Appomattox Court House and Sailor's Creek

It seems, to some degree, that I am visiting these Civil War sites in reverse order. After traveling to Lexington Where General Lee lived the last years of his life, I then spent some time at Appomattox Court House. For those of you unfamiliar with this famous location, it is the village where General Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. Basically this ended the Civil War, even though there were still other Confederate armies in both the Eastern and Western theaters still bearing arms and fighting the Union armies.  Each army would eventually surrender on their own.

Lee was never the General in Charge of the entire Confederate Army. He was only the head of the Army of Northern Virginia, but because of his status with the entire Southern population, including the other Southern armies, his actions and words carried great weight. The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia was not a popular action in the eyes of Jefferson Davis, but none the less, was the right thing to do. Davis supported the thought of going to the mountains with this army and fighting guerilla-style warfare. Lee knew this was wrong and that this tactic would only prolong the inevitable and cause more lives to be lost.

But I digress. Appomattox Court House was a small village that was comprised of a tavern, the county court house, a general store, the county jail, a couple law offices, and several residences. One of the residences was that of Wilmer McLean. This gentleman lived on the battlefield of the first Manassas battle four years earlier and moved his family to the Virginia country to get away from the war. How ironic that the war would end in the parlor of the house he bought to escape the war.  

To visit this village and the Wilmer McLean house was quite an experience. Several of the structures are originals, with a few being accurate reproductions. The court house had burned and was a reproduction of the original. The McLean house is also a reproduction for the most part. After the war, Mr. McLean went bankrupt, lost the house to the bank, and it was sold along with many of its furnishings. Some of the furniture that was in the parlor where Grant and Lee signed the surrender papers was bought by many of the officers that were in attendance at this event.  A speculator eventually bought the house in 1893 and disassembled it with the intention of shipping it to Washington, DC. He ran out of money before it was shipped and the house lay on the ground and eventually rotted and or disappeared. In the 1940’s , using the speculator’s plans and specifications and an archaeological dig, the house was reconstructed on the original site. Many of the original bricks were used in the reconstruction. Most of the furnishings for the parlor has been located and is on display, mainly at the Smithsonian. The furnishings now in the parlor are exact replicas.   It was certainly worth the trip to see and feel this place. Standing in the parlor, I could almost see Grant and his officers and Lee and his aide in the room.

I also visited Sailor’s Creek. This was the last major battle for Lee’s army before his surrender. It took place 72 hours prior to the Appomattox Court House meeting, as Lee was retreating in an attempt to secure rations for his troops and then to unite with Joseph Johnston’s army in North Carolina.

With constant rear guard action from the Union army in pursuit of Lee since Lee fled Petersburg, his army is starving and straggling. They continue to fight for Lee though. But with this final clash at Sailor’s Creek, Lee loses 7,700 men; nearly a quarter of his remaining army.

This battlefield site is not a National Park Service location and it is obvious. The state of Virginia owns the few locations in relation to the battle site, but most of the battlefield is privately owned. This site is not worth the time and effort to visit. The only sites available to see are the Hillsman House that saw the first major action of this battle. A short distance from the Hillsman House is Holt’s Corner where General Ewell sends the wagon train north on Jamestown Road to avoid the Union cavalry as the infantry continue their march west, the Lockett House that is the location of another bloody clash between Union and Confederate artillery and infantry, and the “double bridges” where the supply wagon train bogs down attempting to cross Sailor’s Creek. At this point about 300 wagons and ambulances are captured in addition to about 1,700 of General Gordon’s men. Ewell and Gordon were generals in charge of various brigades in Lee’s army.

Although there were other skirmishes prior to Lee’s surrender, this was the final major battle between the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac.

A visit to Lexington, VA

My sabbatical starts in the quaint little town of Lexington, Virginia. Although this village did not experience a major battle during the Civil War, it did see the Union Army occupy it and, more notably, it contributed to the Civil War in a different way.

Lexington was the home of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. Major Jackson, at the time, was an instructor at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). He taught Natural Philosophy, which is now called Physics, and military tactics. He was a prominent resident as well. Jackson was very active in his community, serving on the Board of Directors of the local bank, as well as in his church.

Jackson had moved to Lexington in 1851, ten years prior to the outbreak of the war and lived on campus for a portion of that time. Having married the daughter of the president of VMI, he and his wife lived in an apartment in the house with her parents. There they stayed until fourteen months later when she died during childbirth, as their baby was stillborn. Jackson mourned her death for years, walking to her grave nearly every day to weep.

Eventually, Jackson remarried and he and his second wife, Mary Anna, bought a home in town. This was the only house Jackson ever owned. He lived here from 1859 until his departure for the War in 1861. He never returned to this home. Jackson had one child, a daughter Julia, with Mary Anna.

The other notable tie to the Civil War is that it became the final destination for General Robert E. Lee. After the War, Lee was elected president of Washington College, later to be renamed Washington and Lee University. At first he rejected to offer, but finally accepted and held this position for five years, until his death in 1870.

Lee did much to improve and develop Washington College, including growing the enrollment from a few hundred to over a thousand students, improving the curriculum, and adding buildings. Two of the most impressive structures built during Lee’s presidency are the Lee Chapel and the Lee House, which is the home of the University’s president. General Lee lived in this house only one year preceding his death. Prior to this, he lived in the Lee-Jackson house as he contributed heavily to the design of his new home. The Lee chapel is beautiful and is used constantly. This Victorian chapel is the center of University activities since its construction in 1867. The statue of Robert E. Lee in the front of the chapel is impressive. I had always thought that this was Lee’s final resting place, but it is simply a horizontal statue. Mrs. Lee did not want another statue of Lee on his horse, Traveller, but preferred one of him as he appeared resting before battle. Lee, along with his family and other relatives, are buried in the lower level of the chapel.

While in Lexington, I had the opportunity to attend a dress parade at VMI. How exciting to see these young men and women in uniform and marching with terrific precision.

Lexington is a great small town that has preserved much of its history. The house architecture is marvelous. This was a wonderful way to start my travels. To see the beginning for General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and the end for General Robert E. Lee.