Day 53 - Appomattox to Williamsburg, Virginia

Stop me if you've heard this -- Today I got to visit a place that I've waited most of my life to visit: Appomattox Court House, Virgina, the setting of perhaps the most famous surrender in American history. Yes, I know what you're thinking, "enough with the Civil War already!" You're probably saying, "How about a nice arboretum or aquatic park for a change?" But in my brain it's all about the country's history. I haven't a hope of turning that thought process off. Once I've eliminated one famous location from my list, ten more start nagging at me to come visit.

Riding around in a motor home, assuming you're not listening to some cheesy detective novel on disk, gives you loads of time to discuss with your partner the hows and whys of the universe, and, indirectly, our individual lives. Why did we develop an interest in history instead of biology? When we went to the library as kids, how come we came home with books on priate ships or famous inventors, rather than on animal husbandry or astronomy? Neither of us know. Personally, I don't remember my mother or father steering me toward any particular subject, or, for that matter, even taking note of what subjects I was pursuing. I think Concetta experienced the same sort of ambivalence. So how did it happen? How did this burning desire to "live" history come about?

It's long been my opinion that there is some master consciousness that somehow a select few humans are able to tap into and experience the continuous thread of human existence. If you saw the movie, "Patton," with George C. Scott, you know what I'm talking about. There's a famous scene where Patton says, "It was here. The battlefield was here. The Carthaginians defending the city were attacked by three Roman Legions. Carthaginians were proud and brave but they couldn't hold. They were massacred. Arab women stripped them of their tunics and their swords and lances. The soldiers lay naked in the sun, two thousand years ago; and I WAS HERE."

So, do people who just LOVE history have the ability to experience the whole scene in their heads? Can they hear the bugles blow, the cannons roar, the thunder of a ten thousand feet tramping toward victory or defeat? Personally, I think they can -- and do. I think that's why Concetta and I must seek out these opportunities to listen to the heartbeat of history that thunders so loudly in our ears. When we look out across a battlefield, we can see the soldiers advancing, the colors waving in the morning breeze. We can see each and every face beneath the forage cap as they pass by. It's there, right in front of our eyes, and it's impossible to resist.

Now while Concetta plays a few stanzas of "Carry Me Back to Old Virgnny" on her Ipad, I will tell you about our latest visit to the past. This morning we were camped just two miles west of the location of one of the most momentous events in the history of the north American Continent, the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his army of Northern Virginia to the cigar chomping military genius, General Ulysses S. Grant.

The event didn't come about easily. Lee's army of 30,000 men was seeking the shelter of North Carolina where they hoped to link up with the Army of the Tenessee and hold on a few more months. But their route to the south was blocked by Grant's army. Lee kept heading west hoping to break through at some point and escape.

However, little by little Lee was being encircled by Grant's much larger army. Moving west was Lee's best bet, but on that front he faced a small group of union cavalrymen. As he ordered his troops to push forward into the Union cavalry, testing their strength, he and General Grant indulged in a series of letters and counter letters. General Grant asked Lee to surrender before men were killed needlessly. Lee stalled, asking for more clarification.

What Lee didn't know was that Grant had sent a secret communication to General Wright who was some thirty miles to the northeast of the Appomattox area. Grant told General Wright that if he could hurry up to reinforce the Union western flank they could end the Civil War right there.

Miraculously, General Wright marched his troops around the clock for the thirty miles and arrived on the scene just as the Union cavalry on the western flank was being forced to fall back by the Confederate thrust. The Union had, in effect, bottled up Lee's 30,000 troops. General George Armstrong Custer had, at the same time, captured three trainloads of Confederate supplies that had come down from Lynchburg to Appomattox, supplies that the Confederates desperately needed to survive and fight on.

At that point Lee saw the handwriting on the wall and sent a letter to Grant asking for surrender terms. The two men and their staffs got together at George McLean's house in Appomattox town and penned letters to each other outlining and agreeing to the terms of the surrender. The Confederates had to lay down their long guns, abandon their cannons, and agree to fight no more for the Confederacy. Grant, in his turn, allowed the 30,000 Confederate paroled soldiers to keep their side arms, if they had any, and to also keep their mounts if they owned them personally. On that day the boys in gray were free to walk home, unmolested by any Federal authority.

The events that took place beneath our feet some 150 years ago did not, in fact, end the Civil War. Other Confederate armies continued to fight for up to seven months longer. Lee's army was only the first army to surrender, but the end was inevitable and Grant's liberal parole terms were used for subsequent surrenders throughout the south.

Fortunately for Concetta and me, the personnel at Appomattox Court House National Monument are not only very knowledgeable, but quite enthusiastic about their jobs. We asked one ranger, who was detailed to explain events at the George McLean house where the opposing forces met to discuss surrender terms, whether he would be interested in moving to, for instance, Grand Canyon Nation Park. He instantly said, "Oh, no. I love it right here and the Civil War is my passion." Now that's dedication, even though I didn't think park rangers got to pick their venues.

We listened to a ranger who had memorized all the letters that had been written between Grant and Lee in the final days. He didn't just know his material, he knew it cold. That's the kind of history lesson that can really get you fired up! Later, we listened to a docent who took on the character of the daughter of the town tavern owner. She told us just how the events in her home town affected her and her family. It was riveting!

I think both of us could easily have stayed at the Appomattox battlefield all day, but the road was calling yet again. With a big sigh we loaded up and headed once more for the open road. There was more history to experience, more places to tap into the thread of historic consciousness in this huge historic land of ours. We're headed now for Colonial Williamsburg, so we'll have to be shifting gears a hundred years and start thinking like a colonial patriot. We can't Wait!

If you're planning on visiting Appomattox, you should know that most of the buildings are either reconstructed or are heavily restored. The George McLean house, incredibly enough, had been at one time completely disassembled and sent to the Smithsonian Institution. Eventually, the National Park Service got the bricks back and reassembled the house. Still, the setting for the several days of battle as well as the meeting between Grant and Lee is as historically accurate as can be accomplished and all the structures exist on their original locations. If you're one of those history-oriented humans who can hear the voices of long-dead heroes, you won't be disappointed at the Appomattox Court House National Monument. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. The voices tell me so!