Where the Civil War ended
The west side of the relic village of Appomattox Court House, seen from a distance. Barely visible in the center is the Court House building, and just to the right of it is the McLean house. In the lower left is what used to be the Richmond - Lynchburg stage road.
In the captions below, "Appomattox" refers to Appomattox Court House, not the present-day town of Appomattox, which is located three miles to the southwest, along the railroad line.
Jacqueline at the entrance to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. On the left in back is the actual Court House building itself, and on the right is the "new" jail that was built in 1870, just after the Civil War.
The Appomattox Court House building, where the visitor center is located. It was mostly destroyed by fire in 1892 and later rebuilt.
The Peers house, on the northeast side of Appomattox, where the final skirmish took place on the morning of April 9, 1865.
The (rebuilt) McLean house in Appomattox, where Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant on the afternoon of April 9, 1865. In 1893 it was dismantled by speculators who hoped to rebuild it as a museum in Washington, D.C., but this plan stalled. After World War II, the house was completely rebuilt from scratch.
The back side of the McLean house. A corner of the slaves' quarters is visible on the right.
The parlor in the McLean house where Generals Lee and Grant negotiated the terms of surrender, and signed the necessary documents. It is a sacred and awe-inspiring setting.
The terms were generous and merciful, bearing faithful witness to President Lincoln's exhortation at his second inaugural address, just one month earlier: "With malice toward none; with charity for all..."
Confederate soldiers were allowed to return to their homes after Union Army clerks recorded their names and gave them parole passes, which were printed in this tavern at Appomattox.
On April 14, 1865, two days after the surrender ceremonies were completed, President Lincoln was assassinated, making reconciliation between the North and South much more difficult than it should have been.
En route to Appomattox, we passed through some surprisingly desolate rural areas. These young pine trees are in Buckingham County, where lumber is a major industry. This is fairly typical landscape in the southern flatlands of Virginia, where pastures and croplands are relatively uncommon.
Civil war monument in the town of Buckingham.
"To commemorate the devotion and heroism of the Confederate soldiers of Buckingham County, who valued principle more than life, and fought for a cause they knew to be just."
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