Evening star., 1932-10-23

~ peaceful landscape Of South
side Virginia, and few crows
tapped lazily over the tobacco
fields as we drove up to the quiet hamlet
of Appomattox. Here, 81 years ago on
Sunday morning in April, the COM
manders of the Army of the Potomac
and the Army of Northern Virginia sat
down together and arranged what was
for all practical purposes the end OF the
Civil War. And here the Federal Gov
eminent now intends to erect great
monument that will symbolic the COM
ing of international peace.
AS we stopped the car and prepared
to look about, two barefooted boys and
a barefooted girl ran up to us with pic
ture postcards, but there was scarcely
another sign of life in the village. 1t
was difficult to believe that this almost
deserted spot once had echoed to the
thudding tramp of marching men and
the roar of cannon fire. Although 1t
was the county seat during and after
the war, the place no longer enjoys that
distinction, for when the court house
burned in 1892, it was rebuilt on the
railroad several miles away. A new and
busting town, which also bears the
name of Appomattox, has grown up
there, and the original settlement has
been almost abandoned.
A few of the remaining buildings are
in good repair, but the others are falling
into decay The old county Jail and
the old tavern on the stage route from
Richmond to Bristol are standing, but
both are dilapidated. The famous NC
Lean House, where Lee and Grant ar
ranged the surrender, has vanished COM
pletely. It was taken down in 1893 for
TRANSFORMATION to the Worlds Fair at
Chicago, but the plan was never car
ried out. The brick and timber were
left piled up on the spot. Souvenir
hunters have made heavy inroads and
such timbers as remain have rotted, but
some of the materials may still be seen
lying in the bushes and underground
which cover the site. In the 80 years
that have passed, tall trees have grown
up where the Mclean House once stood.
A large depression in the ground shows
where the cellar was, and tablet on
the spot sets forth tersely the story of
the structure and it's disappearance.
THERE are various tablets at Appomat-
tox, in addition to that on the site
of the Mclean House, which recall the
final events of the great drama. One
of them describes the last desperate
effort of Gen. John B. Gordon to break
through the Federal lines; another calls
attention to the site Of the apple tree
under which Gen. Lee rested while
awaiting the return of the flag of truce
sent by him to Gen. Grant on the morn
ing of Sunday, April 9, 1865; and still
another is at pains to point out, with
approximate although not quite COM
plete accuracy, that when the surrender
finally came 5000 Confederates gave
themselves up to $4,000 Federals. Apo
mattox is still certain that one Johnny
Reb" could lick six or eight "YankS," but
it confesses that margin of more than
IL to / is slightly overwhelming!
For many years Appomattox was of
the beaten track Of tourists. The high
way passing through the place was bad
and few visited the spot. Now, however,
it may be reached over an excellent
hard-surfaced road, and the number OF
visitors is increasing. The influx will be
still greater when the Federal Govern
ment carries out its plan to erect a
100000 peace monument" there.
This project originated with citizens
Of Appomattox and the nearby city Of
Lynchburg, who felt that so historic a