Lee's Surrender, Grant's Triumph

"We made a great mistake in the beginning of our struggle, and I fear, in spite of all we can do, it will prove to be a fatal mistake. We appointed all our worst generals to command our armies and all our best generals to edit the newspapers." -- General Robert E. Lee, who, for the purposes of this blog, may also be known as Saturday's Biggest Loser

Saturday, after our forays into Lynchburg, we followed the James River east toward Appomattox Court House National Historic Park, where we frolicked in the sleet with tourists from Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and some fellow Bay Staters who looked longingly at Koala's license plates.

The original Appomattox Court House burned down in the 1890s, and the McLean home, where the official surrender of the Confederate forces was signed, was razed and relocated to Washington before falling into disarray. These buildings are replications and nearby homes relocated to the site.

Lee officially surrendered on Palm Sunday, 1865, and we arrived on the first Saturday in Lent, which seemed fitting. Also, knowing there will be reenactments happening next month for the 144th anniversary, I am glad for the haphazard timing of our jaunt.

As you drive through Appomattox, NPS signs on the highway point you toward the site "Where America Reunited."

Ben, who wasn't pleased with the concept of reunion, yelled out the window, "More like 'Where the Confederacy fell to its knees and begged for forgiveness.'"

I asked him to demonstrate when we were safely inside the park, which he was happy to do under the cover of the recreated town general store.

I should have taken a photo of the rain-soaked tourists who happened to walk by the general store at precisely the wrong moment, and briefly paused with looks of utter dismay on their faces. Maybe they thought he was conjuring the bad weather?

Instead of snapping them, I saw an opportunity to please my mother and take more pictures of fences, because we all know that Karen loves her some photos of fences. Note that this particular shot depicts three varieties.

And here are some typical Civil War-era crude barracks fences.

To cleanse the palate of the Civil War, and for general good measure, let's conclude with a pretty barn near the McLean homestead:

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” -- General Ulysses S. Grant, the (nineteenth century) Decider