Artifacts of the war

Do you want to see bones of soldiers who died in the Civil War? Or medical instruments used to amputate gangrenous limbs? Or the logs of surgeons and doctors that show the seasonal incidences of the diseases that killed over 400,000 men during the war, twice as many as the 200,000 who died on the battlefield?

No?

How about THE bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln?




Or the cuffs of the surgeon who held him while he died?

It's all at the National Museum of Medicine in Silver Spring Maryland. On display now.

The final Stacking of the Arms

Throughout Appomattox park starting last Friday, many reenactments of the final stacking of the arms were scheduled. This brings me full circle to the reason I spent the last year of my life in this pursuit. It was the story of this event that sounded so poignant
in the telling that I had to, was compelled to see in person.

On April 12, 1865 General Chamberlain walked down the road in dress uniform followed by the military band in full colors. Flags flying, the sound of Battle Cry of Freedom filled the air. The Union troops followed, soon to line up on either side of the road.



In 1865, some 20,000 Confederate soldiers marched on the Stage (coach) Road with rifles, bayonets, musical instruments, ammunition belts. What was extraordinary was that the Union soldiers  saluted as this bedraggled depleted army marched in front of them. And as the Confederates took off their belts and stacked the guns and regimental colors in the center of the road, the Union soldiers stood at  attention in silence. A band played Battle Cry of Freedom, Dixie, and a variety of hymns that would have been familiar and brought some solace to both sides.

So it was on this day 150  years later that about 50 people stood among the 200 or so Union soldiers and watched as the 100 Confederate troops passed by with many civilians among them as well.  As they stacked their arms, one of the civilians was handed the regimental flag, carrying it down the line for all to touch.  I could not imagine his feelings, but saw him hold back tears even as mine were flowing.

What were the tears about? Reaching a personal goal?  Being part of the Union cause?  Stepping into this military guise to experience the pain and sorrow and even pride? Acknowledging the deep felt devotion on either side and wondering if the war is really over even today?


Believe me, when it was over, those of us who had spent the week there could not leave each other or this park that was the most significant battlefield at the end of a long a brutal war. 

Ode to Appomattox

A simple village
With simple lives as you may know
Here in Virginia we've lived since my great grandfather was a boy
And now they've come the blue and gray to battle one last time
Here on the peaceful roads of Appomattox
Here on the fields of Appomattox

The blades of grass here
Are as green as in the north
The trees bloom in spring
As they do for you
So when you march here
Remember that our children play like yours
Here on the roads of Appomattox
Here on the fields of Appomattox

We didn't vote for Lincoln
Not a one in this county
We sent our boys to war
To defend our homes and quiet life
We have lawyers, shops and sheriffs
The county clerk lives  down the road
Just down this road in Appomattox
Just by the fields of Appomattox

Send them home in peace
Let us live now as we did
Before these men decided we should hate
And go to war

Send them back to where they came from
From the farms and cities near and far
Send them far from these roads of Appomattox

You fought on this road
You fought over this road
Lee was surrounded on this road
This old road brought em here
And this old road will take them on the first leg of their journey home
This old road of Appomattox
This old road of Appomattox

To cheer or to cry

The final terms of the surrender between two generals

The final battle

County Court House now the visitors center

The morning of April 9, 1865 the fog settled into the fields of Appomattox Court House. The 100 residents  had been waiting for the railroad boon to come their way, but the rolling landscape did not make for the best place to lay track, so it had been run south of them. Their claim on the economy was simply as the county seat. Mr. Peers, the county clerk lived to the east, the Clover Hill tavern lay to to the north and the Mclean House to the west of the Central Courthouse.

It was a simple village that had not seen any of the war come to their front yards for the 4 devastating years. But the previous night, they could hear the cannon and gunfire 3 miles away as the armies fought at Appomattox Station.  Another part of Lee's army was also now stationed to the east of their town. His desperate aim: to break through the Union cavalry to join up with Johnston in North Carolina.

And so, what was to be the final real battle of this war, the battle of Appomattox Court House, began around 7:30 am.

On the ridge to the west was Custer's cavalry, the the east Lee's artillery and infantry.  Lee's men were charged to attack with all their might which drove back the horses for a time. What Lee did not know was that Grant's army had now arrived after marching without stopping from all directions, surrounding any escape route. The 70,000 men of the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the Shenandoah, and now from the south the great Army of the James were about to stage their final blow to the 22,000 men of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Back and forth they fought and on this day 150 years later, the fog settled in again after a ferocious early morning  thunderstorm that left the old stagecoach road muddy. But to the 100 or so of us who arrived to watch, did not mind the mud or the fog knowing this added to our witnessing of history.

The reenactment lasted two and a half hours until the final and inevitable end.

A rider arrives with the truce flag

The Truce flags appear-Lee's surrender

After 3 hours of watching pieces of the final battle reenactment on April 9, I moved to an opening in the picket fence wondering, if we would be able to see the truce flags from this vantage point.

Not only did we see this momentous event, but were also privileged to watch as both army re-enactors left the fields. I wasn't sure whether to cheer or cry. A little bit of both ended the morning.