the education of henry

Day 31: Appomattox Courthouse

2023-10-14

Today we left Williamsburg and headed for Appomattox Courthouse. For the first time since we left Boston we had rain to contend with. The drive was uneventful, but the rain was occasionally heavy. Not much for activity today, but we needed a little bit of a break.

We crossed the James River on a lift bridge.

Then we went to Farmville.

And finally we made it Appomattox.

Here is the courthouse, which is now the visitor's center.

And this is the MacLean House, where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. The house is actually a recreation of the original, built on the original foundations.

This is the table where the surrender was signed. It is the actual table.

The room where it happened.

They had a few artifacts in one of the other buildings, but not much.

One of the rooms had printing presses that were used to print the pardon passes for the former Confederate soldiers to use as they made their way home.

Here are examples of the passes.

The town is pretty small, but we did not explore much, as it was pouring rain. We all got wet, even with umbrellas.

We hit the road for our hotel, taking back roads a good part of the way. Virginia is beautiful - especially with the leaves changing colors.

The view from our hotel tonight. If you're curious, that is an abandoned asylum for children in the foreground. It is, of course, haunted.

And that is all for now. The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow so hopefully we will have more pictures.

Take care!