Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-04-23

fttingly present on that day at the down
fall of the Confederacy whose eorne
stone meant eternal slavery to their race
Ord's infantry took the position acros
ibe pike which we had won, and Sheri
dams cavalry corps being thus relieve,
moved out on the morning of April 9th
Clusters division in front, over the field
and up the slope of the range, running
eastward and just south of the village o
Appomattox Court House. As We move
swiftly along the summit of this ridg
the enemy's artillery opened on US
brisk fire, but the shot passed over ou
heads and did little or ne harm. Whel
tie head of our column was about hal
mile due south of the town l saw sin
gle horseman some 500 yards away gal
lepipg up the hill from the enemy
lines. As he come nearer l noticed bin
waving some white fabric which he hell
in his hand. AS he approached our col
umn as the head of my regiment CAM
up, observed that he was Confederate
Major, riding an iron gray horse, ant
waving a common white towel with |
red stripe across either ed. He reineC
in his horse and l being nearest him III
addressed me very hurriedly, and said
where is your commanding officer?
and directed him to Gen. Custer. He
dashed away and soon reached the Gen
eral. to whom he said, as l soon after
ward learned, Gen. Lee requeets sus
pension of hostilities." Our column
halted. and l saw Col. E. W. Whitaker
of Gen. Clusters staff, with the truce Of
fcer, who gave his name as Major Sims
of Longstreet's staff, pass down the hill
and enter the rebel lines and on into the
town. Col. Whitaker states that he and
Major Sims with that same white towel
truce flag rode out west of town and
stopped Ord's Infantry line then ad'
.vancing. l feel safe in saying this was
the first and only flag of truce that came
to our army that day.
Our command was fully mile nearer
the enemy than the infantry, and Gen
Lee seeing our movements along the bill
top and knowing our close proximity to
his lines, and as he said, desiring to
stop the further effusion of blood" and
knowing his army was entirely sur
rounded, wisely dispatched the truce to
stop our charging column.
A few minutes after the truce officer
left Custer, brigade of Confederate
Cavalry concealed in the woods immedi1
ately in our front charged upon our di+
vision. We were mostly dismounted
and were somewhat surprised at this
movement, but were not long in forming
line and clearing that woods of the
enemy. Col. Whitaker says this brigade
tried to charge through our lines and
escape. 1t was the general belief among
our people that day that this brigade
had not heard of the negotiations for
surrender then going on. Our division
was now drawn up in line, with brigade
front, General Custer, who had gone
down into town, soon returned and rode
down the line with his hat off, and his
long, light hair streaming in the breeze,
halted as he reached the center Of the
line, and said: General Lee proposes to
surrender the whole army of Northern
Virginia" This was the first of the
welcome news to reach our army, and
we were the first to take up the joyful
shout of victory, and away it rolled like
a great wave from right to left as the
glad news few along tie line; and then,
strange as it may seem, Lees army took
up the cheer, why, don't know, but
down at the foot Of the hill and across
the fields the brave fellows in gray halted
as they came in and stacked arms and
yelled too. But it was not the wild yell
of hateful war. The blue cheered for
victory, b1t the blue and the gray shout
ed together for peace, home, father,
mother, sister, and the girl we left be
hind.
Pardon this depression, but Grants
army and Lees army shook hands that
day across ''the bloody chasm," and closed
the gap, and if the men who were at the
front and fought the battles of that war
could have been the sole arbitrators of
its issues, there never would have been
a "bloody chasm" between the North and
South after the surrender of the Confed-
crate armies. This is my own candid,
honest conviction.
General Custer on his return from the
Confederate lines brought with him some
ten or more of his old West Point COM
rades who had cast their fortunes with
the South. A more genial. pleasant set
of gentlemen l never met, and their
greetings and general conversation with
Custer, Pennington and other West
Pointers was very interesting, as well as
amusing, as they recalled the different
odGtiOo III WHICH lASJ uuu ldCCu cdCu
other, and other incidents of their lives.
The attention of all was soon turned
to General and staff riding up the hill
from the town. Some one said that's
General Grant. He had just left Nc
Leans house where he had dealt as gent
erously with our late foes, and where he
had written another great page of histo>
ry. He rode by to the rear without dis
play or eXultation; but with that mod
esty that only truly great men know. he
seemed to say, Boys, this is merely a
matter of course. We intended to cap
ture Lees army.
To-day they tell US our Great Leader
is dviuU Ifthat hp trua NAV tho &c waat