Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1909-01-15
THE APPLE Tree
OF APPOMATOX
A Close View of the Origon of a
Civil War Legend

If you ask from whence he came
My sole reply shall be:
He comes from Appamatox
And its famous apple tree.
Climax of Roscoe Conkling'
speech putting Grant in nomination
for a third term.
While L have read articles by
several denying the truth of the APP
pie tree story, nowhere have / seen
an account of its probable origin. |
think L know, and will give il for
what it is worth:
In April, 1865. was 14-year. Did
boy living at lTazewell, Va. Soon
after the surrender of Lee, members
of his disbanded army began passing
through to their homes. All had
more or less to say of the apple tree
episode and few exhibited leaves or
twigs as mementoes. AS a romatic
boy. it appealed TO me great deal
more than the important event of the
downfall of the Confederacy.
The following October my father
moved to Richmond and my brother
and, in charge of a cousin, Thomas
Il. Witten, a relative of the Kansas
City lawyer OF the same name whom
he greatly resembled, were sent over
land with some valuable horses. He
passed by the McLain place, near
Appomatox Courthouse, (nearly all
county seats in Virginia were called
'courthouses then, saw the plain
of capitulation where written and
sipned, and most interesting of all
20 me, the hole i'm which had stood
the famous apple tree. Every vestige
OF it, including the roots, had been
carried away by the victors and the
vanquished. Nearby stood several
other apple trees, but not even
twig of one seemed to be missing.
Those boys in gray and blue wanted
no substitute.
That night we were entertained by
friend Of Cousin Toms, typical
+. +. ", who lived near by. He
was highly intelligent and fine
conversatioalist, an art in which
Cousin Tom also excelled. During n
lull in the conversation ] timidI :
preached the subject nearest my
heait-that of the apple tree. To
my delight our host knew about il.
The remnant of regiment of which
he was an officer, was encamped
within sight of the house, not near
enough 10 see the features, but close
enough TO distinguish the blue from
the gray. He first saw General Grant
and his escort come from the north,
dismount in front of the house and
part of them enter. Soon after he
saw General Lee, accompanied by
two or three, come up from the
south. AS they dismounted he saw a
low, heavyset man step forward and
shake hands with one of the party.
He was positive these men were Lee
and Grant. As the others passed to-
ward the house these two stood under
the apple tree nearest the road, while
two others who were looking they
seemed TO be sitting. After convers-
ing ten or fifteen minutes, they fol-
lowed others.
AS soon as the conference was over
and the officers had departed fortheir
respective headquarters, he and sever
al others went over TO the house.
Under the tree was rail and also
tracks in clay soil. He claimed the
rail while others cut canes from the
trees. He took the rail to camp with
him. but that night some unsenti-
mental member of his mess used ii
to kinlde the fire. After he was
paroled and told he might so home,
he went to the tree TO get relic, but
he was too late. Not even leaf re-
manned.
Fully twenty-five years passed be-
fore / heard this version Of the apple
tree story disputed by the iconoclasts
who wrote that the generals first met
in the house, where General Grant
awaited the coming of General Lee,
and that they held no private con.
ference whatever, inside or outside OF
the house, and that the apple tree
story was not true. / have no doubt
Cousin Toms friend gave n tru,
version OF what he and others saw
He merely mistooK the orderlies TO
their chiefs. JOHN CECIL.