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Robert E Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox


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On April 9, 1865, near Appomattox Court House, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Days earlier, Lee had abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond and the city of Petersburg; his goal was to rally the remnants of his beleaguered troops, meet Confederate reinforcements in North Carolina and resume fighting. The resulting Battle of Appomattox Court House, which lasted only a few hours, effectively brought the four-year Civil War to an end.

 

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Lee Surrenders to Grant

 

Lee and Grant, both of whom held the highest rank in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican War (1846-48) and began their dialogue by exchanging awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant had arrived in his mud-splattered field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete with sash and sword.

 

Lee asked for the terms of surrender, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. Generously, all officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important to the men were 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.

 

Quieting a band that had begun to play in celebration, Grant told his officers, “The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again.” Although scattered resistance continued for several weeks—the final skirmish of the Civil War occurred on May 12 and 13 at the Battle of Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, Texas—for all practical purposes the Civil War had come to an end.

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Draggingtree

Robert E. Lee and the American Union

By Clyde Wilson on Jan 20, 2016

 

Lee made few political statements, as befits a soldier. When he did it was almost always in private and in response to questions. The most important of such statements is his letter to Lord Acton after The War, which will be treated later. Yet Lee made two of the most important political decisions in American history. Both of which had far-reaching effects.

 

The first of these was his decision to resign from the U.S. Army and serve in defense of the invaded South.

 

Let’s dispose of the charge of treason. It is amazing that there are still at this date, a century and a half after the fact, and long after Lee was accepted as a premier American hero, people who throw out this accusation. Through the mystery of the internet, I have been hearing from such people fairly often. Those who declare Lee an irredeemable traitor nearly always use violent, hateful language against Lee or myself or both. Such people’s ignorance of the founding principles of the United States is truly pitiable. Scissors-32x32.png

https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/clyde-wilson-library/robert-e-lee-and-the-american-union/

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