The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-07-10
THE APPOMATTOX APPLE TREE.

SAue al apple 1re0 TO prevent An
Impending Attack by Union Troops
The Real Scene and Circumstances of the
Surrender.
From the Now York Sun. eM .
At the Chicago convention in 1880
Senator Conkling began the speech
with which he nominated Gen. Grant
for the presidency with a couplet which
was then believed to be his W COM.
position:
II you ask us where he halls from, this our sole
response shall be,
That he halls from A%ppomattoX and its famous
apple tree.
This was pronounced with the dra-
matte force of which tho speaker was q
master, and brought about one of the
most impressive Genes aver witnessed in
a political gathering. The allusion to
the apple tree revived the recollection
of the climax of Gen. Grants career.
The homely, and, in fact, wholly hypo-
thetical incident by which Gen. Lees
surrender was typitied, the Appomat-
tox apple tree, has gone into history,
with those other dramatic symbols with
which people epitomiZe the careers of
their heroes. Wellington's Cup,
Guards, and at EN-" Sheridun's "Win-
chester Twenty miles away" and Sher-
mans Marching through Georgia."
the only war songs that survives, tell
for the people the story of success in a
breath. Aside from his %laconic utter
ances, Gen. Grant had given the peo-
pie no single dramatic incident that
could be seized upon to tell his story in
a word, until this apple-tree myth at
the end Of his military career. The dis
patch that set the country on fire with
its simple announcement that Lee had
surrendered to Grant was followed by
another asserting that the surrender
had been made under an apple tree, and
the country made for itself a picture of
the two commanders beneath the
branches of a blossoming apple tree,
the one extending and the other receiv-
ing a sword, and thus ending the great
est wal of history.
When Gen. Grant was asked about
it some days later he said: "Tnere
was no apple tree" But the soldiers
had selected one,h had hewn it into bits,
body, branches, roots and all, and pre-
cious relics they are now, scattered
throughout the country.
1t was the opportunity of the writer
to meet two gentlemen on the Appomat-
tox field some years ago, who, as civil
ians, witnessed the historic events that
took place there on April 8, 1865, just
twenty years ago. They were probably
the only civilians who were eye witness
ss ofthose scene One was Mr.. E. G..
Xix, the owner of the Appomattox farm,
and the other Mr.. G. 7. Peers, the
clerk of the Appomattox county court.
The Appomattox river threads a val
ley, very gently sloplng. 1t is a small
and easily fordable stream. Half a
mile west of it, at the place where a
level plain stretches westward, is the
hamlet known as Appomattox Court
House. Here are the dingy brick
court house, a tavern, a country store,
a wheelwrights shop, and a brick house,
Between his hamlet and the Appomat-
tox river is the house of Mr.. Peers. On
the easterly slope leading to the river
are fields, and one of them a
lot, had at the time of the surrender a
shed on it near the road. In this lot
was an apple orchard. The Richmond
and Lynchburg turnpike road ran
through the village, and a bridge over
the Appomattox river was about a
stones throw distant from the entrance
t cthe apple orchard. On the morning
of April 8, 1865, the main body of Lees
army appeared on the Richmond road,
about a mile east OF the Appomattox
bridge. 1t went into camp there, and
the cavalry and skirmishers were thrown
rapidly forward through the village to-
ward the depot on the Petersburg and
Lynchburg railway, four miles to the
west. They We're feeling for Sheridan's
advance forces, and they found them.
The night before. Sheridan, with Gus
ter's cavalry ahead, had reached the de.
pot, and during the night a large body
of infantry had come up. Sheridan
knew that he had headed off Lees army
and sent out his cavalry to find it. The
skirmishers met OF the L%ynchburg road,
about a mile west of Appomattax Court
house, and very brisk shirmish follow
ed. Lees forces withdrew, as did Sheri-
dams, and Lee was informed that the
Union troops we're ahead of him and
commanded the Lynchburg road. The
confederate generals last slim hope
was gone. He could not reach Lynch
burg, and he knew, though his army
did not at that time, that in a few hours
all would be over. Gen. Lee had al
ready been III correspondence with
Grant relative to surrender, and when
he found that Sheridan had cut him off
he determined to surrender there at
Appomattox. The confederate pickets
were thrown out on the west side Of APP
pomattoX creek, crossing the road di-
rectlv opposite Mr.. Peers house.
Through some misunderstanding on the
morning of the 9th of April Clusters
cavalry and Gen. Chamberlain's bri-
gade advanced toward Appomattox vii
[age to make an attack, though it was
not the intention of Gen. Grant or of
Gen. Lee that there should be any
fighting that day. Gen. Grant
having ridden pretty . much all
night had arrived before morn
ing of the 9th, and had made his head
quarters in a grove of pines just off the
Lynchburg road about a mile west of
Appomattox Court House. The spot
is now the site Of q negro hut.
Gen. Lee, whose headquarters were
about q mile and q half east on the
Richmond and Lynchburg road, sur
prised that fighting was being forced
BY the Union troops on his left, decided
10 quit his tent and ride to the front.
He believed that Custer and Chamber
lain must have been mlsinformed about
Gen. Grants purposes. Or had failed to
recsive orders suspending fighting.