The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-04-11
Correspondence of the Richmond Dispatch.]

APRIL 9th, 1871 have just returned
from an exceedingly pleasant visit to Apo
mattex Courthouse. The intelligent clerk,
and sheriff of the county, and other gentle
men of the village and neighborhood were
very courteous and obliging in pointing out
the historic localities, and found a sad in
terest in seeing The road by which Sheridan
moved on AppomattoX station, the ground
on which Gordon whipped Sheridan in the
last battle OF the Army Of Northern Virginia,
Grants headquarters, Lees headquarters,
the very spot on which Lee and Grant first
mel, the room in which the terms of capitu-
lation were drawn up and signed, the ground
on which the Confederate arms were stacked,
the place where General Lee took leave of
his officers, and other points Of interest.
AS so many errors have crept into the
popular accounts of the surrender, and
us have General Lees own account, which
be gave company of his friends q few days
before his fatal illness, and which has never
been published, have concluded that on
this anniversary OF the "Sad 9th of April,
1865" it would be grateful to my own feel
ings and acceptable to the public that l
should give
THE TRUE STORY OF APPoMATToX COURTHOUSE.
VIII lol ~ UuCh W OCLtll uOW
Lees thin line was broken on the I'd of
april, 1865, and he thereby compelled, under
every disadvantage, to evacuate Richmond
and Petersburg and seek the junction with
Johnston which he had determined on and
actually begun TO- accomplish six weeks
before. Nor need / tell of his cruel disap-
poiutment in finding at Amelia Courthouse
that his positive orders had been disre-
garded, and the rations intended for his
furnished army sent to Richmond to be de-
while the trains were loaded
with consignnents to Sherman. I will
not sketch the events Of the "running
fight" from Amelia Springs to Apo
mattox. Suffice it to say that Grant had
been enabled, by having the shorter route,
by the delay of General Lee on account OF
the swollen condition Of the streams, and by
the necessary halt at Amelia Courthouse, to
throw his immense army on the flank and
rear of bis antagonist, to cut Off our line of
retreat to Danville, and to be in position to
continually harass our jaded, starving
troops. The broken-down mules and horses
were unable to drag the wagons (eyen lightly
laaded) and the artillery along the miry
roads. Sheridan's splendidly mounted and
equipped cavalry were able to make most
advantageous forays upon the trains, and
often Lee was obliged to halt for hours
and fight eight or ten times his numbers
upon most dlsadvantageous ground, until
the jaded teams could pull the trains out of
the mud. In all of these contests the Army
OF Northern Virginia maintained its old pres
tige; the men fought with heroic courage,
and won some most brilliant victories. But
the constant marching and fighting without
lations or sleep steadily and surely deci-
mated the thin ranks of this noble band,
Men who had been true to their colors from
the early days of the war fell out of ranks
and were captured simply because it was be-
yond their power of. physical endurance to
60 any further; many who had been hitherto
good soldiers struggled; the devoted and
strong found great difficulty in preserving
organization and efficiency; and as the re-
treat rolled on by the light Of burning
wagons and to the music of hoarSe artillery,
mingling with the rattle of small arms, the
corps commanders saw that the days of that
grand old army were numbered.
Accordingly, on Thursday night 1.-THE 9Th
Of April they held a conference, ut which
they commissioned General ". n. Pendle-
ton (chief of artillery to inform General
Lee that in their judgment the time had