LEE'S SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE

In early April 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his army were exhausted from the battle. They retreated to nearby Appomattox County where they soon found themselves trapped by Union forces.

Lee realized that the best outcome for his troops would be to surrender, so he surrendered on April 9, 1865, at the house of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the town of Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.

Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S Grant met there to discuss the terms of surrender. Lee was handsomely dressed in a brand new uniform, while Grant was still covered in mud from the recent battles.

Grant offered generous terms for the surrender. He allowed all of Lee’s soldiers to return home. He supplied them with rations of food and let them keep their horses. Because of Grants generosity and Lee’s willingness to accept the terms, the event is sometimes called the "Gentlemen‘s Agreement." It began the process of reconciliation that would continue for years after the war.