One misconception I think many people have is that the Civil War ended at a courthouse. It did not. There is a difference between court house and courthouse. The one word version is the actual courthouse where judges would hear cases. The other is a small town. Appomattox Court House is a small town in Virginia, and a must see for any history buff. The National Parks Service has done a phenomenal job keeping this great piece of history alive.

This past June my father and I got the chance to visit for the first time, and it was awesome. We both expected maybe one building left from the wartime, but there were quite a few including the courthouse and the home where the surrender was signed by Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.

McLean House

The house has an interesting story. The owner was Wilmer McLean, thus known as the McLean house. But the McLean family has an interesting backstory when it comes to the Civil War. They actually left another part of Virginia to get away from the war early on, only to have it reappear in their front yard and end in their home.

A grocer, McLean lived in Manassas, Virginia. The First Battle of Bull Run occurred around his home, so he moved his family to Appomattox in an effort to get away from the war and be in a safer area. Little did he know that the armies would once again meet on his land. This time though, the battle was short and ended with Robert E. Lee surrendering.

The National Park Service has turned the courthouse into the visitor center where you can get information and view a short video. The park rangers lead walks through the town and I highly recommend you join one. We learned quite a bit about the town and its history.

In addition to the McLean house you can visit the old tavern, general store, and much more. And don’t forget to get to the bookstore they have set up. It is behind the tavern.

One of the more interesting stories was about the jail. If you look at the image below, you will notice the changing colors of the jail’s bricks. Apparently when the war started, it was unfinished. With the war occurring they stopped construction only to finish it later on. But when Grand and Lee were there, it is thought that it was only up to the dark area just above the door.

This is also where the last shots were fired by the Army of Northern Virginia. But perhaps one of the coolest stories comes from General Joshua Chamberlain. He is probably most famous for his actions as a Lt. Colonel at Gettysburg when he and his 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment saved Little Round Top at Gettysburg with a vicious charge down the hill.

But here at Appomattox, now a general, Chamberlain was in charge of the surrender. On his own, as the Confederates were marching towards the Union to turn over their weapons, he ordered his men to come to attention and “carry arms” as a sign of respect. It was one of those moments where the respect was for the men, not necessarily why they were fighting. While this may have upset many Unionists, his soldiers did as ordered and the Confederates turned over their guns as the Union soldiers stood at attention in silence.

If you are ever in the area, this National Historic Site is well worth seeing. Be sure to check out one of the short tours by the park rangers. I think ours was 1 hour, but it was well worth it.

This was the first stop on my 2023 Civil War History Tour.