Appomattox Court House, Virginia, the village where General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, to General U. S. Grant, virtually ending the Civil War. Lee surrendered 28,231 ragged, half-starved Confederate soldiers to Grant, whose 80,000 Union troops had all but surrounded him. The surrender terms were signed in the parlor of a house belonging to Wilmer McLean. The site of the village, three miles (5 km) southwest of the present town of Appomattox, was made a national monument in 1940 and a national historical park in 1954.
You Might Also Like
Battle of Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Battle of, July 1 - 3, 1863, a decisive battle of the American Civil War.
P.T. Barnum Begins Career as Showman
Most of us know P.T. Barnum because of the circus, but he was actually an important figure in American history. Learn how P.T. Barnum went from small-time entrepreneur to master showman and founder of the "Greatest Show on Earth."
