Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1877-07-12
A Dramatic Account Of the Closing
Scene of .he War.

/ remember-and it was recalled to
me tonight in conversation, when
the name of General Grant came up
4 in the course of conversation-the
wonderful scene that transpired in
that little place in Virginia, on the
9th of April, 1865. 1t was late in the
afternoon when it became known that
General Lee had sent for General
Grant to surrender to him.
1t was between 2 and o'clock
when we met in the little room in the
house where the surrender of Lees
army took place. 1 know there is a
belief that the surrender took place
under an apple tree, where Grant and
Lee met and exchanged a few words.
The surrender took place in the left
hand room OF tiiat old-fashioned
double house. The house had large
piazza which ran along tie full length
OF it. 1t was one OF those ordinary
Virginia houses with a passage way
running through the center of it. In
that little room where the meeting
took place sat two young men-one a
great grandson of Chief Justice Mar
shall, of the Supreme Court, reducing
to writing the terms OF the surrender
on behalf of Robert E. Lee; the other
man with dusky countenance-a
great nephew OF that celebrated chief,
Red Jacket-acting under General
Grant. They two were reducing to
writing the terms OF the surrender of
the Army OF Northern Virginia to the
Army Of the Potomac. Gathered
around the room were several officers,
of whom was one.
At some distance apart sat two
men; one the most remarkable man
of his day and generation. The larger
and older of the two was the most
striking in his appearance. His hair
was white as the driven snow. There
was not a speck upon his coat: not a
spot upon those quantities. that he
wore, which were as bright and fair
as a lady's glove. That was Robert
f. Lee. The other was Ulysses S.
Grant, whose appearance contrasted
strangely with that OF Lee; his boots
were nearly covered with mud, one
button OF his coat-that is, the but
ton hole was not where il should have
been, it had clearly gone astray, and
he wore no sword while Lee was
faultlessly and fully equipped. The
conversation was not rapid by any
means. Everybody felt the over
powering influence OF the scene
Every one present felt they were wit
Messing the proceedings between the
two chief actors in one OF the most re-
markable transactions OF this nine
teenth century. The words that
passed between Grant and Lee were
few. General Grant, endeavoring to
apologize for not being fully equipped
and noticing the faultless appearance
of Lee, while the secretaries were
busy, said: General Lee, / have no
sword; 1 have been riding all night.
And Lee, with that coldness of mah-
ner and all the pride, almost haughti-
ness, which, after all, became him
wonderfully well, never made any re-
ply. but In a cold, formal manner
bowed. And General Grant, in the
endeavor to take away the awkward
ness Of the scene, said: II don't al
ways wear a sword, because a sword
is very inconvenient thing" That
was a remarkable thing for him to
say, considering that he was in the
presence OF one who was about to
surrender his sword. Lee only bowed
again. Another, trying to relieve
the awkwardness Of the occasion, in
quired: General Lee, what became
OF the white horse you rode in Mexi-
CO? He might not be dead yet; ne was
not so old" General Lee bowed
coldly, and replied: Il left him at the
White House on the Pamunkey River,
and l have not seen him since"
There was one moment when there
was whispered conversation be-
tween Grant and Lee which nobody
in the room heard.
The surrender took the form of cor
respondence; the letters were all
signed in due form by the chief actors,
in the presence of each other. Finally,
when the terms of the surrender had
all been arranged, and the surrender |
made, Lee arose, cold and proud, and |
bowed to every person in the room on
our side. remember each one of us
thought he had been specially bowed
TO. And then he went out and passed
down the little square in front of the
house, and bestrode that gray horse
that carried him all over Virginia:
and when he had gone away, We
learned what that whispered conver-
sation had been about. General
Grant called his officers about him,
and said: "You go to the Twenty
lourth, and you to the Fifth" and so
on, naming the corps, "and ask every
nan who has three rations to turn
over two OF them. Go to the COM
nissaries and go to the quartermas-
ers," etc.; General Lees army is on
he point OF starvation!" And twenty
i've thousand rations were carried to
he army of Northern Virginia.
A Point ON Which All Agree.
From the New York Tribunc.l
Mr. Rlaina .u,pp al nm tho affiftlde