago”; he said bitterly. “In trying to save a train, we have lost an army!” And there he struck the pith of the thing. And so we continued to wait till about five, during which time General Humphreys amused us with presents of Confederate notes, of which we found a barrel full (!) in the Rebel waggons. It was a strange spectacle, to see the officers laughing and giving each other $500 notes of a government that has been considered as firmly established by our English friends!

About five came Major Pease. “The Army of Northern Virginia has surrendered!” Headed by General Webb, we gave three cheers, and three more for General Meade. Then he mounted and rode through the 2d and 6th Corps. Such a scene followed as I can never see again. The soldiers rushed, perfectly crazy, to the roadside, and there crowding in dense masses, shouted, screamed, yelled, threw up their hats and hopped madly up and down! The batteries were run out and began firing, the bands played, the flags waved. The noise of the cheering was such that my very ears rang. And there was General Meade galloping about and waving his cap with the best of them! Poor old Robert Lee! His punishment is too heavy — to hear those cheers, and to remember what he once was! My little share of this work is done. God willing, before many weeks, or even days, I shall be at home, to campaign no more!

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 355-8

Major-General George G. Meade to The Army of the Potomac, June 28, 1865

Headquarters Army Of The Potomac, June 28, 1865.

Soldiers:

This day, two years, I assumed command of you, under the order of the President of the United States. To-day, by virtue of the same authority, this army ceasing to exist, I have to announce my transfer to other duties, and my separation from you.

It is unnecessary to enumerate here all that has occurred in these two eventful years, from the grand and decisive Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the war, to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. Suffice it to say that history will do you justice, a grateful country will honor the living, cherish and support the disabled, and sincerely mourn the dead.

In parting from you, your commanding general will ever bear in memory your noble devotion to your country, your patience and cheerfulness under all the privations and sacrifices you have been called upon to endure.

Soldiers! having accomplished the work set before us, having vindicated the honor and integrity of our Government and flag, let us return thanks to Almighty God for His blessing in granting us victory and peace; and let us sincerely pray for strength and light to discharge our duties as citizens, as we have endeavored to discharge them as soldiers.

Geo. G. Meade,

Major General, U. S. A.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 282

Major-General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, April 10, 1865

Headquarters Army Of The Potomac,

Appomattox Court House, April 10, 1865.

The telegram will have announced to you the surrender of Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia. This I consider virtually ends the war. I have been to-day in the rebel camp; saw Lee, Longstreet, and many others, among them Mr. Wise.¹ They were all affable and cordial, and uniformly said that, if any conciliatory policy was extended to the South, peace would be at once made. Mr. Wise looked old and feeble, said he was very sick, and had not a mouthful to eat. I secured him the privilege of an ambulance to go home in, and on my return to camp immediately despatched George² with an ambulance load of provisions to him. He enquired very affectionately after yourself, your mother and all the family.

The officers and men are to be paroled and allowed to go to their homes, where they all say they mean to stay. Lee's army was reduced to a force of less than ten thousand effective armed men. We had at least fifty thousand around him, so that nothing but madness would have justified further resistance.

I have been quite sick, but I hope now, with a little rest and quiet, to get well again. I have had a malarious catarrh, which has given me a great deal of trouble. I have seen but few newspapers since this movement commenced, and I don't want to see any more, for they are full of falsehood and of undue and exaggerated praise of certain individuals who take pains to be on the right side of the reporters. Don't worry yourself about this; treat it with contempt. It cannot be remedied, and we should be resigned. I don't believe the truth ever will be known, and I have a great contempt for History. Only let the war be finished, and I returned to you and the dear children, and I will be satisfied.

Our casualties have been quite insignificant in comparison with the results. I don't believe in all the operations since we commenced on the 29th that we have lost as many men as we did on that unfortunate day, the 31st July, the day of the Petersburg mine.

_______________

¹ Hemy A. Wise, brother-in-law of Mrs. Meade.

² Son of General Meade.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 270-1

Special Orders, No. –, Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, April 10, 1865

SPECIAL ORDERS No. –.

HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VA.,

April 10, 1865.

The following order is published for the information of all parties concerned:

SPECIAL ORDERS No. –.

HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

In the Field, April 10, 1865.

All officers and men of the Confederate service paroled at Appomattox Court House who to reach their homes are compelled to pass through the lines of the Union armies, will be allowed to do so, and to pass free on all Government transports and military railroads.

By command of Lieutenant-General Grant:

E. S. PARKER,

Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.

By command of General R. E. Lee:

 C. S. VENABLE,

 Assistant Adjutant-General.

SOURCE: Arthur Caswell Parker, The Life of General Ely S. Parker, p. 140; The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 1392

Special Orders, No. 73, Headquarters Armies of the United States, April 10, 1865

SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 73.}

HDQRS. ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

In the Field, April 10, 1865.

I. All officers and men of the Confederate service paroled at Appomattox Court-House, Va., who, to reach their homes, are compelled to pass through the lines of the Union armies, will be allowed to do so, and to pass free on all Government transports and military railroads.

II. Bvt. Brig. Gen. R. H. Jackson, U.S. Volunteers, is hereby assigned to duty according to his brevet rank, by authority of the Secretary of War.

By command of Lieutenant-General Grant:

 E. S. PARKER,

 Lieutenant-Colonel and Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

SOURCE: Arthur Caswell Parker, The Life of General Ely S. Parker, p. 139-40; The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 687

Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to Robert E. Lee, June 20, 1865

HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

Washington, June 20, 1865.

General R. E. LEE,

Richmond, Va.:

Your communications of date of the 13th instant, stating the steps you had taken after reading the President's proclamation of the 29th ultimo, with a view of complying with its provisions when you learned that, with others, you were to be indicted for treason by the grand jury at Norfolk; that you had supposed the officers and men of the Army of Northern Virginia were by the terms of their surrender protected by the United States Government from molestation so long as they conformed to its conditions; that you were ready to meet any charges that might be preferred against you, and did not wish to avoid trial, but that if you were correct as to the protection granted by your parole, and were not to be prosecuted, you desired to avail yourself of the President's amnesty proclamation, and inclosing an application therefor, with the request that in that event it be acted on, has been received and forwarded to the Secretary of War, with the following opinion indorsed thereon by me:

In my opinion the officers and men paroled at Appomattox Court-House, and since, upon the same terms given to Lee, cannot be tried for treason so long as they observe the terms of their parole. This is my understanding. Good faith, as well as true policy, dictates that we should observe the conditions of that convention. Bad faith on the part of the Government, or a construction of that convention subjecting the officers to trial for treason, would produce a feeling of insecurity in the minds of all the paroled officers and men. If so disposed they might even regard such an infraction of terms by the Government as an entire release from all obligations on their part. I will state further that the terms granted by me met with the hearty approval of the President at the time, and of the country generally. The action of Judge Underwood, in Norfolk, has already had an injurious effect, and I would ask that he be ordered to quash all indictments found against paroled prisoners of war, and to desist from the farther prosecution of them.

This opinion, I am informed, is substantially the same as that entertained by the Government. I have forwarded your application for amnesty and pardon to the President, with the following indorsement thereon:

Respectfully forwarded through the Secretary of War to the President, with the earnest recommendation that this application of General R. E. Lee for amnesty and pardon may be granted him. The oath of allegiance required by recent order of the President to accompany applications does not accompany this for the reason, as I am informed by General Ord, the order requiring it had not reached Richmond when this was forwarded.

 U. S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 1286-7

General Robert E. Lee to Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, April 9, 1865

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

April 9, 1865.

Lieut. Gen. U.S. GRANT,

Commanding Armies of the United States:

GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 R. E. LEE,

General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 666

General Robert E. Lee, April 2, 1865

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

April 2, 1865.

Generals Longstreet's and Hill's corps will cross the pontoon bridge at Battersea Factory, and take the River road, north side of Appomattox, to Bevill's Bridge to-night. General Gordon's corps will cross at Pocahontas and railroad bridges, his troops taking Hickory road, following General Longstreet to Bevill's Bridge, and his wagons taking the Woodpecker road to Old Colville, endeavoring not to interfere with Mahone's troops from Chesterfield Court-House, who will take the same road. General Mahone's division will take the road to Chesterfield Court-House, thence by Old Colville to Goode's Bridge. Mahone's wagons will precede him on the same road or take some road to his right. General Ewell's command will cross the James River at and below Richmond, taking the road to Branch Church, via Gregory's, to Genito road, via Genito Bridge to Amelia Court-House. The wagons from Richmond will take the Manchester pike and Buckingham road, via Meadville, to Amelia Court-House. The movement of all troops will commence at 8 o'clock, the artillery moving out quietly first, infantry following, except the pickets, who will be withdrawn at 3 o'clock. The artillery not required with the troops will be moved by the roads prescribed for the wagons, or such other as may be most convenient. Every officer is expected to give his unremitting attention to cause the movement to be made successfully.

By order of General Lee:

 W. H. TAYLOR,

 Assistant Adjutant-General.

After all the infantry and artillery have crossed, Pocahontas and Campbell's Bridges will be destroyed by the engineers. The pontoon bridge at Battersea Factory and the railroad bridges will be reserved for the pickets.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 1379; John William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee: Soldier and Man, p. 364

Review: Grant vs. Lee, The Graphic History of the Civil War’s Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War

Grant vs. Lee: The Graphic History of the Civil War’s

Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War

by Wayne Vansant

On Wednesday, May 4, 1864 the Army of the Potomac, crossed the Rapidan River in north-central Virginia.  It was the last year of the war and the beginning of its end.  Newly installed General-in-Chief of the Union Army, Ulysses S. Grant determined the only way to win the war was to make it a war of attrition, to outlast and outwit his Confederate opponent commanding the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee.  No longer would the Army of the Potomac retreat after a defeat, it would now only move southward.  The war’s final eleven months would prove to be its bloodiest and most destructive.

Wayne Vansant’s graphic novel, “Grant vs. Lee: The Graphic History of the Civil War’s Greatest Rivals During the Last Year of the War,” is an excellent tutorial on the war’s final year.  It follows Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign and covers the battles of The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor, to the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia.  The Petersburg Campaign is neatly folded in, and includes the Battle of the Crater, The Beefsteak Raid, and the Confederate breakout attempt at Fort Steadman.  After the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia the book concludes with the Appomattox Campaign and the Battle of Five Forks, and the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.

“Grant vs. Lee” is told from both the Northern and Southern perspectives, and is just as much about the slow and steady retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia and how General Robert E. Lee tried to blunt Grant’s advances, as it is about the southward trek of the Army of the Potomac.

At 104 pages, it does not by any means encompass all of the events and personalities portrayed between its covers, but rather serves as a small sampler of each of its topics.  It can be easily read in an afternoon, and because of its graphic novel format it is a perfect starting place for younger readers interested in the war as well as older readers who are unschooled on the war.

ISBN 978-0760345313, Zenith Graphic Histories, © 2013, Paperback, Illustrated, 104 pages, $19.99.  To purchase this book please click HERE.

Senator John Sherman to Major General William T. Sherman, April 11, 1865

[Ohio, April 11, 1865]

The news from Grant is so glorious that the whole country is wild with joy.

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 246