Appomattox, VA
August 4, 2011
On August 3, 2011, my friends Joyce and Torrey Curtis flew into RDU from Oklahoma. The next morning I took the train from Kannapolis, and they met me at the station in Cary. We drove to South Boston, VA, where their son Christopher was directing a play. He didn't really have spare time, but he did meet us for lunch. We then embarked on our tour of Civil War battle fields, obviously not in chronological order. We headed first to Appomatox Courthouse, VA, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. U. S. Grant. Two of my great-grandfathers were among the Confederate troops there. I also had a great-great-grandfather in the war, but I don't know any details of where he served. I should look that up.
In 1861 some unpleasantness on his farm at Manassas, VA, made Wilmer McClean decide to move away. In 1863 he bought a house in Appomattox Court House, VA. It was later said that the war started in his back yard and ended in his parlor.
The chairs and tables used for the signing are copies. The originals are conveniently located in Chicago.
The bedroom across the hall from the parlor:
The Clover Hill Tavern with its guest house and kitchen are also on exhibit. The terms of surrender included granting of paroles to the officers and men. About 30,000 were printed in the tavern building.
My plan was for us to tour New Market late that afternoon. But we decided to ride up the Skyline Drive instead of taking faster highways. It was a lovely drive as expected, and we took our time and stopped at overlooks along. Then as it was getting dark, we went back into civilization and found a really good restaurant. I don't recall the town or whether the food was Italian or Mexican, but we all really liked it.