An Anniversary

On this day in 1865, one hundred and forty three years ago, the final major engagement of the Civil War took place at Appomattox Courthouse. At the end of the day, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia unto Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant, realizing that the main goal would now be to put the nation back together again, gave extremely generous surrender terms; allowing the men who had them to take their horses and mules with them for the Spring planting season and gave his vanquished foe's army food rations, as well as printed out a large number of slips allowing them to return home, encouraging them to tell any they encountered one the way of the surrender, and the effective end of the Civil War.

The actual surrender terms were as follows:
In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va. on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.

Lee's formal surrender would occur on the tenth of April, however, his troops began to leave on that day. As the defeated Confederates marched away, Grant's men began to cheer at their victory, only to be silenced by their general with a taciturn statement of the Confederates had been their prisoners, but were no more. Chamberlain was moved as the more than fifteen thousand former enemies stacked their arms, and ordered his own army to give salute.

Engagements would still continue sporadically, but it would not be long before the remaining Confederate armies followed Lee's example as they often did and surrendered; President Lincoln would be assassinated mere days later, but on this day, one hundred and forty three years ago, the nation moved one large step back to unification.