The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-12-10

Lees Surrender to Grant.


scenes. He was present when the sur
render of Lee took place, and 1t was
he who handed Gen Lee the pencil with
which the Confederate leader corrected
the rough draft of the terms Of the sur
render handed to him for his inspection
by Gen. Grant
In order to give the children Of
| Brooklyn IN " school, before whom
he spoke a few years ago. Il most real
istic picture of the surrender, Gen.
Porter arranged the platform to CORE
spond with the room in which the ca
| pitulatiOn took place, says the New
York Times. In the center was table
to show where Gen. Grant sat while he
wrote the terms. In one corner was a
smaller table to show where Lee sat,
booted and spurred. and with his dia-
mond-studded sword hanging by his
| side. Three chairs were placed togeth-
! er % represent the old-fashloned sofa
! at ole side of the room, and the posi-
tons Of the fireplace and of the win
dows and doors were all marked.
To all intents and purposes Gen. For
ter stood once more, after the lapse of
so many years. I'm that small room OF
the brick house at Appomattox where
the closing chapter of the war was writ
ten by the two chief actors. and as he
described. without any show Of oratory,
but in an easy, conversational style, the
surrender. to its minutest details, in
Guiding the small items of the personal
appearance, the by-talk and the man
ners Of those who took part in the sur
render, its dramatic features were pic
tured before the eagerly listening chill
dren In a very effective and realistic
style.
The general held up in sight of his
audience, one after another, a piece OF
the flag of truce sent by Gen. Lee TO
Gen. Grant, n slice of the famous apple
tree and the identical pencil with which
Lee corrected the draft of the surren-
Ger. He exhibited photographs OF the
two tables used by the generals.
The pencil said Gen. Porter. 'has
not been rewarded properly for the part
Ii has played. 1t should have been
/ brevetted into q pen"
The flag Of truce, Gen. Porter told
the children, was an impromptu affair."
and was in actual point OF fact. the
cleaner of two towels which a Con-
federate officer had shortly before
bought for $40 in Confederate money.
THAT officer" said Gen. Porter, ''was
evidently bound to keep clean at any
cost" There were other sallies of hui
NOR through the lecture.
II will begin my story" Gen. Porter
der. when Gen. Grant reached the vii
lage of Farmville, on the Appomattox
river. 1t was there the correspondence
opened between Grant and Lee.
AT noon on April Gen. Grant and
his staff took possession of the comfort
able piazza of the only hotel In Farm
vile. An old army surgeon soon
brought us word from the Confederates
of a conversation In which Lee had said
that his retreat had become a rout,
that 1t would be wicked for him to shed
the blood of his men any longer, and
that he felt he ought to surrender.
THAT afternoon a long, lean, lank
Confederate came up To the porch of
the hotel
"'Who are your we asked.
"'I'm a Confederate he said, and l
reckon l am the only portion of my
regiment that has succeeded In holding
together. l own this hotel, and | stop
ped off to see how things were getting
along
"He probably had never had so many
guests beforehand at such reduced
rates"
Gen. Porter described the memorable
scene that night, when the Union sol
diers en- their way to fight Lee across
the river marched past Grant, carrying
torches and singing John Browns
Body"
Gen. Grant slept that night In the
bed Lee had occupied the night before
At midnight the answer was received
from Lee to Grants letter advising him
TO surrender. Lee wanted TO learn the
proposed terms.
Grant answered the next morning. /"
said Gen. Porter, making the terms lib.
erGl. Grant moved forward that night
the night of April s, in order to get
closer to Lee. At midnight, while in
great pain from loss of sleep and anx.
iety, another letter was received from
Lee. He sat up on the lounge in the
farm house and read it by the light of
a candle. Lee said he had not yet de-
to meet Grant at 10 a. m the next day
and discuss general terms of peace.
Grant was a military officer and
could not do as Lee suggested So,
after reading over Lees letter slowly,
he said: General Lee still wants to
fight Tomorrow he shall have all he
wants.
The school children broke out Into
loud applause at this sentiment.
About daybreak on April o. said
General Porter, 81 found General Grant
fpacing the lawn in front of the house,
with his hands to his head lie wouldn't
take coffee, and he refused to go into
an ambulance. Mounting his big gray
horse he Joined Sheridan, and had
worked his way to within eight miles
of Appomattox, when he was met by a
galloping horseman with a letter from
Lee saying he had concluded to surren-
der. Grant dlsmounted, and from a
grassy bank by the roadside he told
Lee to meet him at Appomattox.
"As General Grant got on his horse
] asked him how his pain was
"'Do you know he said, that pain
left me the moment / got that letter
from Lee"
Grant reached Appomattox at 10
o'clock I'm the forenoon and at once
was directed to the house where Lee
was waiting to receive him. General
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