Appomattox Court House National Historic Park - Appomattox, Virginia
Posted by: gparkes
N 37° 22.655 W 078° 47.773
17S E 695122 N 4139038
Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, marked a major shift in the American Civil War. Two great military commanders met, agreed to term, starting the process of peace. Reason sufficient enough to make this one of America's National Parks.
Waymark Code: WM99K8
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/18/2010
Views: 11
Appomattox Court House National Historic Park is a very important site that represents a major turning point in American history. The National Park Service states within the Appomattox Court House web pages:
On April 9, 1865 after four years of Civil War, approximately 630,000 deaths and over 1 million casualties, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, at the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the rural town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Lee arrived at the Mclean home shortly after 1:00 p.m. followed a half hour later by General Grant. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half. The terms agreed to by General Lee and Grant and accepted by the Federal Government would become the model used for all the other surrenders which shortly followed. The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia allowed the Federal Government to redistribute forces and bring increased pressure to bear in other parts of the south resulting in the surrender of the remaining field armies of the Confederacy over the next few months.
On April 26th General Joseph Johnston surrendered to Major General W. T. Sherman near Durham, North Carolina (now Bennett Place State Historical Park); on May 4th General Richard Taylor, the son of 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor, surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama; on June 2nd General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate Department of the Trans Mississippi to Major General Canby; and on June 23rd General Stand Watie surrendered Confederate Cherokee Indian forces in Oklahoma.
One of the greatest misconceptions in the minds of the average American is that the surrender at Appomattox Court House was the end of the American Civil War. Three other Armies and pieces of other straggling units remained intact, however, the clear message sent by the surrender of Robert E. Lee was that the war was to wind down.
The park here is open to the public free of charge. Rangers are on duty from 9 am to 5 pm.