We wanted to get from Apex, North Carolina to Staunton,
Virginia. On a map Appomattox appeared to be on the way and since we
had just been to Fort Sumter (beginning of the Civil War) ten days ago, it
seemed appropriate to stop at Appomattox.
APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK commemorates the April 9, 1865
surrender meeting marking the end of the Civil War.
The park’s visitor center is
in the reconstructed Appomattox County Courthouse – the centerpiece of the village.
Here is what it looked like
a couple days after the surrender.
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| NPS public domain |
We didn’t have as much time
as we would have liked, but we were able to catch a tour of the McLean House.
The formal surrender occurred in the parlor.
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| the reconstructed McLean House |
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| General Lee & General Grant’s tables in the parlor of the McLean House |
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| a painting depicting the event |
A National Park Service
volunteer did a great job explaining the tension of the moment, the stationing
of the troops, the reason this ended up the location, and even the details of
the reconstruction of the house. We wish we had a little more time to explore this park.
Yes. This was right on the
way. The drive was quite scenic with rolling pastures and the Blue
Ridge Mountains in the distance.
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our trailer (driven by Bill)
taken from our Prius (driven by Barbara)
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But then we had to cross the mountains. Maybe we
shouldn’t have believed our GPS, as we zigzagged our way
up the mountain watching the transmission temperature climb and then zigzagged our way back down in low gear. We were glad
when the road flattened out on the other side of the mountains.
