PURSUIT OF LEE’S ARMY STILL CONTINUED—SURRENDER OF THE ARMY OF
NORTHERN VIRGINIA AT APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE—SIXTH CORPS MARCH TO
DANVILLE.
The morning of the 7th still found our troops in hot pursuit of Lee’s
retreating army. Crook’s cavalry division overtook the main body of the
Confederates at Farmville, and promptly attacked their trains on the
north side of the Appomattox, with Gregg’s brigade. The enemy fiercely
turned upon our forces, compelling them to recross the river, and
captured a number of prisoners, among them Gregg himself. It was
apparent that Lee had abandoned all effort to escape to the southwest by
the way of Danville. He was no doubt endeavoring to make Lynchburg his
objective point now. Sheridan determined to throw his cavalry across his
path, and hold him till the infantry could overtake him.
On this morning Battery H moved with the corps toward Farmville, where
it arrived about four P. M. Our infantry skirmished with the enemy
successfully, and passing through this beautiful little village camped
on the heights beyond.
Several of the chief officers of the fleeing army had met around a
bivouac fire on the night of the 6th, and concluded that a capitulation
was inevitable. They saw the hopelessness of the contest. Even if they
could cut through the host of pursuers following so sharp upon their
trail, they could only do so by the sacrifice of their remaining guns
and munitions, and in a state of utter inefficiency from famine. General
Lee was not present at this council, but its judgment was subsequently
made known to him.
General Grant, who was now at Farmville, spared General Lee the pain of
first proposing a surrender of his army, and addressed him a letter to
that effect, saying: “The result of the last week must convince you of
the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of
Northern Virginia.” General Lee replied that he did not entertain the
opinion of Grant concerning “the hopelessness of further resistance,”
but reciprocated his desire “to avoid useless effusion of blood,” and
asked what terms would be offered on condition of the surrender of his
(Lee’s) army. To this Grant responded, “Peace being my great desire,
there is but one condition, that the men and officers surrendered shall
be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United
States until properly exchanged.”
Receiving no immediate reply, the pursuit was continued on the 8th.
Sheridan now pushed his cavalry along the roads parallel to the railroad
leading to Appomattox Station, followed by General Ord’s command and the
Fifth Corps. The Sixth Corps moved rapidly to the small village called
Prospect Station, where we made a brief halt, and then marched a few
miles out and encamped for the night on Farmville Heights.
At midnight of the 8th General Grant received a communication from
General Lee stating that he did not agree with Grant that the “emergency
has arisen to call for the surrender of this army, but as the
restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desire to know
whether your proposals would lead to that end.”
On the morning of the 9th General Grant returned him an answer as
follows: “I have no authority to treat for peace.... I will state,
however, General, that I am equally anxious for peace with yourself, and
the whole North entertains the same feeling. The terms upon which peace
can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms they
will hasten that most desirable event, save thousands of lives, and
hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Seriously hoping
that all our difficulties may be settled without the loss of another
life, I subscribe myself, etc.”
General Grant, immediately after sending this message to Lee, started to
join the column south of the Appomattox River. Early in the morning
Battery H with the Sixth Corps moved out and advanced along the narrow
road leading to Appomattox Court House. Late in the evening of the 8th,
General Sheridan had struck the railroad at Appomattox Station, drove
the enemy from there, and captured twenty-five pieces of artillery, a
hospital train, and four trains of cars loaded with supplies for Lee’s
army. Sheridan, in a characteristic dispatch to Grant, says: “Custer is
still pushing on. If General Gibbon and the Fifth Corps can get up
to-night, we will perhaps finish the job in the morning.” The following
morning General Ord’s command and the Fifth Corps reached Appomattox
Station just as the enemy was making a desperate effort to break through
our cavalry. The infantry was at once thrown in. Sheridan then moved his
troops around to the enemy’s left and decided to attack at once. Just as
Custer’s division was forming to charge, a white flag appeared, and
Custer sent word to Sheridan: “Lee has surrendered; do not charge; the
white flag is up.” Sheridan immediately rode over to Appomattox Court
House, where he was met by General Gordon, who requested a suspension of
hostilities with the assurance that negotiations were then pending
between Generals Grant and Lee for a capitulation. General Ord then
joined the party. After shaking hands all around, and explaining the
situation to Ord, General Gordon went away, agreeing to return in half
an hour. When he came back at the appointed time he was accompanied by
General Longstreet, who brought with him a dispatch, the duplicate of
one that had been sent General Grant through General Meade’s lines back
on the road over which Lee had been retreating. This dispatch read as
follows:
“I received your note of this morning on the picket-line, whither I had
come to meet you, and ascertain definitely what terms were embraced in
your proposal of yesterday with reference to the surrender of this army.
I now ask an interview in accordance with the offer contained in your
letter of yesterday for that purpose.”
General Grant joined Sheridan and Ord about one o’clock in the
afternoon, and in company they proceeded to the dwelling of a Mr.
McClean at Appomattox Court House. The interview here between the two
commanders was brief, the business in hand frankly discussed, as became
soldiers, and the result summed up in these concluding letters:
APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE, VA.,
APRIL 9, 1865.
GENERAL: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the
8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of
Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the
officers and men to be made in duplicate: one copy to be given to an
officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such
officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their
individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the
United States until properly exchanged: and each company or
regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their
commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and
stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive
them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their
private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be
allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States
authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in
force where they may reside.
U. S. GRANT,
_Lt. Gen._
GENERAL R. E. LEE.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
APRIL 9, 1865.
GENERAL: I received you letter of this date, containing the terms of
the 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 immediately to
designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.
R. E. LEE, _General_.
Lt.-General U. S. GRANT.
Let us now return to Battery H, which was moving on the road toward
Appomattox. We had proceeded but a few miles when we heard the sound of
cannon to our right and left, and we could not rid ourselves of the
impression that the end of the continuous fighting of the past seven
days was not far off. We knew that Grant had dogged the footsteps of the
retreating foe with unrelenting vigor, and that Lee’s chances of escape
were still growing less as the Union army pushed on, but we did not
anticipate that before the sun had set on this eventful day that the
Confederate host would lay down their arms and surrender to the Union
forces.
On every side there were manifest indications of the utter
demoralization of the rebel troops. Already weakness and fatigue had
compelled many of them to throw away the arms which they were no longer
able to carry, and hundreds of Confederate soldiers were lying by the
roadside completely exhausted. A large number of cannon and ammunition
wagons were scattered around in great confusion, as the horses were too
weak to haul them, and had been cut loose. The ammunition had been
scattered broadcast, the guns spiked, and some were buried in order to
render them useless to our army. About eleven o’clock General Grant and
staff, bespattered with mud, came galloping along, and passing us,
disappeared in the direction of Appomattox. What movement was now on
foot we could only conjecture, but of this much we were confident that
the silent and modest chieftain who was riding swiftly by had Lee in his
power, and would soon bring matters to a crisis.
At ten o’clock our battery and about six thousand infantry, and cavalry
of the Sixth Corps were ordered to file off into an open field on our
right, and await further orders, and the commanding officers were
directed to proceed to headquarters about half a mile away. It was
evident that something unusual was about to transpire. We remained in
this position until about three o’clock in the afternoon, when Gen.
Frank Wheaton, our division commander, accompanied by his staff, came
riding swiftly down the road and halted before our battery, and said:
“Captain Allen, General Lee has surrendered; get your battery out on
yonder hill and fire a salute of one hundred guns.”
Captain Allen turning to his command gave the order: “Battery
attention!” He then said: “Boys, General Lee has surrendered. No more
fighting. We are going to let you go home. We have orders to fire a
salute of one hundred guns.” He then gave the command: “Drivers and
cannoneers mount—forward double-quick—march!” No words can describe the
effect of such news upon the men of our battery and the soldiers of the
infantry near us. The men shouted, threw up their hats, the infantrymen
flung down their muskets, hugged each other and rolled over on the
ground in excess of joy. The men of our battery were so excited that the
captain was compelled to repeat his order three times before it was
obeyed.
We were well pleased that to our battery was accorded the honor of
firing the first salute to celebrate the glorious victory won by the
Union arms. The good news spread rapidly along our lines, and the boys
in gray also heard the joyful tidings, and we have no doubt inwardly
rejoiced in the thought that the long struggle was ended, and all would
be allowed to return to their homes in peace.
As we review the events which transpired at this time, we are impressed
with this thought: Was ever such generous terms allowed or magnanimity
displayed as was shown by Grant to Lee’s defeated army? When informed by
Lee that his troops were suffering for want of food, Grant directed that
twenty-five thousand rations should be issued to the Confederate forces.
In the meantime our soldiers hastened to divide their rations with their
late enemies, to stay their hunger until provisions from the trains
could be drawn for them. When Grant stipulated that the officers and men
of Lee’s army should retain their horses as they would be needed in
raising a crop “to carry themselves and their families through the next
winter,” it deeply touched the heart of Lee, who said that this kind and
thoughtful act would have a happy effect upon his army. Grant did not
lose sight of the fact that these men were Americans, and his own
countrymen, and his noble soul could not suffer any indignity to be
heaped upon his misguided but gallant foes. Washington received the
surrender of the British army at Yorktown in the War of the Revolution,
although his antagonist Lord Cornwallis affected indisposition and
declined to be present in person, but Grant spared Lee this humiliation
at Appomattox, and designated three of his subordinate generals to carry
into effect the paroling of Lee’s troops, while he himself hastened to
Washington to stop the purchase of supplies, and what he deemed other
useless outlay of money.
The final parting of Lee with his soldiers who had followed him so
faithfully during the entire war is said to have been very affecting. As
the men crowded around their departing chief, he, with streaming eyes,
grasped and pressed their outstretched hands, saying: “Men, we have
fought through the war together. I have done the best that I could for
you.” There were few dry eyes among those who witnessed the scene. The
Confederates as fast as paroled took their way severally to their homes,
many of them supplied with transportation, as well as food, by the
government they had fought so long and bravely to destroy.
On the 11th of April our corps was ordered to march to Burkeville
Station. We started at eight A. M., marched several miles and encamped.
The next day, the 12th, we continued our march, and reached our
destination on the 13th. This was a charming place, evidently a large
and well ordered plantation before the war. Here we remained several
days, enjoying to the utmost a much needed rest.
On the 15th we learned with profound sorrow and great indignation of the
assassination of our beloved president Abraham Lincoln, at the hands of
the miscreant Booth. It seemed almost incredible that this generous
spirit, who in the words of his own declaration, “with charity to all,
with malice toward none,” should have met such an untimely end when he
was about to enter into the full fruition of the reward of his labors in
the preservation of a “government of the people, for the people, and by
the people.”
On the 22d of April Captain Allen forwarded the following report to the
Adjutant General of the State of Rhode Island, concerning the movements
of Battery H from the 1st to the 13th of April, 1865:
BATTERY H, 1ST R. I. LT. ARTILLERY,
ARTILLERY BRIGADE, 6TH CORPS,
BURKEVILLE JUNCTION, VA.
April 22d, 1865.
GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part
taken by my battery during the recent battles between April 1st and
13th, 1865. On the evening of April 1st I received orders to join
the First Division of the Sixth Corps, which I did at twelve P. M.
of that day.
At 4.30 A. M., April 2d, I moved forward with the Division; and
after crossing the rifle-pits opened upon a section of artillery
which had a flank fire on our infantry. They were soon driven off,
when I ceased firing, moved to the left brought up the caissons and
awaited further orders. I then moved the battery forward with the
skirmish line, and we soon engaged with one of the enemy’s
batteries. This battery soon had to leave its position. I followed
it up until I arrived at the Whitworth House, where I went into
position. The enemy placed a rifle battery in position on my left,
and obtained an enfilading fire upon my battery at seventeen hundred
yards. Being beyond my extreme range I was ordered by Major Cowan to
withdraw my guns, and went into park in rear of First Division
headquarters for the night.
In this day’s action I lost four men killed: Privates Gerritt S.
Hill, Thomas Carter, Charles Vaslett, and Eben Tongue.[1] Wounded:
Sergt. Esek S. Owen, slightly; Corp. John P. Campbell, 2d, severely;
Privates Gideon W. Arnold, Michael Barry, and George W. Freeborn,
slightly, and William H. Stone, severely.
Footnote 1:
This is an error. Private Eben Tongue was not killed. He was
severely wounded.
April 6th, I went into action at Sailor’s Run Creek, remaining half
an hour; no casualties. From April 1st to 13th, I have expended six
hundred and thirty rounds of ammunition. Great credit is due to my
officers and men for the manner in which they behaved while under a
very hot fire.
I remain, General,
Very respectfully yours,
CRAWFORD ALLEN, JR.,
_Captain 1st R. I. Lt. Artillery, Comd’g, Co._
To Brigadier-General E. C. MAURAN.
_Adjt. General State of R. I._
It was not known whether General Johnston would surrender on hearing the
news of Lee’s capitulation, and if he did not Burkeville Station was the
natural point from which to attack him. General Sheridan with his
cavalry and the Sixth Corps was instructed to proceed to Greensboro,
North Carolina, for the purpose of aiding General Sherman in hastening
the surrender of Johnston.
At half-past six o’clock on the morning of the 23d the Sixth Corps
started from Burkeville Station, our battery being attached to the First
Brigade, First Division, which led the advance. We marched rapidly
toward Danville, and camped for the night near Keyes Station.
On the 24th, we marched at 6.50 A. M., to Clark’s Ferry, on the Staunton
River, a branch of the Roanoke River, and encamped for the night on the
road to Danville.
April 25th, we marched twenty-one miles and camped for the night near
Halifax Court House. Before going into camp we passed by an old
farm-house, and in the doorway sat an old lady knitting. She said to us:
“Where did all you Yankees spring from? Did you spring out of the
ground? God bless you, boys, I wish you all good luck. It does my soul
good to see the old flag once more. Peace has come at last. Thank God
the war is over at last.”
The morning of the 26th at half past seven o’clock found us on the
march. We reached the town of Halifax, where we met a large number of
soldiers from Johnston’s army going to our rear, and they informed us
that Johnston would soon surrender, and they were going home. They
appeared to be contented that the war was drawing to a close.
We arrived at Danville at five o’clock on the afternoon of the 27th.
This town appeared to have been quite a business place before the war.
Five railroads centred here, and the surroundings were very pleasant. A
printing-office was discovered which was taken possession of by our
troops, and a paper issued called “_The Sixth Army Corps_.” Some of our
cavalry who had preceded us liberated the Union prisoners who had been
confined in the slave-pen here. We encamped on the west side of the
town.
April 28th, the official report of the surrender of General Johnston’s
army was read to our battery at assembly call. We immediately moved into
the town and fired a salute in honor of the surrender. General Sheridan
with his cavalry had now arrived at South Boston, on the Dan River. On
receiving a dispatch from Washington announcing the surrender of
Johnston’s army, Sheridan returned with his cavalry to Petersburg.