A Flag of Truce
date: label: associated date
content: 1865-04-09
name: label: associated person
content: Lee, Robert E.
label: associated person
content: Grant, Ulysses S.
notes: label: Description
content: By late 1864 the war was coming to an end. In December Gen. William T. Sherman completed his destructive march to the sea. Richmond, the Confederate capital, fell early in April, and on April 9, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Over the course of the war, some 623,000 Northern and Southern soldiers died.
label: Description
content: This towel was used as a flag of truce by Confederate troops during Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. It was preserved by Gen. George A. Custer, who was present at the surrender.
label: Description
content: Bequest of Elizabeth B. Custer, 1936
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Virginia, Appomattox
topic: label: associated
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Surrender by General Lee
label: related event
content: Civil War
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, General History Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: Selections from the Abraham Lincoln Collection
label: Exhibition
content: American Presidency
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Rubenstein, Harry R.. Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Elizabeth B. Custer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PL.039765
label: catalog number
content: 39765
label: accession number
content: 124419
objectType: label: Object Name
content: towel
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: linen (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 18 in x 18 1/2 in; 45.72 cm x 46.99 cm
label: Measurements
content: mounted: 18 in x 9 1/2 in; 45.72 cm x 24.13 cm
label: Measurements
content: fringe: 2 1/2 in; 6.35 cm