Eyewitness to the Last Meeting of Grant and Lee at Appomattox

The morning after the surrender at Appomattox, Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met on the eastern edge of town. Along a road near a stream, the two men, accompanied by their staffs, chatted for about a half hour. During the meeting, a Union officer happened upon the group and watched respectfully from a distance. He is Col. Charles S. Wainwright, Chief of Artillery of the 5th Corps. Here's his recollection of the event, and his thoughts about the surrender.

Image: Library of Congress.

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[kevinpritchard]

Thanks for enriching and giving a greater appreciation for our history. Excellent video

[mattpiepenburg]

Ah to be a fly on a horse or wall to witness CSA generals in a post-war tavern or Grant and Lee in conversation… After so much bloodshed, passion and sacrifice on all sides, to simply track that day in April for expressions and words would be priceless

[yisroelkatz-xjpq]

Ron this was exceptional reporting! Thank you for your information!

[tacraling]

The historic nature of those events couldn't have been lost on him as he watched Grant and Lee, even though he couldn't then have known what history would be made later, with Grant becoming President, etc. Thanks for sharing this and also the details about the cleverly improvised fireworks!

[watchthetriple]

I feel we have lost the ability to speak eloquently in 2023 like they did back then. Anything we read from that time period is so descriptive and well articulated you can actually imagine the scenes.

[williambush]

really appreciate all of your reseach. Every story you tell Is one I never heard before. Thanks so much.

[kennethswain]

This would be a great Segway to the next surrender at the Bennet farm. This event gets far less attention and accounts for a larger portion of confederate army

[decimated]

Have the account hello sir, I'm driving my car right now and I'm listening Great portraits that you do of these great men. Can you tell me if you've ever done one on general crook? He is my absolute favorite civil War and Indian War figure. For many reasons, because of his morality, most of all having to defeat the Indians in order to bring them to peace. If you've done a video on him, please let me know. Thank you

[josephjones]

I thought General pickett was with joseph johnson in north Carolina at that time?

[Longhorn-sz]

"Then call us rebels if you will, for we glory in the name. For bending under unjust laws, and swearing faith to a unjust cause, we count as greater shame". Richmond Daily Dispatch - May 1862. Heartbreaking this war ever took place.

[kensilverstone]

I didn't even know about the second meeting. Do you know whether General Grant said anything about it in his memoirs, or General Lee in his letters?

[bjohnson]

Lee actually visited the White House once, to see Grant

[Paul-vfwv]

We cannot verify if this guy was being truthful. Sounds like he was everywhere, just by amazing accident

[wayneantoniazzi]

The lesson to a lot of us should be that after a long and bloody war If Colonel Wainwright didn't hold a grudge or any animosity against his Confederate opponents what excuse does anyone born long after the Civil War have for hating them?
You can hate the "Cause" but don't hate the men who fought for what they considered really important, their homes, families, and each other.
Oh, and there WAS one other last meeting between Lee and Grant. In 1869 Lee was called to testify before a US Senate committee, I forget what about. After his testimony Lee stopped at the White House and had a pleasant visit with then-President Grant.

[douglawyer]

Thanks for your work, enjoy learning about this. 👍

[nickriner]

EVEN Grant admitted in his memoirs that Lee never surrendered his sword and that Lee offered his sword and that he (grant) never asked ROBERT E LEE to surrender his sword. LEE NOR ANY IF HIS MEN WERE TAKEN PRISONER AT APPAMATOXX. THIS WAS NOT A PHYSICAL SURRENDER AT APPAMATOXX BY THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.