, 1867-08-02
The Great Surrender.

4
On the morning Of the 9th of April, the vietors
five Forks planted themselves squarely across
he front Of Lees head Of column and sealed up
be retreat. The iron cavalry leader had during
3O-mile march, the day before, captured four
rains Of cars loaded with Lees supplies at APP
lomattox Depot and forcing bis way thence by
ard fighting had, after taking many prisoners
IS guns, a hospital train and a park Of wagons
lrawn his line across the road on which the en-
smy was marching to Lynehburg. At dawn, in
s-iaSt desperate attempt, Lee ordered his advance
s9as5q " s ,ta1S6ssRad psp qnder Gordon, to
chs ing with old-sime gallantry, ioreed back
the dismouuted cavalry; but these, drawing
away t. she right as a curtain is drawn dis.
closed N infantry lines of the Fifth Corps and
of Ord, 81 which spectacle the Confederates
paused
With infantry pressing full upon its front and
with greater hostile masses closing up the rear.
with Sheridan's horsemen mounted on the flank
and ready to swoop upon the trains aud confused
forces of the Confederate army, the last dAv of
the struggle had well-nigh been q day of siausb
ter. For the environed army, with valor all
Spartan, stood ready to die after the example of
Thermopyla, not indeed in response to civic laws
denying surrender, but obedient to the lofty i'm.
| pulse Of honor.
But the sacrifice was not to be. While Gordon
was throwing his troops to the 'front.' behind
them, at General Lees headquarters, three Con,
federate officers were holding final consuIta-
tion the desperate strait of their fortunes
| They were Lee, Longstreet and Malone; it was
but little after daybreak of a very April
morning and they gathered around the former
ofhcer's camp FIRE by the side of tho road some
staff officers were present at little distance
from the consultation. Malone had lust come
up from his post in the OF he ann to the
front, at the summons of General Lee. Long
street, who had one arm in a sling, sat on the
trunk of a feled tree gravely smoking a cigar
Lee, cordial and pleasant, and clad in the new
uniform he bad donned just before leaving Pc
tersburg, was as serene and cheerful as ever, his
face, at least, betraying not the slightest discom-
posure at this crisis in his career. General Lee
explained to Malone the purport of the note re.
ceived from General Grant proposing surrender
Tor although the division commanders had sur,
missed the object of Grants flags in entering their
lines, they had not been certainly informed. He
then asked for bis "ninion as that Of a subordi,
nate on the condition of the army. Malone re-
piled that while his own division and one or two
others still able to fight, the rest of the
army were so worn down to be euly fit for
surrender. And, indeed, single glance showed
this army to consist only of about 8 900 effective
fighting men, who, half in front and halfin rear,
were covering n confused ruck of ruined trains
fragments of batteries-the wrecks of the Army
of Northern Virginia. To fly was as hopeless
AS to fight, since there was no route possible ex.
cept to the North, and friendly night to cover,
for day had just dawned the fugitive host was
of fight il basin, with no escape from the grasp
fallen upon them.
Longstrtet aud Malone nevertheless declared
that the army deserved and would accept hon
orable terms alone. General Lee answered that
the proposals of General Grant had been very
generous, and showed that the latter officer had |
been prepared to give such terms the Army of !
the Potomac could afford to offer, and the Army J
of Northern Virginia could afford to accept.
But it was no longer certain that after TOO days |
rejection those terms could be procured. There
was no doubt, however, of the duty to make the
effort, and General Lee, rising, and mounting |
his horse, turned to say, "General LongStreet
leave Won in charge here | am going to hold a
conference with General Grant" Hardly had |
General Lee gone to the rear when General Gus
ter dashed at full speed down the road from the |
opposite quarter, bearing white flag. He flung |
himself from his horse, and, saluting General
Lougstreet, asked if he were in command. Gen |
eral LonRstreet replying in the affirmative, Cen
eral Custer responded al demand the surrender |
of this army to General Sheridan's cavalry"
The other rejoined, al do not command the army |
for that purpose; General Lee is now at the rear |
under flag of truce, communicating with Gen
eral Grant for the purpose of surrender Cen
eral Custer retired and, at the instance of the |
Copfederates, the attack threatened in front was |
stopped.
So on the 9th ofApril, the work begun at Five !
Forks was fnsheQ~in triumph a' Appomattox
Court House. The long toll was @, ,er and an |
emotion commngled Of relief from agduous labor
and Of exultation at the crowuipg victory, tenn |
pered by soldiers respect for the bravery of
the -tasuished, overhowed the hearts of the |
conquerers on that memorable day. BUT, those
who stood boldly there were not all the ctnquer
ors. Ter thousand gallant hearts lay void in
soldiers graves since twelve-mOnth gORe the
army crossed the Rapidani 10000 heroes, searr
red and manned, were far away in the cities and
villages of the North and tens and tens of
thousands more, poisoned by the daily swamp
breath or worn down by the tolls of campaign,
had dropped by the wayside, languisbed long
on hospital pallets, or deserving quick death in
victory had yielded to the torture of disease.
Not only those who fell in the Wilderness, at
Spottsylvana, along the North Anna, at Cold
Harbor, in the trenches or envrons of Peters
burg-but the heroic dead who slept the
ridges of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, whose
rude beds lay hid in the glooom of the woods
of Charlottesville, adown the Shenandoah
Valley, or along the banks of the Chickahominy,
or dotting the plains of Manassas, or whose bap-
tismal blood rained the pavement of Baltis
more-these all were conqus-1rs the 9th of
April and a vast host riio0t, rrisible, tasted
the triumph of that day TiceyUe Decisive Battles
~O
POLITICAL young gardner somewhere in the
South, while respondent from the effects of the
late unreasonable weather, gets of the following
melihuous strains:
Onion garden bed reclining,
Beeis youth his aching head
Caulihowers, 10 weeds confront me
Lettuce hence, be sadly said.
Carrots out the stOutest manhood,
Pease my wearied soul doth need
Bean, o strife for me hereafter,
Else my heart will go to seed
In the early times of Vermont, whe judges and |
lawyers depended more on common sense than |
learning, Ethan Allen once appeared as counsel |
in a in which one of the attorneys ventured |
to cite Blackstone, and turning to the rash law
yer, be thupdered out, al would have the young |
gentleman know that with my logic and reason
ing from the eternal fitness of things, can upset
his Blackstones, bis white stones, his grave
stones, and his brimstoues"
A few of the captured Austrian guns were
melted down for the purpose casting medals
of honor for the Prussian soldiers, when it |