indeed, had the simple utterance been attested. It was a magnificent pageant from the Chickahominy to the final act at Appomattox Courthouse; sublime in its realization of valor, endurance, and patriotism. Freedom records no sacrifices surpassing it in magnitude. And the grand hero, Lee, reillumining the lustrous diadem of his mother, Virginia, is jointly enshrined in the reverential hearts of her sons with her Washington.
Crushingly overwhelmed, the starving Army of Northern Virginia laid down its arms, but its pitiful fate invested with mournful incense only, its heroism and sacrifices. Its achievements will increasingly command the admiration of the world during all time.
The following communication is a material addition to this narrative: *
Near Appomattox Courthouse,
His Excellency, Jefferson Davis:
Mr. President,—It is with pain that I announce to your Excellency the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The operations which preceded this result will be reported in full. I will, therefore, only now state, that, upon arriving at Amelia Courthouse on the morning of the 4th, with the advance of the army, on the retreat from the lines in front of Richmond and Petersburg, and not finding the supplies ordered to be placed there, nearly twenty-four hours were lost in endeavoring to collect in the country subsistence for men and horses. This delay was fatal, and could not be retrieved. The troops, wearied by constant fighting and marching for several days and nights, obtained neither rest nor refreshment, and on moving on the 5th, on the Richmond and Danville railroad, I found at Jetersville the enemy's cavalry, and learned the approach of his infantry and the general advance of his army toward Burkeville. This deprived us of the use of the railroad, and rendered it impracticable to procure from Danville the supplies ordered to meet us at points of our march. Nothing could be obtained from the adjacent country. Our route to the Roanoke was therefore changed, and the march directed upon Farmville, where supplies were ordered from Lynchburg. The change of route threw the troops over the roads pursued by artillery and wagon-trains west of the railroad, which impeded our advance and embarrassed our movements. On the morning of the 6th, General Longstreet's corps reached Rice's station on the Lynchburg railroad. It was followed by the commands of Generals R. H. Anderson, Ewell and Gordon, with orders to close upon it as fast as the progress of the trains would permit, or as they could be directed on roads further west. General Anderson, commanding Pickett's and B. R. Johnson's divisions, became disconnected with Mahone's division, forming the rear of Longstreet. The enemy's cavalry penetrated the line of march through
.* Jones's Reminiscences of Lee, pages 311-14.
