Studio39Designs

Appomattox – Where the Civil War Formally Ended

When we were in Spout Spring, VA, we happened to be camping near Appomattox, where the Civil War formally ended when Lee surrendered to Grant.  We had no idea that we’d be so close to this incredible piece of our nation’s history!  We had to be sure to visit!  The incredible thing is that we visited it on April 9, 151 years after the surrender occurred, to the day!  This post will be a bit long, in terms of images, as I want to give you an overview of the village of Appomattox, which is now a National Historic Park.  Let’s take a virtual walk around Appomattox……

Appomattox Courthouse

The original courthouse was built in 1846 and destroyed by fire in 1892.  This is a very carefully researched and recreation of that courthouse.  Everyone thinks that the surrender occurred here, but it didn’t! 

McLean House

Instead, the surrender happened in this house.  On April 9, 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Lt. Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of this house.  We’ll see more of this house in a separate blog post.  The house, built in 1848, survived thru several different owners, until 1893.  In a “get rich quick” scheme, some speculators dismantled the house in an attempt to relocate it to Washington, DC, in order to use it as part of a museum.  That idea never took hold, and the house sat in pieces until the house completely disintegrated.  This house is a recreation, altho we did get to see some of the actual foundation bricks – more about that in a later post!

McLean House Summer Kitchen

Just as was the case with some of the lighthouses in Florida, the McLean House had a summer kitchen so that the house itself didn’t become overly hot during the summer months when supper was cooked.

Road to the Cemetery

Everything was starting to green up around here when we visited, and the road that ran by the McLean House and on down to the Confederate Cemetery reflected that. The fences that ran along the green fields made me feel much warmer than the temps did on the day we visited!

Confederate Cemetery

This is a very small cemetery – all the graves are reflected in this one image!  You can count 16 flags, but only one is a soldier that was a Union soldier.  The rest were Confederate soldiers, as reflected by the flags flown on their graves.

Meeks Stable

I could just imagine the village horses being kept here.  I don’t know if that’s exactly what happened, but Mr. Meeks had a general store, so it’s not too much of a stretch to think that his stable also was a money-maker for him.

Woodson Law Office

This is an original structure, dating back to 1856 when John Woodson bought it.  He practiced law here until his death 8 years later.  Unfortunately, there was no information about how Mr. Woodson died.  This office was typical for lawyers of that period.

Clover Hill Tavern

This tavern was built in 1852, and at the time of the surrender, it was used as a general store and post office, both operated by Mr. Francis Meeks – a very enterprising guy!

Tavern Kitchen and Slave Quarters

Keep in mind, at the time of the surrender, Appomattox was in Virginia, which was part of the Confederacy.  Many of the houses and buildings in that period had small houses (the white building in this image) in which the slaves lived. The other building was the kitchen of the tavern, again, separated from the tavern itself, so that the tavern didn’t become too warm in the summer.

Tavern Guesthouse

Yes, Mr. Meeks was quite the entrepreneur!  This is an image of the guest house associated with the tavern.  In 1865, there was also a dining wing (attached to the tavern building, I believe) and a small detached bar.  I’m not clear what the difference between a bar and tavern was, back in those days, tho.

Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road

I really like this image for a number of reasons.  I took it as I stood on the front stoop of the Clover Hill Tavern.  My imagination kind of ran wild, and I imagined people found guilty of some crime in the courthouse (building on the right) being walked over to Appomattox Country Jail to serve their time.  We’ll see more of the jail in a separate blog post.  The other piece of information that got my imagination going was when one of the park rangers told me that the road in between the tavern where I was standing and the courthouse & jail is called Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road.  This is the actual road that Lee came down in order to surrender to Grant back in 1865.  It was incredible to think that we were walking on the same ground, the same road that Lee and his troops marched down to end a horrible piece of US history.

Site of the Old Jail

Right next to the tavern and on the same side of the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road as the tavern, is this patch of land, outlined by 4 markers.  This was the site of the first jail, and is across the street from the jail that’s up now.

Peers House

This is an original structure, not open to the public, and was the house of George Peers, the clerk of the Appomattox County court for 40 years.  He lived in this house which was built in the early 1850s.  An interesting note is that just east of this house (behind it as you’re looking at it in this image) was where the Stacking of Arms occurred on April 12, 1865.  The weapons, flags, etc., of Lee’s infantry were stacked in the area behind Peers House before the Federal troops that lined the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road in the formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee’s army.

Isbell House

This house was built in 1850 by 2 brothers, one of whom was US Senator Thomas Bocock, who later served as speaker of the Confederate Congress.  Again, this is an original structure not open to the public.  I couldn’t find any reason why it is called the Isbell House – perhaps Senator Bocock’s wife?

Mariah Wright House

This is another original structure not open to the public.  It’s a frame house, built in the mid-1820s, and is one of the older buildings in the village.  The stone and brick chimneys are typical of this region at this time.

Enjoy!