At daybreak on the 9th Gordon's command was formed in line of battle half a mile west of the Court House on the Lynchburg road. The cavalry was posted on his right, W. H. F. Lee's division next to the infantry, Rosser's in the centre, Munford's on the right, making, General Fitz Lee says, a mounted force of about 2,400 men. "Our attack,” he continues, "was made about sunrise, and the enemy's cavalry quickly driven out of the way, with a loss of two guns and a number of prisoners. The arrival at this time of two corps of their infantry necessitated the retiring of our lines."1 General Crook says: "At about 9 A.M. the enemy made a strong attack on my front and flanks with a large force of infantry, while their cavalry attacked my rear. Mackenzie and Smith were forced to retire by overwhelming numbers until relieved by the infantry, when we reorganized and were geting ready to go to the front when an order for the cessation of hostilities reached me." General Merritt says the enemy advanced against Crook in heavy force. The cavalry was forced back. Custer was brought up and the cavalry retired slowly, but of necessity. Soon the Twenty-fourth Corps took up Crook's line on the left of Devin, and the Fifth Corps deployed in rear of him. As soon as the columns of the enemy discovered we had infantry in position, they retired precipitately toward the Valley. The cavalry was thrown out rapidly to the right, taking possession of the high ground on the enemy's left, and opened artillery. General Ord states that he was barely in time on the morning of the 9th, "for in spite of General Sheridan's attempts the cavalry was falling back in confusion before Lee's infantry; but," he says, "we soon deployed and went in, Gibbon on the left, at double-quick, with Foster's and Turner's 1 General Fitz Lee, seeing that immediate surrender was inevitable, withdrew at once toward Lynchburg, that road, he says, being clear, where and in the vicinity of which he and his command surrendered shortly after. divisions, in beautiful style, and the colored troops also at the double-quick under these commanders, with the Fifth Corps under Griffin, when a white flag met " him "at the Fifth Corps front with a request for a cessation of arms until General Lee could meet General Grant and confer on the terms." General Ord continues: "As I knew that a surrender had been called for and terms asked for and made known, I knew this second request meant acceptance, and the bugles were sounded to halt." General Sheridan says: "A white flag was presented to General Custer, who had the advance, and who sent the information to me at once that the enemy desired to surrender, "Riding over to the left at Appomattox Court House,' I met Major-General Gordon, of the rebel service, and MajorGeneral Wilcox. General Gordon requested a suspension of hostilities pending negotiations for a surrender then being held between Lieutenant-General Grant and General Lee. I notified him that I desired to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood, but as there was nothing definitely settled in the correspondence, and as an attack had been made on my lines with a view to escape under the impression that our force was only cavalry, I must have some assurance of an intended surrender. This General Gordon gave by saying that there was no doubt of the surrender of General Lee's army. I then separated from him, with an agreement to meet those officers again in half an hour at Appomattox Court House. At the specified time, in company with General Ord, who commanded the infantry, I again met this officer, and also Lieutenant-General Longstreet, and received from them the same assurance, and hostilities ceased until the arrival of Lieutenant-General Grant." " 1 Appomattox Court House was between the picket lines of the opposing forces. 2 The author of "With General Sheridan in Lee's Last Campaign, by a Staff Officer," states that General Longstreet bore a despatch from General Lee to General Grant arrived at Appomattox Court House about one o'clock, when the meeting between himself and General Lee took place. After a brief conference the two letters of General Grant and General Lee [Nos. 8 and 9, Appendix M], respectively presenting and accepting the terms of surrender, having been written in each other's presence, were exchanged. At about four o'clock the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia was announced to the Army of the Potomac. The surrender of General Johnston's army took place on the 25th of April, and that of the other Confederate forces soon followed. According to the Records of the War Department, the number of officers and enlisted men of the Army of Northern Virginia paroled on the 9th of April, 1865, was: General Grant, and gives a copy of the despatch. It is a copy or duplicate of the despatch written by General Lee at nine o'clock in the morning, and delivered to General Humphreys' staff officer, Colonel Whittier, and placed in General Grant's hands by Lieutenant Pease, of General Meade's staff, at 11.55 A.M., when General Grant was still eight miles from Appomattox Court House, and at about the hour when General Longstreet delivered the duplicate to General Sheridan and General Ord. 1 Detachments consisted of some of the Navy Battalion, the Provost Guard, Headquarters Cavalry escort, some odds and ends of troops, and civilian employés. It has been stated that of the troops surrendered, only 8,000 had arms. If, indeed, that is correct, then the greater part of those men who had no arms must have thrown them away when they found that they must surrender. This was not difficult to do unobserved by their officers. The country was thickly wooded and open to them on the west and northwest. walk of half an hour would bring them to ground that neither their officers nor ours would pass over during their brief stay in the vicinity of the Court House. A Our casualties in these closing operations from the 29th of March to the 9th of April were 8,268 officers and enlisted men killed and wounded, and 1,676 missing, making a total loss of 9,944. They were distributed as shown below.' The Army of the Potomac marched to Washington, was reviewed by the President and his Cabinet, and was disbanded by the 30th of June following. It has not seemed to me necessary to attempt a eulogy upon the Army of the Potomac or the Army of Northern Virginia. 1 Cavalry, 1,151 officers and enlisted men killed and wounded, 339 missing. APPENDIX A. ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, COMMANDED BY MAJOR-GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE, ON MAY 4, 1864. [Compiled from the records of the Adjutant-General's Office.] GENERAL HEADQUARTERS. Provost Guard. Brigadier-General MARSENA R. PATRICK. 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, Companies C and D. 80th New York Infantry (20th Militia). 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry. Volunteer Engineer Brigade. 15th New York Engineers. 50th New York Engineers. |