Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1917-11-08
CLOSE 10 ITS END
Little Remains Of hppcmattoS,
Where Generals Grant ard
Lee CIasped Hands.

war" when General Gran
and General Lcc. the two orrosin
commanders. clnspcd hands firmly am
Grant said. LET us have pence" Bn
there are n few of the comrades sti
left who remember that bright. III.
shiny day ut AppomattoX Court Ilous"
when the two generals. fnnkcd by 9th
cr generals of their commands. Wen
into the historic McLcmn house urf
arranged the terms of the snrrcndc
that meant the end Of tie war ana
the return of the citizen armi"s .
their civilian occupations.
Unlike other famous battlcficlJe
there has been no attempt to prcscrv'
the spot that marked the most impor
tant event in the soldering of n d!
vidcd nation. The village has ncnrl.
disappeared. Only three houses hav
survived fire. storm and neglect, nn'
even those nrc badly warped. giving
promise that they. too. will soon rot
md that weeds. followed by scrub
pine. will overrun their sites. Two of
these houses have long been nban
dOn'-l. The other one is occupied by
The large family OF small farmer, n
stranger tn That part Of Virginia nn''
unfamiliar with and apparently indif
: ferent to the great memories of tn
country in which lac lives.
At the time Of the surrender the
village had been reduced by four years
Of war to ramshackle, crossroads
hamlet. A cluster of dwellings, most
ly OF wood. livery stable and
| store or two were built around tho
sleepy courthouse square. The cOur'
building was burned down 20 year
ago. and today the dcsolate cOurthous
square is numbered with ashes,
chnrred plaster and shattered bricks.
In n particularly dark patch Of a
| gloomy stretch Of the pines there re-
turning veterans come upon the North
| Carolina monument.
The inscription on II hns caused
tense and bitter controversy In the
South. 1t follows:
'Lnst Mt Appomattox.
"At this place the North Carolina
brigade Of Brig. Gen. w. r. Cox of
Grimes division, fired the Inst vOlley
April 8. 1855.
mini. Gen. Bryan Grimes of NORTH
Carolina planned the last battle fought
by the army Of northern Virginia ant
commanded the infantry engaged
therein, the greater part Of whom were
North Carolinians.
''The stone is erected by the author
ity Of the general assembly Of Nortf
Carolina In grateful and perpetun
memory of the vnlOr, endurance ant
patriotism Of her sons. who followed
with mistaken fidelity the fortunes o.
the Confederacy to this closing scene
faithful to the end.
"Erected April 8. 1905.
"North Carolina Appomnttox com
mission: II. A. LONDON. chairman; L
]. Holt. w. r.. Gcnkins, Cyrus S. Wat
son, A. d. McGill."
On the opposite side of the monu
ment is the inscriptions:
"North Carolina. First mt Bethel
Farthcst to the front ut Gcttysbur,
and Chickamuuga. Last ut AppOmut
tax"
Company X, One Hundred and Nine
ty-ninth Pennsylvania. In command o
Capt. Cha. les e. Sickles. paced tn
porch Of the historic house Will
Generals Grant and Lee were in tn
plain but spacious room in the insid
arranging the terms of pence. Afte
the terms Of surrender had been com
pleted this command still remained O
guard until 1t reached Richmond. whe
1t wns mustered out June q, 1856,
and was discharged ut Camp Cadwa
, inder, July 8. 1865.
After the cosnpany~le left the from
wrote II. A. McAuston, one Of tn
guard. recently, there were over on
, hundred officers and men. but ut tn
latest reunion at Mannheim only min
were accounted for. Since then tw
, have answered "tnps." These sever
j with Comrnde Strutor, make eight VIII
actually saw what was going on at Il,
, surrender. April o, 1865.