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Robert E. Lee Just Days After Surrender at Appomattox Court House, a Last Breath and Maybe the Last Time he Used “Genl”
Robert E. Lee Just Days After Surrender at Appomattox Court House, a Last Breath and Maybe the Last Time he Used “Genl”
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Lee Robert

 

Robert E. Lee Just Days After Surrender at Appomattox Court House, a Last Breath and Maybe the Last Time he Used “Genl”

 

Confederate General Robert E. Lee joins one of his corps commanders in commending the performance of Major Robert M. Grinnell, who had come from England to join the Confederacy, though born in New York, and was twice wounded in battle. Following his now years-old habit, Lee signed his endorsement, “Genl.”

 

ROBERT E. LEE, Autograph Endorsement Signed, April 18, 1865. On verso of Henry Heth, Autograph Letter Signed, to Robert M. Grinnell, April 16, 1865. 2 pp., ?" x ?".  Repairs at folds; staining from cello tape.

 

Complete Transcript

                                                                        Powhatan Co. Va

                                                                        Apl: 16th 1865

Major

            The official relations that has existed between us, being about [severed?], at least for a time, it gives me much pleasure to express to you, my high admiration for you, as a gentleman, and soldier. You have done your duty zealously and faithfully, your courage on every battlefield in which you participated, has not only attracted my notice, but that of many of our common superiors.

            The honourable wounds you have received in defence of our rights, speak more [forcibly?] for the manner in which you have discharged your arduous duties, than any language I can use. May prosperity and happiness accompany you, is the sincere wish of your Division Commander.         

                                                                        Very truly yr friend

                                                                        H Heth

                                                                        Maj Genl

Maj. R. M. Grinnell

A & I. Genl. / Heths Div

 

[Endorsement by Robert E. Lee:]

            It gives me pleasure to express my Concurrence in the Commendation bestowed by Genl Heth on Major Grinnell. His Conduct & deportment has been always admirable

                                                                        R E Lee

                                                                        Genl

18 Apl ’65

 

Historical Background

General Ulysses S. Grant’s forces cut the last supply lines to Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia, on April 1 and 2, 1865, forcing the Confederates to abandon both cities. The Confederate government fled west by train, while Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia marched west, hoping to resupply and unite with Joseph E. Johnston’s army in North Carolina. Major General Philip H. Sheridan, commanding Grant’s cavalry with the V Corps in support, pursued Lee relentlessly.

 

Late in the afternoon of April 7, Grant sent a direct message asking General Robert E. Lee to acknowledge the “hopelessness of further resistance” and to surrender to avoid further bloodshed. Lee responded the same day that he did not agree that the position of the Army of Northern Virginia was hopeless but did ask “the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender.”

 

On the morning of April 9, Grant rejected Lee’s proposed meeting, as he had “no authority to treat on the subject of peace.” Lee followed with two brief notes, the first requesting an interview and the second “a suspension of hostilities pending the adjustment of the terms of the surrender of this army.” They met at Appomattox Court House at 3:00 p.m. to complete the surrender, and at 4:30 p.m., Grant telegraphed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, “General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia this afternoon upon terms proposed by myself.”

 

The following day, 28,231 soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were dismissed on their word of honor not to take arms against the United States. At that time Heth’s division had 202 officers and 1,370 men in four brigades. Heth’s staff consisted of 14 officers besides himself.

 

Henry Heth (1825-1899) was born in Virginia, the son of a U.S. Navy captain, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1847 at the bottom of his class. His cousin George Pickett had held the same position when he graduated a year earlier. He served in the 1st Infantry regiment, primarily at western posts, sometimes as quartermaster. Promoted to captain in the 10th Infantry in 1855, Heth created the first marksmanship manual for the Army in 1858. With the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, Heth resigned and joined the Confederate Army, where he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He trained troops in southwestern Virginia. He briefly served as Robert E. Lee’s quartermaster in the Virginia Provisional Army, and the two became close friends. After Heth served in Kentucky, Lee called him to the Virginia to serve as a brigade commander. Heth received promotion to major general in May 1863. His division made the first contact with the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg in July 1863, and he was wounded in the head, knocking him unconscious and out of the battle. He continued to lead his division throughout 1864. When General A. P. Hill was killed on April 2, 1865, Heth briefly took command of the Third Corps, until the entire army surrendered on April 9. After the war, Heth worked in the insurance business and later worked as a surveyor and in the Office of Indian Affairs. He died in Washington, D.C.

 

Robert M. Grinnell (1829-1898) was born in New York into a shipping family, and he grew up in the shipping business. He raced his yacht in England in the 1850s and was living in Liverpool when the Civil War began. In 1860, he married Isabella Musgrave, an English woman. Although Grinnell was born in New York, many of his friends and business associates were Confederates or Confederate sympathizers. Grinnell dissolved two London shipping partnerships and sailed for New Orleans, where he joined the Confederate army in June 1861. His wife, who had experience in the Crimean War with Florence Nightingale, volunteered as a nurse in a Richmond hospital. He was a first lieutenant in the battalion known as the Louisiana Tigers and traveled to Virginia in time to participate in the First Battle of Bull Run. In May 1862, Lieutenant Grinnell was wounded in the hand, lost two fingers, and was captured. Exchanged in August, he later received an appointment as captain and served on the staff of General Henry Heth in the Army of Northern Virginia as an Adjutant and Inspector General from August 1863 to the end of the war. He was wounded in the arm in August 1864, and returned to duty in January 1865. Grinnell was promoted to major in March 1865. After the war, Grinnell spent time in Europe but returned to the United States by 1873. He married Sophia Van Alen (ca. 1834-1916) of Newport, Rhode Island, that year, and they had two daughters. The following year, they settled in Skaneateles, New York, fifteen miles west of Syracuse. They spent winters in Europe, and Grinnell died in Nice, France, while visiting his sister.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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