What happened at Appomattox?
Alyssa Stilwell
About the surrender at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House is in Virginia and it Wilmer McLean's home. This battle ended the Civil War. The Union had more than twice the number of soldiers as the Confederacy and there was an overall estimated casualty count of 700. Lee tried repeatedly to retreat and on his final try, he was cut off by Union forces. This is what forced him to surrender to General Grant. The battle early in the morning of April 9th, 1865, the signing of the surrender documents occurred later that evening, and a formal ceremony was held on April 12th.
Union soldiers outside of the court house before battle.
This is before Lee's attack.
General Lee and General Grant shaking hands.
The handshake that ended the Civil War.
The last salute of the Civil War.
The two sides salute each other
These are the routes both sides took.
The clear arrow is Confederate's movements and the black arrow is the Union's movements.
Sign outside the Appomatox Court House today.
This is a rundown of the court house's history.
General Lee and his troops after his surrender.
As you see, they all seem upset, depressed.
Members of McLean's family sitting on the porch.
This is in August, 1865. About 4 months after the battle/surrender.
Soldiers in action.
The court house was also called the station.
The court house today.
This is where they perform re-enactments.
I chose these pictures because they were interesting to me and showed different perspectives. I thought it was very interesting that the court house was a house and that there was photos of the family sitting on the front porch months after the battle. I also thought the last salute and Lee and his army afterwards were interesting. I chose the map of their routes because it helped me understand their actions better.