The Surrender at Appomattox Court House
If we go back a few years to the first great battle of the Civil War, that would be in July of 1861. The Battle of Bull Run, which took place at Manassas Junction, or Bull Run Creek, was just outside a man named Wilmer McLean's farm. Wilmer McClean was a man who wanted to settle down in peace, and had chosen a home near Manassas Junction. While a few Confederate officers were going to have dinner with him, a Union shell zoomed throught the roof of his home and landed in a kettle of stew and exploded. Manassas was a good spot to control because of its railroad lines, and both sides wanted control of it. After the battle, a year later another battle was fought there, Bull Run II. McLean had enough, and decided to move as far away from the war as possible. He moved to a village called Appomattox Court House.
Years later, in 1865, McLean met with the armies again. A Rebel officer was searching for a room to have an important meeting in, and McLean showed him an emtpy building; however, it wasn't good enough. So McLean showed him his home, and it was suitable enough. In Wilmer McLean's front parlor, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lieutenant-General Ulysses Simpson Grant. It was there where the unification of the nation was to begin. McLean later is assumed to have said, "The war began in my dining room and ended in my parlor."
April 9, 1865, wearing his best uniform and best sword wtih a handle shaped like a lion's head, General Lee met up with General Grant. According to the rules of war, the surrendering general had to give up his sword to the winner. Lee that. But he was proud of his soldiers, he was proud of himself during this war. He and his men had fough long and hard during those many years. Robert E. Lee still held his dignity and courage; the Confederates needed not to apologize, for "they fought as well as men can fight." Grant felt bad for Lee; they had fought so valiently. His feelings of that day were described in his memoir: "I felt...sad at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and so valiantly, and had suffeered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, on of the worst for which a people ever fought."
Grant wrote the official surrender terms that were, too many, much too generous. The Southern soldiers could go home and had to not fight against the country again and wouldn't be prosecuted for treason. Grant inserted a phrase in the terms that said that Lee did not have to give up his handsome sword; Lee would be keeping it strapped to his side. General Grant's excuse for this was that they were now part of their family, part of their nations, their "brothers" once again.
There was something else, something more subtle, that happened at the surrender. After the singing of all the papers was done, Lee was introduced to Grant's staff. One of the Union general's aides was a man named Lieutenant Colonel Ely Parker. His skin was copper-toned; he was a Seneca Iroquois Native American. Lee commented on him, "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker replied firmly, "We are all Americans."
This seemed to open Lee's eyes, which led him to understand why so many Americans were willing to die in this war, serving in the Union. We are all Americans. There was something about us, Americans, that set us apart from other nations. We started out with an idea, while most others started off with barons and kings. We started with a declaration of "all men are created equal." But the Constitution did not guarantee that. This war, this war that killed many people, it led to a guarantee in the Constitution that we are all Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments would soon be passed. The would make sure that we are all Americans. They would give, as Lincoln called it, "a new birth of freedom."
Years later, in 1865, McLean met with the armies again. A Rebel officer was searching for a room to have an important meeting in, and McLean showed him an emtpy building; however, it wasn't good enough. So McLean showed him his home, and it was suitable enough. In Wilmer McLean's front parlor, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lieutenant-General Ulysses Simpson Grant. It was there where the unification of the nation was to begin. McLean later is assumed to have said, "The war began in my dining room and ended in my parlor."
April 9, 1865, wearing his best uniform and best sword wtih a handle shaped like a lion's head, General Lee met up with General Grant. According to the rules of war, the surrendering general had to give up his sword to the winner. Lee that. But he was proud of his soldiers, he was proud of himself during this war. He and his men had fough long and hard during those many years. Robert E. Lee still held his dignity and courage; the Confederates needed not to apologize, for "they fought as well as men can fight." Grant felt bad for Lee; they had fought so valiently. His feelings of that day were described in his memoir: "I felt...sad at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and so valiantly, and had suffeered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, on of the worst for which a people ever fought."
Grant wrote the official surrender terms that were, too many, much too generous. The Southern soldiers could go home and had to not fight against the country again and wouldn't be prosecuted for treason. Grant inserted a phrase in the terms that said that Lee did not have to give up his handsome sword; Lee would be keeping it strapped to his side. General Grant's excuse for this was that they were now part of their family, part of their nations, their "brothers" once again.
There was something else, something more subtle, that happened at the surrender. After the singing of all the papers was done, Lee was introduced to Grant's staff. One of the Union general's aides was a man named Lieutenant Colonel Ely Parker. His skin was copper-toned; he was a Seneca Iroquois Native American. Lee commented on him, "I am glad to see one real American here." Parker replied firmly, "We are all Americans."
This seemed to open Lee's eyes, which led him to understand why so many Americans were willing to die in this war, serving in the Union. We are all Americans. There was something about us, Americans, that set us apart from other nations. We started out with an idea, while most others started off with barons and kings. We started with a declaration of "all men are created equal." But the Constitution did not guarantee that. This war, this war that killed many people, it led to a guarantee in the Constitution that we are all Americans. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments would soon be passed. The would make sure that we are all Americans. They would give, as Lincoln called it, "a new birth of freedom."