Appomattox

Appomattox

Richard J. LeFevre (1931 - 2000)

1991

watercolor and mixed media on paper

After the fall of Petersburg, the city of Richmond immediately fell in to Union hands. General Robert E. Lee headed south hoping to connect with General Joseph E. Johnston and continue the fight. Upon reaching Appomattox Court House in southern Virginia, General Lee found himself with Yankees on his rear, Yankees on his left, and Yankees on his right. When Lee thought the forces were merely Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry, he tried to fight his way out, only to find the cavalry backed by two corps of infantry, and he was forced to surrender. On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, General Lee met with General Ulysses S. Grant (shown upper right) at the home of a Virginia businessman by the name of Wilmer McLean. Originally McLean had a farm at Bull Run where his home had been totally destroyed during that battle, so he moved south hoping to get out of the war’s path. It is ironic that the formal surrender documents would be signed inside the parlor of his home. Grant extended a generous agreement for the surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and Lee agreed. The two generals left the formal disbandment ceremonies on April 12 to their junior generals. Shown on the right, representing the Union, was the hero of Little Round Top, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who was now a general. Chamberlain, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, was to receive the stacking of arms and the furling of flags from General Lee’s representative, Confederate General John D. Gordon (shown on the lower left). General Grant had ordered that no excessive ceremony be given, however, General Chamberlain ordered a Union salute to the Confederates as they arrived to surrender. Confederate General John D. Gordon touched his boot with his sword signaling a return salute. In appreciation for the respect that General Chamberlain showed Southern troops that day, Richmond named one of its streets in his honor. Later in the month, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to General William T. Sherman. The last battle of the Civil War was fought out west a month later on May 10, 1865, with a Confederate victory. These forces had not yet received word that the war was over. The final naval action did not occur until the following November when a Confederate raider surrendered in Liverpool, England. At that point, our American Civil War was over.

Bequest of the Artist