The Keota news., 1915-02-05
PENS THAT ENDED
GREAT CIVIL WAR
Precious Historic Relics Used
by Generals Grant and Lee Are
Now Treasured in
Missouri City.

since the memorable day when U. s.
Grant and Robert E. Lee made use
Of them in the Virginia hamlet dig
Courthouse. The present owner. DR..
r. p. Cronkite. q st. Joseph dentist.
would deem 1t little short of sacri-
lego for the pens to be touched by
any drop OF ink destined to flow
into ordinary sentences. The pens
repose securely In = strong box In
Doctor Cronkite's st. Joseph home.
7O15 Francis street.
The coming Of these historic pens
to Missouri was not heralded. They
were added to one Of the most inter-
esting private historical collections in
the state. but . collection the exist
ence Of which IL quite unknown even
In st. Joseph save to those Of Doc
tor Cronkits's intimates who have
had the hospitality of his den on the
third floor Of his home.
The pen came to Doctor Cronkite
from Mrs. A. b. Lawrence OF War.
saw. N. Y. after the death Of her
husband. Colonel Lawrence. who in
his lifetime vas indeed an indefatig-
able collector. The colonel gath
cred together every Bible translation
but two, while his collection OF coins
sold for $4,000 on his death. One
tie between the st. Joseph collector
and Colonel Lawrence was the fact
that Doctor Cronkite's father was an
omcer in the First New York dra-
goons, Of which Colonel Lawrence was
lieutenant colonel.
No better history Of the pens prob
ably II to be desired than the one
written out In Colonel Lawrence's
handwriting:
The pens in this box. one . quill.
the other steel, marked at the time.
April 10, 1865. arc the ones used in
signing the Gen. r. d. Leo surrender
papers In the Col Wilmer Mclean
house, where the surrender took
place at Appomattox Courthouse. Va.
April 10, 1865, and were given to me
in the Mclean house April 10, 1866.
~ souvenirs with . piece cf the table
on which General Leo signed tho sur
render dictated by General Grant.
The piece OF table was given to me
next day In my once in the sherin's
room of the, courthouse by Colonel
Wilmer Mclean. with certificate Of
its history. The sheriff was William
Daniel Hfx. now in Hixburg. Appomat-
tox. Va, to whom turned over the
surplus surrender property for dis
tribution among the poor and deserv-
ing Of the vicinity Of the surrender by
verbal order Of General Grant to me
In the presence Of Maj. Gen. John
Gibbons. president Of the commission
left by General Grant to close up
surrender matters at the courthouse.
Tho ragged piece Of paper in which
the pens arc wrapped was part Of
larger piece on the table on which the
surrender papers were written, and
which took from the table to wrap
the pens in - they were handed to
me by General Potter. our Twenty
fourth army corps chief of stan. for
the valued souvenirs they were.
These pens have never been but
once since dipped in ink, and then at
the Soldiers' fair In New York city
for my signature the evening General
Grant was there.
"(Signed) A. b. LAWRENCE"
An even more detailed account. in
Colonel Lawrence's handwriting. tells
of his coming into possession Of . bit
Of the surrender table:
piece Of the table upon which Gen.
Robert e. Lee signed the terms of