This Day in History:
Robert E. Lee Surrenders April 9, 1865 Surrounded with no possibility
of escape, the Confederate
General surrendered his troops to Union
General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, VA. Lee met Grant in full dress
attire at 1 p.m. in the parlor
of the Wilmer McLean home. His surrender ended the U.S. Civil War,
the bloodiest war in American history. Having known each other
from the Mexican War, the
two spoke briefly before
Grant wrote out the terms. As part of the terms, Lee's
28,000 starving troops,
who had been cut off from supplies,
would be pardoned and fed Union rations. The solemn ceremony ended
with Grant telling his officers,
"The war is over. The Rebels
are our countrymen again."