Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1876-02-19
Interesting Letter from Hon. n. Is.
Wash burne.

Interesting Letter lrOIn IkOn' NJ. H.
WasIaburne.
The following interesting letter was
written by Hon, E. b. Washburne, our
present minister to France, to tho Hon.
John L. Winston, of Lynehburg, Va,
under date of Paris, giving some recol'
lections of the surrender of the Confed
crate Army, at Appomattox Court
House, Va, on Sunday, the 9th OF April,
1861
Your letter and your illusions to Gen.
Gordon revive many recollections of
those eventful days. / arrived at Apo
mattox Court House on Tuesday, the
11th of April, 1865. Gen. Grant after
receiving the surrender Of Gen. Lee, on
Sunday, the 9th, had left the next day
with his staff officers en- route for Wash
ington. | met him the next evening at
Prospect Station. Desiring to see the
two armies, the next morning the Gen
eral gave me a company of cavalry as
an escort to Appomattox. Though
the surrender had been made on Sun
day, yet the details as to the parole and
many other matters had to be agreed
upon, and the laying down of arms was
to take place at future day, and as
soon as the preliminaries could be
arranged. Three commissioners were
appointed on either side for that pur-
pose. Gen. Gordon, Gen, Pendleton Il
think and another gentleman whose
name l do not now recall, on the side
of the Confederate, and Gen. Gibbon,
Gen. Merritt, and third party, per-
haps Gen. Mackenzie, on the side of
the Union forces. When l arrived at
the rt-house, negotiations and pour
parisrs were going on between the
commissioners at Gen. Gibbons head
quarters, at the house of a Mr.. MCLEAN,
and then l saw many of the general Off
GERS on both sides. From what one
saw there, it could hardly have been
conceived that these men had been in
arms against each other through more
than four years Of deadly strife. The
terror of the breach, the furry Of the
charge. and the fatigue of the march
seem TO have been forgotten, and these
brave men came together more asfriends
than enemies. In all of their talks there
was never suggestion, not a word from
either side, that could have wounded
the tenderest susceptibility. Many of
these officers on both sides had served
together in the old army, and it was
touching and interesting to witness the
sympathy between them which had sur.
vived those long years Of conflict and
carnage. General Cadmus Wilcox told
with emotion how his old classmate,
Gibbop, accused him of having nothing
but Confederate money, and taking
from his pocket new and crisp $50
greenback, thrust it upon him. There
was one sentiment among all these men,
which seemed to crop out spite of them
selves, and that was that after all the
bloody struggle of the past, they were
still all Americans. The only punish
ment l saw inflicted was that on some
large jugs of brandy which had found
their way to the Union headquarters
and under the peculiar circumstances
that was not taken and deemed as
"cruel and unusual punishment within
the meaning of the constitution.
met on that occasion two gentle
men in the Confederate service with
whom I had served in Congress Hon.
Alexander r. Boteler, of Virginia, and
the Hon. Lucius @. IS. Lamar, of Mis-
sissippi. Lamar was member of the
Committee on Commerce in the Thirty
Sixth Congress of which / was chair
man, and though we differed on all po-
litical matters as widely as two men
could we'll differ, our personal relations
had always been pleasant and agreeable.
Though / had not much money with
me, proposed to divide with him, but
he declined, saying he could see his
way clear to get to Baltimore, and when
once where Winter Davis was bs
should be all right. I knew what that
meant, for the intimacy and friendship
that existed between those two gifted
and brilliant men, so utterly opposed 10
each other on all the political questions
of the day, was well known in Wash
ington circles. They were united to-
gether by tie which binds together
scholars, persons of similar tastes, and
men of genius and eloquence, and which
even the storms of war could not sun
der. Had these men lived in France
during the great Revelation, Lamar
would have rivalled Mirabeau in the
tribune.of the Nationa. Assembly and
Winter Davis would have been the
peer Of vergniaud, the echoes OF whose
graceful but indignant eloquence re-
sounded through all France long after
his head had rolled into the basket OF
the gui!lctine aud his blood ran in The
cutters of the Place de Ia Revolution.
After remaining two days at Apo
mattox, was ready to start with my
escort on my return toward Burkvaie
and Richmond. Gen. Gordon, having
heard of the sickness of his family at
Petersburg, was extremely anxious to
..~ov, a., h,s MIC sion IN, c0n.