Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-01-20
THE SURRENDER OF GEN. LEE q
ARMY
A Graphic Description by GEN.
Chamberlain of Maine.

the OluCcI WHO WAS ueSlSndt0Q Dy
Gen. Grant to receive the surrender
of Lees army. recently described
the scene in a lecture in Memorial
Hall, Bowdoin College. The Bruins.
wick Telegraph furnishes a briei
report of his address as follows:
son the evening before the great
question was to be tried we prepar.
ed to break camp before the dawn.
The enemy was in hopeless con-
ditiOn-their right smashed, their
cenIer pierced, their strong works
in front lost, their principal line oil
communication cut, Petersburg in
our possession, the fall of their cap
itaI inevitable. The campaign
lasted twelve days only. The Skin.
mishing all day and the marching
all night, and then on the last three
days the racing and pursuit greatly
wearied our men. The only hope
of the enemy was to push westerly
by pathway that led them along
the south of the AppomattOx river.
That pathway was traverSed by
many streams, and as they rushed
along ii was only to find at every
crossing some hot vanguard. Ii
was the last night of the pursuit.
Sheridan, who was just a little
ahead, had sent back word that he
was close upon the enemy and like
ly to strike him at any moment,
and asked us to make about eight
miles more than the hard days
march that we might keep up with
his cavalry. 1t was blacklist mid
night when, with flushed faces and
aching limbs, we reached the goal.
Down we lay there in our blankets,
supperless fevered by the heat OF
the march, then chilled by the dews
of the Virginia spring. Scarcely
has the first broken dream begun
when a mounted officer splashed
down the road, bearing in his hand
a note from Sheridan If you can
possibly push out your infantry to-
night we will have great results in
the morning.
almost before the lingering
echoes of the halt have died away
the tired brain of the dreamer hears
the bugle note. The horses are
hurried up. The men form in short
ranks. In three hours we have
reached AppomattOX Station. Al
ready we can hear the sharp ring of
the hoarse artillery, drowned by
the surly roar of the rebel guns.
There is no mistake. Sheridan is
square across the rebel retreat, and
with that glorious cavalry alone, in
which our First Maine was in the
very front, he was holding at bay
all that was left of the prOudest
army of the Confederacy. Sudden
ly an officer from Sheridan appears
and delivers this message: Sir,
Gen. Sheridan wishes you to draw
off two columns and come to his
support. The rebel infantry is
pressing him hard and likely to
drive him from the field Such
CHANGED to be my own order.
breaking from the woods we
soon caught sight of Sheridan's
banner. Beneath il sat that calm
yet headlong man, mounted on the
fiery steed that had turned the bat
tie of the Shenandoah. In full
view of us our cavalry was gallantly
stemming the fire of the StOnewall
Jackson corps. We wheel into line
of battle. Every arm of the service
was in full play. On one side the
line rolled back on the other press
ed irTeSistibly on. As the battle
took shape we became the extreme
right of a semicircle enVelOping
Lee. Meantime the other corps of
infantry were coming up and forIn-
ing a sort of Semicircle. Coming
up on the rebel rear are the Second,
Sixth and Ninth corps of our army,
and unless they can beak through
us within half hour, all is lost by
them. The rebel batteries are
drawn off from the crest, and they
take their ground near the court
house of the little hamlet callad
Appomattox. WepresS forward on
the south side. The die is cast.
We hear the rattle OF our light artil-
lery coming up behind, and we
catch glimpses of Sheridan closing
on the foe. We dash on over
swamp and stream. All is excite
ment. Soon two horsemen come
yalIOping out from the rebel line,
one OF them waving flag of truce.
1.-THE aid makes his graceful salu-
tatiOn and delivers his message:
III.
of hOstilities until he can hear from
Gen. Lee as to a proposal to surren-
der Meantime, of course, we still
advance. We have no orders to
halt, but the firing slackens on both
sides. In moment comes the or
der to cease firing and to halt. 4
truce is agreed upon till o'clock in
the afternoon. Four o'clock comes.
No word from Lee and Grant is
heard, so what have we to do after
this but TO resume hoStilitieS? The
order came: Prepare to make or
receive an attack In ten minutes
We pushed forward our skirmish
lines but Lee and Grant had come.
The final answer is not long coming
now. The surrender is made by
Lee. What a word for us. That
sky must have been bronze that it
was not rent asunder by the uprOar
of shouting and cheering that con-
tinued late into the night.
1--WE were in camp all the next
day while Generals Grant and Lee
were arranging the details of the
surrender. But on the next night,
about midnight, was ordered to
have my command out at O'Clock
the next morning to receive the
colors of the rebel army of Northern
Virginia. 1t was chilly that morn
ing, but you may safely guess we
were on time. We formed in line
of battle, stretching along the south
street of the town from the bank of
the stream to the courthouse
three-quarters of mile in extent
facing north. We were not asham-
ed to face that way now. Old Mas
sachusetts to the right of the line-all
that was left of her Eighteenth and
Twenty-second. Thirty-second and
the Forty. first Maine willing to fol-
low where she was worthy to lead,
and the proud fragments of the
Twentieth and First sharpshooters;
Michigan, never behind when a
hold blow was to be struck, with
the shadowy fragments of her once
glorious First, Fourth and Six
feenth. then Pennsylvania on the
left with all that remained to De
seen of her Sixty-sixth, Eighty
third, Ninety-frst, One Hundred
and Eighteenth and One Hundred
and Fiity.fifth. In the rear OF Us,
Gregory;s New York brigade OF
new troops, but worthy. Opposite
our own gallant little Fist orig
"in- that surrender Gen: Grant
- .----,-,ooinafkxy that we