The National tribune., 1904-08-25

April 3, 1868.
GENERAL: In accordance with the sub
stance of my letter to You of the Sth IN
stant, | propose to receive the surrender
of the Army of Northern Virginia on the
following terms-to wit: Rolls of all the
officers and men to be made i'll duplicate.
one copy to be given To an officer to be
designated by me, the other to be retained
by such officer officers as you may
designate. The officers To give their lndl-
vidual paroles not to take up arms against
the United States until properly eX-
changed: and each company or regimental
commander to sign a like parole for the
men of their commands. The arms. artii-
lery. and public property to be parked ana
stacked and turned over to the officers
appointed by me to receive them. rms
will not embrace the side-arms of the OH
GERS. nor their private horses or baggage.
This done, each officer and man will be
allowed to return to his home. not to be
disturbed by United States authority so
long as they observe their paroles and
the laws i'm force where they may reside.
L. S. GRANT. I.ieutenant-General.
GEN. II. E. LEE.
HEADQUARTERS Army of Northern Virginia,
April 9, 1865.
GENERAL: l have received your letter
of this date containing the terms of the
surrender of the Army Of Northern Nir-
gina as proposed by you. AS they are
substantially the same as those expressed
in your letter of the Sth instant. they are
accepted. / will proceed to designate the
proper officers to carry the stipulations
into effect.
r. E. LEE, General.
LIEUT.-GEN. u. S. GRANT.
These terms were. on the part Of Gen.
Grant, liberal and magnanimous; and
that officer displayed throughout the
transa ction soldierly delicacy.
LAST WORDS.
In the course of the afternoon, the result
of this momentOus interview became
known to both armies, and then all the III
which the intelligence was calculated to
evoke, broke out in manifestations that
pass all words of description. On the
Union side there was JOY unmlxed ana
unrestrained-the joy of men that had gone
through great tribulation, the JOY OF an
army that. often unfortunate and ever
unappreciated. saw at length unparalleled
labcrs crowned by illustrious success. On
the Confederate side there was kind OF
joy, too-such sad joy as men feel when
a long agony is over. Yet there could not
fail TO be deep anguish in their hearts
and this burst forth when Gen. Lee rode
through the ranks. whole lines OF bat
their beloved old chief. and, choking with
emotion, struggled with each other TO
wiring him once more by the hand. Men
who had fought throughout the war. and
knew what the agony and humiliation OF
that moment must be to him, strove with
refinement of unselfishness and tender
ness which he alone could fully appre-
his pain. With tears pouring down both
cheeks. Gen. Lee at length commanded
voice enough to say: Men. we have fought
through the war together. | have done
the best that l could for YOU Not an
eye that looked on that scene was dry
AS the armies were enemies no longer,
there was no need of martial array that
night, nor fear of surprise, nor call to
arms; but hostile devisement gave place
to mutual helpfulness, and the victors
shared their ratiOns with the famlshed
yanquished. In that supreme moment these
men knew and respected each other. II
the one army drank the JOY of victory, and
the other the bitter draft of defeat, it was
a JOY moderated by the recollection of the
cost at which it had been purchased, and
a defeat Modified by the consciousness of
many triumphs. If the victors could re-
call a Malvern Hill. an Antietam, Get
tysburg, Five Forks, the vanquished
burg, a Charlottesville, a Cold Harbor.
If at length the Army of Northern Nir-
ginia fell before the massive power of the
North, yet what vitality had it shown! !
How terrible had been the struggle! How
many hundreds of thousands of brave men
had fallen before that result could be
achieved! And this is the glory Of the
Army of the Potomac, that 1t brought to
the ground the adversary which had ever
been the head and front of the revolt, and
that in crushing it, it quelled the rebel
lion. For SO decisive upon the issue Of
the war was the surrender of that army,
that the capitulation of all the other Con-
federate armies followed as a corollary
therefrom, and the structure of the Con-
federacy, losing its keystone, fell with
resOunding crash.
Three days after the surrender, the
Confederates marched by divisions to
designated spot in the neghborhood of
AppOmattox Courthouse, and there the
troops stacked their arms and deposited
their accouterments. Less than 5000
presented themselves with muskets in their
hands but the captulation included, in
addition, about $4,000 unarmed. Paroles
were then distributed to the men, and the
Army of Northern Virginia passed out of
existence.
The Union troops then retraced their
steps to Richmond. whence they were soon
afterward transferred to Washington.
Here uniting with their illustriOus sister
army of the West, they passed in review
before the President and his Cabinet, and
the representatives of foreign powers, and
an immense concourse of citizens, who
with great rejoicings welcomed home the
men whose valor had won the peace that
now reigned over all the land. When the
pageant was ended, the troops were mus
tered out of service, and the men. dofing
the Union blue, were quietly reabsorbed
into the body of society.
Thus the Army of the Potomac-that
mighty creation of the patriotism of a
free people, which for four years had
waged a struggle unparalleled in its CON
tinuous intensity-ceased to be, closing
its career in the world and the worlds
wars by the happy reestablishment of the
Union for which it had fought.
What it belonged to me to say of this
army is now completed. 1t is worthy Of,
and will doubtless find, a better historian.
Yet, inadequate as is the performance,
am conscious of having wrought with a
! laudable aim-to wit: to speak the truth
with candor, and to challenge for that
| army the recognition which is justly it's
due. but which has not yet been accorded
| 1.-THE work it did and the circumstances
under which it was done being both little
understood.
(The End.)
MUSTERED OUT.