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By Martin Kelly, About.com Guide to American History since 2001

Appomattox Courthouse and the End of the Civil War

Thursday April 9, 2009
April 9, 1865 marks the end of the Civil War. On that day, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Ironically, the site of this last major battle was owned by Wilmer McLean, a retired officer of the Virginia militia, who had moved his family into the Courthouse nearly four years earlier after his farm in Northern Virginia became the site of the first battle of Bull Run. It could be said that McLean hosted both the beginning and the end of the Civil War.

Comments

February 20, 2008 at 6:23 pm
(1) SHHHHHH! says:

thanks for the sught it helped me in my 8th grade civil war poster!

November 10, 2008 at 11:33 pm
(2) ummm? says:

haha weird, i am doing a civil war poster and i am in the 8th grade… thnx to the writer. it did help alot!!!

February 17, 2009 at 1:43 am
(3) emmy says:

what, i’m a sophmore and i’m stuck doing a civil war history project =P
but thank you!

April 13, 2009 at 9:57 pm
(4) Mike Jules says:

I found The Tibit about Gen. Lee’s surrender
interesting.

Thanks
Mike Jules

April 15, 2009 at 12:43 pm
(5) Sandi says:

April 9, 1865 was a significant day, but the surrender of one army, even if it is the most important army, does not end a war. When Lee surrendered there were other Confederate armies still fighting. Confederate President Jefferson Davis urged them to continue. However, with Lee defeated there was no real hope for Southern victory, so they also surrendered.

As for McLean, it sounds good, but the war began at Fort Sumter, not Manassas. Wilmer McLean was a great self promoter.

April 21, 2009 at 11:26 am
(6) O.D. says:

I recently read an article about the 2 flags of the united states. A peacetime flag and a wartime flag. This article ,and 2 others I found, claim that peace has never been restored. So the flag we pledge our allegiance to, has an uncertain history.

My reason for writing this comment was in hopes someone could tell me these articles are wrong. And also offer some proof of it. I want to be able to know the answers based on facts not on opinions (from either side of the argument).

-Was there was an official end to the war?
I can find the end date of other wars quite easily.
-What happened to the peacetime flag?

Whatever our flag is now, is our flag. I do not debate that. It is interesting though. Something I stumbled upon that is hard to find facts either way on.

Either way I would like to hear someone who knows a thing or 2 about the civil war put the writer of this article in his place. Or blow my mind and agree with him. I will learn something either way.

May 1, 2009 at 1:04 pm
(7) Starscream Fangirl says:

Thanks! I’m also in 8th Greade (lol) doing a presentiation to 7th graderrs and this is an interesting little fact! =D
I’ll make sure to include this.

May 14, 2009 at 9:33 am
(8) J.N.B says:

Thanks alot ( :
&& im in tha’ 8th qrade too.
were doinq a poster && wriqhtinq && powerpoint
on tha’ Civil War.

May 14, 2009 at 11:13 am
(9) idk what to say lol says:

that is soooooo weird cuz im doing a 8th grade poster to lol well any way thanks for the info

May 21, 2009 at 10:12 pm
(10) sydney says:

WOOAH, so crazy. haha im doing an 8th grade civil war poster too!
:D

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