Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-04-15
THE STORY OF APPOMAT-

TOX.
Gen. Lees own Account of the
Surrender.
Correspondence of the Richmond whig.1
April 9, 1898.
1.-THE situation" at Appomattox on
the 9th of April, 1865. when General
| Lee sent flag of truce TO ask at inter
view with General Grant, was simply
| this: There were only 1900 faded
! famished Confederates with arms in
! their hands, nearly surrounded by
| eighty thO1Sd'ld Federal soldirs already
IN position, with reinforcements con-
stanty arriving. Gordon fell back
| through the village and moved to
meet an at ack OfSheridan on the flank
while General Chamberlaye led the
advance corps of the army of the
James into the Court house. A bat
terry of the Richmond Howitzers.
which had been engaged at Big Beth
ell in 1861, stationed in the yard of Mr..
J Peers, ON the extreme northeast cor
| ner of the village, fired the last gun of
| the day. and withdrew as the blue
waves were enci-cling it. The FEEDER
| al picket line was advanced beyond
the village, and that band of heroic
| spirits seemed about to be inundated
when suddenly the white flag was dis
| played. and the firing ceased. There
have been so many sensational reports
/ OF the meeting between the two COM
manders that | am glad to be able to
refGte them by giving
GENERAL LEES OWN ACCOUNT OF
WHAT OCCURRED,
as he gave it to some frieds at his
house, in Lexington but few days
| before his last Hines. He said that he
had for duty that morning not eight
! thousand men, and that when he
| learned from Gordon that there was a
heavy infantry force in his front, he
| decided to see General Grant and as
certain the terms upon which he could
end the contest. But before going to
! meet him he left orders with Long
street and Gordon to hold their com
mands in readyness, determined, as he
was. To cut his way through or Perish
in the attempt, if such terms were not
granted as lac thought his army enti-
tiled to demand He met Gen. Grant
between the picket-lines in the open
field. about two hundred. miles below
AppOmattOX Court house.
THE HISTORIC APPLE-TREE.
You met under an apple-tree did
you not, General ?' asked a gentleman
present. No SIR" was the reply, 1--WE
id not meet under an apple-tree, and
saw no tree near 1t was i'm an open
field. not far from the main road."-
| This explodes the historic appIe-tree,'
about which so much has been said
A son who w within few feet q
D the two generals VIII n they met pOinte.
out to me the exact spot. The apple
tree which was cut to pieces. and even
the roots of which were dug up and
carried off by relic hunters, was fully
a quarter of Il mile from the place o.
meeting, and the only historic inter.
est that could re attached to it was
that General Lee rested under its shade
a few minutes while waiting for the
return of his flag of truce. The only
tree anywhere near the place of meet.
ing was a small locust-thorn, which is
still standing about twenty yards from
the spot.
THE INTERVIEW BETWEEN LEE AMI
GRANT.
General Lee said that when he met
J General Grant they exchanged polite
salutations, and he stated to him al
once that he desired a conference in
reference to the subject matter of their
correspondence. General Grant re-
turned you your sword, did he not.
General?" one of the company asked
The old hero, Strengthening himself
up, replied in most emphatic tones =
mo sir he did not. He had no Op-
pOrtunity of doing so. I was deter
mined that the -side-arms of officers
should be eX TED by the terms Of sur
render, and OF course | did not OfftI
him mine. ALI that was said about
swords was that General Grant apollo
gized to ME for not wearing his own
sword, saying that it had gone off in
his baggage, and he had been unable
to get it in time" This spOils great
deal of rhetoric about Grants magma
| uimity in returning Lees sword, and
| renders as absurd as it is false the at
tempt of NOrthern artists to put the
scene on canvas or into statuary.-
| Even Grants cOnnivance at this So
called historic scene " will not save
it when the NvOrld kaews that r. +.
Lee said that nothing Of the sort Occatr-
red. General Lee stated in this con-
versation that he was accompanied
when he met Grant only 10y Colonel
Charles Marshall, OF his personal staff,
who went with one o General Grants
staff to find a suitable room in which
to hold the conference; that they were
first shown to vacant house, and de-
! Ginning to use that were conducted by
, Major Mclean to his house and shown
into his parlor. General Grant was
/ accompanied by several of his staff OF
ficers, and several of his generals
| tamong them Sheridan az: d Ord en-
tered the room and participated in the
/ slight general conversation that Oc-
! Cured. The two generals went aside
and sat at table to confer together,
! when General Lee opened the CONVEX
! satiOn by saying: e" General. | deem
| it due to proper candOr and frauknpss
to say at the very beginning of this
| interview that / am not willing even
20 discuss any terms of surrender in
consistent with
THE HONOR OF MY ARMY,
which | am determined to maintain
/ TO the last" Grant replied: " have
no idea of proposing dishonorabIe
| terms, General, but | would be glad if
you would state what you consider
! honorable terms" General Lee then
briefly stated the terms upon which he
would be willing to surrender. Chant
| 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 Colonel
Badeau Grants Secretary,) and cop
les in ink made by him and Colonel
Marshall. While this was being done
there were inquiries after the health
of mutual acquaintance, but nothing