PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



741 



APPOMATTOX CotrET-HorsE, VA., April 9, 18C5. 



GENEP.AL : In accordance with the substance of my letter 

 to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender 

 of the Army of .Northern Virginia on the following terms, 

 to wit : Rolls of the officers and men to be made in dupli- 

 cate, one copy to be given to 'an officer to be 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 regi- 

 mental commander sign a like parole for the men of their 

 commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to bo 

 packed and stacked, and turned over to the officers 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. 



U. 8. GRANT, Lieutenant-General 



General R. E. LEE. 



HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, ) 

 April 9, 1865. f 



GENERAL : I received your letter of this date containing 

 the terms of the surrender of the Army of Northern Vir- 

 ginia as proposed by you. As they are substantially the 

 same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, 

 they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper 

 officers to carry the stipulations into effect 



E. E. LEE, General. 

 Lieutenant-General U. 8. GRANT. 



The command of Major-General Gibbon, the Fifth 

 Army Corps under Griffin, and McKenzie's cavalry, 

 were designated to remain at Appomattox Court- 

 House until the paroling of the surrendered army 

 was completed, and to take charge of the public 

 property. The remainder of the army immediately 

 returned to the vicinity of Burkesville. 



General Lee's great influence throughout the whole 

 South caused his example to be followed, and to- 

 day the result is that the armies lately under his 

 leadership are at their homes, desiring peace and 

 quiet, and their arms are in the hands of our ord- 

 nance officers. 



On the receipt of my letter of the 5th, General 

 Sherman moved directly against Joe Johnston, who 

 retreated rapidly on and through Raleigh, which 

 place General Sherman occupied on the morning of 

 the 13th. The day preceding news of the surrender 

 of General Lee reached him at Smitbfleld. 



On the 14th a correspondence was opened between 

 General Sherman and General Johnston, which re- 

 sulted on the 18th in an agreement for the suspen- 

 sion of hostilities, and a memorandum or basis for 

 peace, subject to the approval of the President. 

 This agreement was disapproved by the President 

 on the 21st, which disapproval, together with your 

 instructions, was communicated to General Sherman 

 by me in person on the morning of the 24th, at 

 Raleigh, North Carolina, in obedience to your or- 

 ders. Notice was at once given by him to General 

 Johnston for the termination of the truce that had 

 been entered into. On the 25th another meeting be- 

 tween them was agreed upon, to take place on the 

 26th, which terminated in the surrender and disband- 

 ment of Johnston's army upon substantially the same 

 terms as were given to General Lee. 



The expedition under General Stoneman from East 

 Tennessee got off on the 20th of March, moving by 

 way of Boone, North Carolina, and struck the rail- 

 road at Wytheville, Chambersburg, and Big Lick. 

 The force striking it at Big Lick pushed on to within 

 a few miles of Lynchburg, destroying the important 

 bridges, while with the main force he effectually de- 

 stroyed it between New River and Big Lick, and then 

 turned for Greensboro' on the North Carolina Rail- 

 road ; struck that road and destroyed the bridges 

 between Danville and Greensboro , and between 

 Greensboro' and the Yadkin, together with the de- 

 pots of supplies along with it, and captured four 

 hundred prisoners. At Salisbury he attacked and 

 defeated a force of the enemy under General Gar- 

 diner, capturing fourteen pieces of artillery and one 



thousand three hundred and sixty-four prisoners, 

 and destroyed large amounts of armv stores. At 

 this place he destroyed fifteen miles of railroad and 

 the bridges toward Charlotte. Thence he moved to 

 Slatersville. 



General Canby, who had been directed in January 

 to make preparations for a movement from Mobile 

 Bay against Mobile and the interior of Alabama, 

 commenced his movement on the 20th of March. 

 The Sixteenth Corps, Major-General A. J. Smith 

 commanding, moved from Fort Gaines by water to 

 Fish River; the Thirteenth Corps, under Major-Gen- 

 eral Gordon Granger, moved from Fort Morgan and 

 joined the Sixteenth Corps on Fish River, both mov- 

 ing thence on Spanish Fort and investing it on the 

 27th; while Major-General Steele's command moved 

 from Pensacola, cut the railroad leading from Tensas 

 to Montgomery, effected a junction with them, and 

 partially invested Fort Blakely. After a severe bom- 

 bardment of Spanish Fort a part of its line was car- 

 ried on the 8th of April. During the night the ene- 

 my evacuated the fort. Fort Blakely was carried by 

 assault on. the 9th, and m &ny prisoners captured ; 

 our loss was considerable. These successes practi- 

 cally opened to us the Alabama River, and enabled 

 us to approach Mobile from the North. On the night 

 of the llth the city was evacuated, and was taken 

 possession of by our forces on the morning of the 

 12th. 



The expedition under command of Brevet Major- 

 General Wilson, consisting of 12,500 mounted men, 

 was delayed by rains until March 22d, when it moved 

 from Chickasaw, Alabama. On the 1st of April Gen- 

 eral Wilson encountered the enemy in force under 

 Forrest near Ebenezer Church, drove him in con- 

 fusion, captured SOO prisoners and three guns, and 

 destroyed the central bridge over the Cahawba River. 

 On the 2d he attacked and captured the fortified city 

 of Selma, defended by Forrest with Y.OOO men and 

 thirty-two guns, destroyed the arsenal, armory, na- 

 val foundry, machine shops, vast quantities of stores, 

 and captured 3,000 prisoners. On the 4th be captured 

 and destroyed Tuscaloosa. On the 10th he crossed 

 the Alabama River, and after sending information of* 

 his operations to General Canby, marched on Mont- 

 gomery, which place he occupied on the 14th, the 

 enemy having abandoned it. At this place many 

 stores and five steamboats fell into our hands. 

 Thence a force marched direct on Columbus, and 

 another on West Point, both of which places were 

 assaulted and captured on the 16th. At the former 

 place we got 1,500 prisoners and fifty-two field guns, 

 destroyed two gunboats, the navy yard, foundries, 

 arsenal, many factories, and much other public prop- 

 erty. At the latter place we got three hundred pris- 

 oners, four guns, and destroyed nineteen locomo- 

 tives and three hundred cars. On the 20th he took 

 possession of Macon, Georgia, with sixty field guns, 

 1,200 militia, and five generals, surrendered by Gen- 

 eral Howell Cobb. General Wilson, hearing that 

 Jeff. Davis was trying to make his escape, sent forces 

 in pursuit, and succeeded in capturing him on the 

 morning of May llth. 



On the 4th day of May General Dick Taylor sur- 

 rendered to -General Canby all the remaining rebel 

 forces east of the Mississippi. 



A force sufficient to insure an easy triumph over 

 the enemy under Kirby Smith, west of the Missis- 

 sippi, was immediately put in motion for Texas, and 

 Major-General Sheridan designated for its immediate 

 command ; but on the 26th day of May, and before 

 they reached their destination, General* Kirby Smith 

 surrendered his entire command to Major-General 

 Canby. This surrender did. not take phice, however, 

 until after the capture of the rebel President and 

 Vice-President ; and the bad faith was exhibited of 

 first disbanding most of his army and permitting an 

 indiscriminate plunder of public property. 



Owing to the report that many of those lately in 

 arms against the Government had taken refuge upon 



