As a kick-off for this school year, we went with our friends, The Freemans, on Labor Day weekend to visit the Appamattox Courthouse where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War on April 9, 1865. The above painting found in the museum is considered the most accurate rendition of what the surrender looked like. The white towel in front is the actual towel that was used to signal that the South was willing to surrender.
Dr. William Christian, a living historian, told the story of the surrender from the point of view of a southerner. Jared enjoyed asking him questions afterwards, specifically, how old did you have to be to join the army (the answer was 18) and what other qualifications did you have to have (he found out that you had to have your four front teeth, so that you could pull the plug off of the cartridge for your musket).
Our family in front of the McLean house where the actual signing took place. The part of the account that I was most impressed by is that the Union soldiers where very respectful to the Confederate soldiers as they laid down their arms and marched home. There was no taunting or chiding and many of them even gave their portions of food to the starving boys of the Confederate army. I believe that it is important for our children to learn about these events in history so that they will remember to be brave and heroic like soldiers, but will also choose never to put our country in such a grave position again.
As a kick-off for this school year, we went with our friends, The Freemans, on Labor Day weekend to visit the Appamattox Courthouse where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War on April 9, 1865. The above painting found in the museum is considered the most accurate rendition of what the surrender looked like. The white towel in front is the actual towel that was used to signal that the South was willing to surrender.
Dr. William Christian, a living historian, told the story of the surrender from the point of view of a southerner. Jared enjoyed asking him questions afterwards, specifically, how old did you have to be to join the army (the answer was 18) and what other qualifications did you have to have (he found out that you had to have your four front teeth, so that you could pull the plug off of the cartridge for your musket).
Our family in front of the McLean house where the actual signing took place. The part of the account that I was most impressed by is that the Union soldiers where very respectful to the Confederate soldiers as they laid down their arms and marched home. There was no taunting or chiding and many of them even gave their portions of food to the starving boys of the Confederate army. I believe that it is important for our children to learn about these events in history so that they will remember to be brave and heroic like soldiers, but will also choose never to put our country in such a grave position again.
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