Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1873-05-01

General, l deem it due to proper can
dor and frankness to say at the very
beginning of this interview that l am
not willing even to discuss any terms Of
surrender inconsistent with the honor
Of my army, which I am determined to
maintain to the last" Grant replied :
81 have 40 idea of proposing dishonor-
able terms, General, but l, would be
glad if you would state what you con-
slider honorable terms" General Lee
then briefly stated the terms upon which
he would be willing to surrender.
Grant expressed himself as satisfied
with them, and Lee requested that he
would formally reduce the propositions
to writing. Grant at once did SO with
a common lead-pencil, and handed the
paper to Lee, who read it carefully and
without comment except to say that
most Of the horses were the private
property of the men riding them. Gen.
Grant replied that such horses would be
exempt from surrender, and the paper
was then handed to Colonel Badeau
Grants secretary, and copies in ink
made by him and Colonel Marshall
While this was being done there were
inquiries after the health Of mutual &C.
quaintances, but nothing bearing
on the surrender, except that General
Lee said that he had on mis- hands some
two or three thousand prisoners, for
whom he had no ratisns. Sheridan
at once said:s 4 have rations for $4,000
men"
General Grant having signed his note
General Lee conferred with Colonel
Marshall, who wrote his brief note Of
acceptance of the terms of surrender
offered, General Lee striking out the
sentence 81 have the honor to reply to
your communication, and substituting
II have received your letter of this
date" 3l-.-
This terminated the interview, and
General Lee rode back to his head
quarters, which were three quarters OF
q mile northeast of the Courthouse.
have thus given the substance, and
for the most part the exact language, OF
General Lees own account Of the
surrender. ". 5e IN -al T.
/ have gathered number of
INCIDENTS OF THE SURRENDER
which interested me and may be Of in
terest to your readers. Soon after
General Lee left the Mclean House,
owned by the same gentleman at whose
house, nea< Bull Run, Beauregard had
his headquarters during the battle of
July IL, 1861, Sheridan stalked in and
said, rudely, Il mean to have this
chair"-taking up one Of the chairs in
Which the Generals had signed terms of
equalization, and exhibiting at the same
time $3.50 gold pice. Major Nc
Clean replied, ''That chair is not for
sale, General. If you choose to take it
you have the physical power to d" SO. "
81 mean to have it," was the curt re-
joinder.
As soon as the flag of truce was hois-
ted Oh Gordon's lines, General Gustav
came riding furiously in to General
Gordon, demanding in his own name
unconditional surrender" Gordon
drew himself up to his full height, and
with crushing dignity replied 81 can
have no negotiations with you, sir; and
if the settlement of this matter rested
be;wneen US there could be no ne,
gotiations but by the sword"
AS showing the spirit ofthe men who
participated in the brilliant action that
morning it may be mentioned that
many of them crowded around the
bearer of one of the flags of truce "a
wdely-known and loved chaplain, who,
since the capture OF his regiment at
Spotsylvania Court Honse, had served
with great gallantry on General Cor
don's staff-and eagerly asked if the
enemy had sent in to surrender their
force on that road, thinking that in
fanking us Grant had pushed part Of
his force too far. They had no dream
that they were to be surrendered
But gradually the truth broke upon
them and great was their chagrin when
these high=mettled victors in the last
battle of the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia learned that they must "yield to
overwhelming numbers and resource"
that after all their marches, battles,
victories hardships, and suferings; the
cause they loved better than life itself
must succumb to brute force. Many
bosoms heaved with emotion, and
Something on the soldiers cheeks
Washed off the stain of powder. Z"
After the flag of truce was raised
A FEDERAL SCOUT WAS SHOT
through mistake by his own men,trying
to stop the firing, and q New York
major, under the influence Of liquor,
met bis death by galloping up to Con
fedeaate battery and demanding its
surrender. ret t''F
The women and children of Apo
mattox Courthouse had all left their
homes during the battle Of the morning
and upon their return had to pass
through Custars cavalry.
1t affords me pleasure to say that
many of the Federal officers and men
were very courteous and considerable
The citizens of the village speak in
especially high terms of General Cham
berlayns (since Governor Of Maine,
who was delicately considerate of the
feelings Of the people, gentlemanly in