and colors before the lines of Federals brought to our side of Appomattox Court House to receive them. All private property-as horses, side-arms, and clothing-we were allowed to retain. Our brigade surrendered its arms on the morning of the 12th of April. A line of Federal soldiers was drawn up on each side of the road between us and Appomattox Court House. Immediately in front of one or the other of these, a Confederate command would perform the last humiliating task. We marched through the mud and rain, and did as the rest-stacked arms and colors, and then returned to make ready for our departure. There was no great effort made at preserving discipline in the army, nor was it necessary; all that remained to do was a mere matter of business. We did not often see the chief officers of the army. I only saw Gen. Lee on the evening after the surrender. He had been to the front, probably making the final arrangements. As he passed along the main road, the soldiers from both sides of the road thronged out to see him and give him what proved to be, for many of us, the last greeting. I was not near enough to see his face or hear his voice; but I was told that he returned them his thanks, expressed the hope that he might again lead them to battle, and wept. I do not know how many of his hearers shed tears; but I remember that most of those who described the scene to me spoke with trembling lips and moist eyes. He gave us his farewell in the following order: [General Order, No. 9.] HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA, After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them but, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuation of the contest, I have determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of agreement, officers and men will return to their homes and remain there until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind consideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell. R. E. LEE, General. On the afternoon of the 12th, Wilcox's division-consisting of Lane's, Thomas's, Scales', and McGowan's brigades -marched through the Federal lines, on their way South. Brigade commanders were placed in absolute possession of their brigades; so, that, although we kept somewhat together, for a day or two, we soon broke apart, each brigade taking the nearest route towards home. It became necessary to dissolve all organization in a few days. Many of the men could not keep up, many of those who remained were irregular, and our roads began to diverge from each other. Just after we crossed Stanton river, Gen. McGowan bade his troops farewell, and dismissed them to pursue their own courses. Small squads travelled together. The majority of us reached the northern boundary of South Carolina about the 20th or 21st of April. By the 1st of May almost every man of the brigade was at his home, resting from the toils of war, and enjoying, as best he might, that state which certain imaginative persons have denominated peace. NOTE. The following table, compiled from the regimental reports immediately after battles, and from a condensed report made out in February, 1865, will enable the reader to obtain, at a glance, a very accurate idea of the losses of the brigade. It embraces the whole history of the Thirteenth regiment; that of the Rifle regiment until the battle of Sutherland's Station, April 2, 1865; and that of the First, Twelfth and Fourteenth, until March 31, 1865. The reader will be struck with two discrepancies between the table and the reports I have given heretofore, viz.: first, the greater number of deaths from wounds in this table than in my lists; and, second, the greater number of wounds not fatal, in the table, in the First and Twelfth regiments, than in my lists. Both difficulties may be removed, if we will but remember, first, that the reports I give were made out immediately after battle, and therefore that those men who lingered a few days could not be included among the killed; and, second, that many men, reported missing, were, after the reports were given in, found to have been either killed or wounded. For this last reason I have not pretended to give, in the table, the number of missing, or-as it is generally understoodprisoners. Even the regimental commanders failed to obtain satisfactory returns on this point. If, however, I should be called upon for an estimate of unhurt prisoners, previous to the campaign of 1865, I should say that they did not exceed two hundred and fifty. |