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Appomattox Court House Facts

Appomattox Court House Facts
The Appomattox Court House, located approximately three miles north of Appomattox, Virginia, served as the courthouse for Appomattox County, Virginia from the creation of the county in 1846 until a new courthouse was constructed at another location in 1892. The Appomattox Court House is historically significant because it was the location of the final battle in the U.S. Civil War and was the site of the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. Although some Confederate forces held until November 1865, Lee's surrender at Appomattox is considered by many to be the end of the Civil War.
Interesting Appomattox Court House Facts:
Appomattox was a strategic location because it is located in central Virginia, near the Confederate capital of Richmond.
The Battle of Appomattox started with a Union campaign in the summer of 1864 that was intended to cut Richmond off from supply lines and reinforcements from the south.
On April 1, 1865, Confederate Major General George Pickett was defeated by Union Major General Philip Sheridan at the Battle of Five Forks. The victory opened the path for the Union army to march on General Lee's remaining army near Appomattox.
Lee and his army arrived at Appomattox Court House on April 4 after an unsuccessful attempt to link up with another Confederate force in North Carolina.
The two General-in-chiefs of their armies, Lee for the Confederate and Grant for the Union, fought on the same side and became acquainted during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
Lee's forces were highly outnumbered in the battle: Union forces numbered about 150,000, there were only approximately 28,000 Confederate soldiers.
After several attempts to breakthrough the heavy Union lines, most of Lee's generals, with the exception of Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander, urged him to surrender.
The Union forces suffered 164 casualties, while the Confederates had 500 killed and wounded.
The battle began at dawn and by eight a.m. Lee offered a letter of surrender.
Grant was said to have suffered from a chronic headache during the campaign and was disturbed to have to accept surrender from an old comrade.
Grant allowed the Confederate soldiers to return home with their horses and mules and provided them with food rations.
General Grant's adjutant, who officially recorded the surrender, was an American Indian of the Seneca tribe named Ely S. Parker.
General Lee gave a farewell address to the army of April 10 and on April 12 the Confederate soldiers turned in their arms.
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's army in North Carolina, which was the force Lee was attempting to join when he went to Appomattox, surrendered on April 26, 1865.
President Andrew Johnson officially declared an end to the Civil War on August 20, 1866.
Appomattox Court House was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 and became a National Historical Park on June 26, 1989.


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