Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-09
Appomattox
Forty-fourth Anniversary %
the Close OF the war Of
the Rebellion.

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To the elders OF today. whose memorie
span the years since the civil war. and I,
those who participated in that might,
struggle the anniversary Of the surrende
at AppomattoN court house must ever re
main a source OF deep patriotic emotion
Forty-four years ago, ON April 9. 1865. Gen
ersl Lee conceded the hopelessness OF In,
southern cause and began negotiations fot
the surrender of his army to the victoriou,
northern troops, under General Grant
bringing to a close the greatest internccin,
struggle in the worlds history.
The locality of the surrender has ar
abiding place in history. That is all. An.
pomattoX court house. the county build.
ing, was destroyed by fire fifteen years
ago, and was not rebuilt in the same place
some OF the village houses remain. bu
in an advanced state of dllapidation. ONLY
W or three of the houses are inhabited
The others stare at one with broken doors
and windows. Porticos have collapsed and
roofs are falling. Some have fallen.
Where the court house building stood
there are mounds OF charred brick and
ashes. and what was the court house
square at the time Of the great surrender
is grown up in scrub pines.
Inc changes whiun nave taken place In
the ola Ddttie GROUND are interestingly
described by General Joshua chamberlain,
the Maine man VINO was in OF
the parade and other formalities attendins
the surrender Of the confederate officers
and soldiers, forty-four years ago. In
"Appomattox Revisited" General Cham
berlain says: II found everything In ruin
and designed orsakenness. Even the
roads are changed. 1 could not find that
py Which Sheridan switched off my com
mand from the main column a mile out
from the station, to strike Gordun's left
then pressing back our cavalry. The fancy
OF marking field boundaries had viped
this out.
The county seat is removed to An
pomattox station. = But on the old
ground the court house is burned down:
the jail standing, over.tall, gaunt and lean.
III Tor no use except to intensity solitary
confinement. The Mclean house. where
Grant and Lee first met for conference
before the surrender is torn down; most
OF the old houses are still there-no i'm
provement and no addition, all looking un-
cared for and forlorn.
Still further along the crest. near the
spot where this flag uhe flag of trucel
was received, the boy who was my driver
Tor this excursion, jumped off to pick up
a srapeshot half showing itself above the
ground which having been originally de-
llvered' thus satisfying the essential con-
ditions Of the law of property, I felt
authorized to take into personal POSSESSION
Crossing the Richmond road in front
we come to another tablet, bearing this
inscription:
Near this spot Generals Grant and
robert e. Lee met to confer as TO the de-
lalls OF the surrender, April 10, 1866.
This tablet is on the ground between
my two lines as they stood at the moment
OF the final cessation Of hostilitles. Lee
came in on the Richmond road. from where
the rear OF Longstreet's command then
was, three miles away. confronted bv our
second and Sixth corps. He passed near
where ! was in the saddle waiting the COM
mand TO resume hostilities.
After the truce of three hours Grant
came a little later by another road, a
roundabout country road leading into the
town near my center. Both rode past me
DHS vi III lOllOWlnR morn !
ing they had a final meeting. on the ele-
waited ground in front of my right.
over the Appomattox-now, as then. a
stream not more than bootleg deep, run
nm SWIFT and clear-a mile perhaps up the
opposite slope, in the edge of the wide
WOODS stands another tablet. 1t reads:
% this spot General Robert e. Lee
wrote his last order, taking leave of the
Army of Northern Virginia, April 10, 1855.
The scarcity of formal recognition of
the more vital sites at Appomattox is re-
markaole. The only distinctive and impos-
ing structure has been furnished by the
people OF North Carolina. II is a stone
monument which commemorate the serv-
ices performed at Appomattox by the SOL
dlers from that state, especially OF those
men who fired the last volley. 1t stands
in a little clearing of a part Of Appomattox
which is densely covered with a growth of
pine. At the time of its erection there
was considerable discussion over the
propriety of that part of the inscription
which contained the words 'valor. endur-
ance and patriotism North Carolina, how. |
ever, stuck to its guns and the inscription
went as it was composed. So much by this
late day have old feelings been dropped
tina there is no further objections to the
inscription.
Here II is in full:
AT this place the North Carolina Brigade
of Brigadier General w. r. Cox of Grimes
Division fired the last volley, 2 April. 1855.
Major General Bryon Grimes OF North
planned the last battle fought by
the Army Of Northern Virginia and COM
manded the infantry engaged therein, the
greater part OF whom were
North Caro!inians.
This Stone is Erected by Authority of the
General Assembly of North Carolina in
Grateful and Perpetual Memory OF the
Valor, Endurance and Patriotism of her
Sons Who followed with mistaken fidelity
the Confederacy TO the closing scene.
Faithful to the end.
Erected April 9, 1905.
North Carolina Appomattox Commission
II. A. London, Il. J, Holt, w. T. jenkins, |
Cyrus S; Watson, A. D.. McGll."
on the opposite face OF the monument is
this inscriptions:
North Carolina
First at Bethel