The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-04-23
SURRENDER OF LEE AGAIN
ANoTHER MAN WHO WAS rAERg.
Tks Ancient Apple Tree Tale Knocked
out-white Flag, Last voiley, and
Other Omega Incidents
or the Lost Cause,



DALLAS, April 2O.--[Editor HERALD r.
4 noticed in the HERALD day or two
ago. letter from an old captain OF Gus
ter's cavalry, writ ZEN from Midlothian,
and commenting upon alleged inaccu-
racles in an article in the Fort Worth
Gazette. did not see the Gazette arti-
Gle, and cannot say whether its. state.
mentaar correct or not, but l can say
most decidedly that no interview occur
red under the historic apple tree be-
tween Lee and Grant, for / happened 10
,be there myself, at the time OF the sur
render.
About dawn on the morning of the
9th Of April, my command was ordered
out and Termed a part of Lees line OF
battle. Very soon there was q hot sbir-
nish ire in our front, and we busted
ourselves making a temporary breast
work Of fence rails, stones, earth, etc,
expecting momentarily our sSirrish
line 70 be forced back on US, ana to OPP
pose in hand to hand fight the over.
wbeliuing force massed against us,
But instead OF the expected onslaught
OF The enemy, the picket fire suddenly
ceased,
We had notlong TO wait before VIC saw
q nag OF truce across our line and then
OWNED the reason for TIE suspension of
the battle.
We were resting on our arms ia line
of battle, not knowing what minute
might bring forth when United States
cayalryman charged up TO our line,
seemingly carried away with excite
ment, wildly waving his sabre over his
head, and when directly in front OF us
cried out: "ThIow down your arms,
you did rebel ga Of b--s.D The mon
threw them down on him without or
deIs, and his body wac literally riddled
with bullets.
This was the last yolley fired for
the lost cause on thQ pgrt OF the line in
my hearing. The First regiment and
two companies Of the Second regiment
Confederate States engineer troops,
all under command Of Cel.
Taicott and OF which corps
was "a officer after waiting In
line OF battle perhaps half an hour were
ordered to tho roar, some reached an or.
chsrd, were halted and stacked arms
around an apple tree undor which Vyo
observed Gen. Lee and several members
OF his sJah. We remained there perhaps
an hour, when several officers rode up
AMI among them one or two federal OH
GERS, and had conference with Gen,
l.db. KNOW lnai Cen. Grant WAS not
either Of these officers, but IL is MY opin-
ion that Con. Custer was tho officer who
figured In this interview. Tho object OF
the interview | Twas told at tho time was
20 arrange for meeting OF tho COM
manding generals and an armistlce
while the negotiations for surrender
werepcnding. Worry soon aftor this in
teryiew Gen. Lee rode off towards
the village of Appomatox,
nearly a mile distant, and | was
sold he then had an inter view in a
house there with Gen. Grant and agreed
on the terms OF surrender.
Most Of the soldiers OF both armies
heard of the conference under tho apple
tree and believe firmly, as your Mfdlo-
than correspondent does, that here the
surrender took place, but j have never
seen q man who was actually on the
spot and saw the officers engaged in The
conference, who would make any such
assertion. They were deceived by hear
say, and were not actual eye-witnesses
ofwhat really occurred.
SO general was this belief, though,
that when passed this spot three DAYS
later every yostige of the tree, root,
branches, and all, were gone,
EN6INBBR.