(Appomattox Courthouse)
The Appomattox Courthouse is actually a preserved 19th-century village of over a dozen historical structures located within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. It is operated by the National Park Service with Park Rangers stationed within a few of the structures. Easy walkways connect the structures. In 1954 the entire 968-acre area was designated a historical park and was originally called Clover Hill Village.
The Appomattox campaign was a series of American Civil War battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865. When the 27,000 Confederate troops suffered a crushing defeat at Sailor’s Creek and were surrounded, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to the 63,000-troop force of the Union Army commanded by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the effective end of the war.
The battlefields and a museum are nearby which I will defer until another visit. The county was named after the Appomattox River which runs through the county. The river was named after the Appamatuck tribe of Chief Powhatan. Clover Hill was changed to Appomattox Court House when the county was created during the early part of the 1800’s.
Begin your visit at the courthouse building which is a 1964 reconstructed replica of the original courthouse that burned down in 1892. The surrender did not take place at the courthouse because it was closed on the surrender day. The current courthouse is now the Visitor’s Center where you can pick up brochures, see videos, and browse Civil War artifacts.
Inside the courthouse is a 3D map of the village structures and various exhibits…
The most famous structure is the 1848 Wilmer McLean home where Lee and Grant met in the parlor then to sign the terms of surrender.
(McLean House)
A few of the exhibits include the table where the final surrender agreement was signed on April 10, 1865….
One of the portrait galleries of soldiers; and pens used to sign the formal agreement along with a few monetary notes. Not posted here was my blurry photo of many telegrams regarding the assassination of President Lincoln.
Rooms of the McLean house include:
Several bedrooms…..
Dining room….
Family Room….
and a Parlor….
Behind the McLean house was the enslaved quarters and Summer Kitchen. At least nine enslaved people lived in the small white buildings behind the McLean House at the time of the surrender. Bettie Love Stewart and her four children worked alongside Mary Ann and her three children as caretakers of the McLean home. In addition to cooking the family’s meals, they took care of the McLean children, maintained the house, and looked after the family’s animals.
The outhouse was a spitting image of my grandfather’s outhouse at his home on Mount Troy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Meek’s Merchandise Store built in 1852; at the time of surrender it was also the post office.
(Merchandise store)
And what would any town be without a lawyer’s office. John Woodson practiced law here until he joined the Confederate Army.
To wet your whistle was the Clover Hill Tavern which is the oldest structure built in 1819. Printing presses were set up in the tavern to mass print over 30,000 Parole Passes. Many of the men paroled at Appomattox Court House had to pass through active war zones to return to their homes. To ensure that Lee’s men were not mistaken for deserters or active combatants by other Confederate and Federal forces, Grant agreed to print parole passes that would allow each man to navigate safely through areas where the armies remained active. These passes allowed the paroled Confederates to secure free passage on board Federal trains and steamships, and they also permitted Lee’s men to draw rations from any Federal forces they encountered on the way home.
(Tavern)
Behind the courthouse is the “new” jail which was reconstructed in 1867 after the first one burned down in 1864. Just a short walk for prisoners who were convicted of various misdeeds in the courthouse.
The Courthouse is located at111 National Park Drive, Appomattox, Virginia. There is ample free parking and admission is free. The park is open daily from 9AM to 5PM. The park is closed on December 25, January 1, and Thanksgiving Day or during inclement weather. Park Ranger talks are scheduled on most days from April through September. Programs last about 35 minutes.
My daughter Jennifer accompanied me on this trip and contributed some of the photos.
