Year: 1866

don to cut his way through, cdWt


qu'H come. Presently came another


courier from Gordon announcing


that the enemy was driving him


back. Lee had at this moment less


than 10000 men with muskcts in


their hands. The fatal moment had


indisputably come. Hastily don


ming his best uniform, and buckling


on his sword, which it was never


his fashion to wear, General Lee


turned sadly to the rear to seek the


final interview with Gen. Grant.


There is no passage Of history in


this heart breaking war which will,


for years to come, be more henora-


bly, mentioned and gratefully re-


membered than the dcmoanor on
the 9th of April, 1865, of General
Grant toward Con. Lee. | do not
80 much allude to the facility with
which honorable terms were accord
ed to the Confederates, rs to the
bearing of General Grant and the
officers about him towards General
Lee. The interview was brief
Three commissioners upon either
side were Immediately appointed
The agreement to which these six
commissioners acceded is known.


In the meantime, Immediately
after that, General Lee was seen
riding to the rear, dressed more gai-
ly than usual and begirt with his
sword, the rumor of immediate sur
render flew like wildfire through tho
Confederatcs. 1t might be imag-
ined that an army which had drawn
it's last regular rations on the lst OF
April and harrasscd incessantly
by night and day, had been
marching and fighting until the
morning of the 9th, would have
welcomed anything like termina-
tion of its sufferings. let it come in
what form it might. Let those who
to the North Of James River, fell
back from their lines, and passed
through the bewildered streets of
Richmond, traversing before day
break the bridges over the James
River, which were so soon to be CIV
en- to the flames. About eight on
the night of the same End, the Con-
federate troops a'so commenced
leaving Petersburg, their retreat be-
ing covered by Fields Division un-
der Longstreet. Pursuit there was
none. It is probable that already
Grant was bending all his energies
to get around and cut off Lees re-
treat. The Petersburg section of
the Confederate troops, full of vigor
and eclat., crossed to the north side
of the Appomatox River on pom
toon bridge, and made sixteen miles
during the first night Of the retreat.


1t would be difficult to conceive
anything brighter or moro hopeful
than the tone Of Gen. Lees spirits
on tho morning of the Sd. II have
got my army safe out of its breast
works" he said, "and,i in order to fol-
low me, my enemy must abandon
his lines, and can derive no further
benefit from his railroads or from
the James River" There can be
little doubt that Lees design was to
recruit his army with rations which
he hoped to find in abundance at
Amelia Court House, and to fall in
detail upon the Federals, who break
ing up into bodies of one and two
corps, were scattering all over tho
with a view to vigorous
pursuit. Two days rations at
Amelia Court House for 40, 900 men,
would possibly have made a great
difference in the immediate, though
rs believe, none in the ultimate
history Of the Continent Of North



There is little satisfaction in
dwelling in detail upon the FIVE sub
sequent days, for which parallel
must be sought on the banks of the
or in other similar pas
sages of military anguish. 1t is
hardly necessary to state that at
Court House Lee found not
a ration. 1 shall not pause now to
blame, or to investigate
who was at fault. All that 1 have
to state, is, that the fault was not
Lees, whose orders on this subject
for q fortnight past had been urgent
and precise. 1t became necessary
for Lee to break nearly half his ar
my up into foraging parties to get
food. The country through which
he was passing was tract of strag-
Cling woods and pine barrens, with
occasional little patches of clearings.
The foraging parties had to go SO
far a-feld in quest of food that they
were taken prisoners by wholesale.
In the face Of such sufferings as they
left behind, it cannot be wondered
at if some of tho poor fellows court
ed capture.


Those foragers who returned to
Lee. brought little or nothing with
them. The suffering of the men
from the pangs of hunger, has not
been approached in the military an
nails of the past fifty years. But the
sufferings of the mules and horses