History of the Twelfth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry / The Part It Took in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865

by active 19th century William Hewitt

(583) We marched not very far when we were started on the double-quick along the road, just as day was breaking. We had marched thus rapidly only for a few minutes, when some cavalry were observed coming out of woods on our right at a rather rapid rate, though in good order. It appeared that the Rebels had been driving them, and that they were withdrawing to uncover the infantry. Just as a squadron emerged from the woods opposite our regiment, one of the cavalrymen exclaimed: "Here come the Doe boys!" and then he gave us the further encouragement of assuring us that the Johnnys had up the black flag.

(584) Every soldier who served any considerable time in the late war will bear out the assertion that in no kind of civil life during the same length of time could a man hear a tithe of the rumors, startling in purport, that he could hear during the war. So the boys had heard too many rumors to be frightened by this story of the black flag. In a few minutes our regiment was halted, the ranks closed up and formed into line upon the road. This road, it is believed, led north, so as to intersect the road the Rebels were on, a short distance west of Appomattox Court-house. Our part of the line did not extend as far as the intersection of the roads, but doubtless the two divisions extended beyond it, so as to completely cut off the retreat of the enemy. We moved in line toward the enemy and at nearly right angle to the road, through some woods in such a manner as to place our regiment in the west line of the closing in lines. Our two divisions from the Army of the James and Sheridan's cavalry were now barring the Rebel retreat. We advanced rather cautiously, moving up a little then, then halting, perhaps waiting on the disposition of other troops. It was not long till shells began to crash through the tree tops above us, from the enemy's batteries. They did no harm to us, however.

(585) We now halted and remained in line for perhaps two hours, expecting to have a battle that day. The boys of the Twelfth seemed confident. There was no disposition shown by any to flinch. They no doubt were cheered by the thought that for once, since joining Grant's army, they were about to get a whack at the Rebs without having to fight them behind breast works; when about 9 o'clock A.M., the order came very unexpectedly and to our great gratification and relief, to cease firing until further orders. We did not then know that a flag of truce had been sent by Gen. Lee; but the boys generally seemed, in the phrase of the present time, to "catch on" to the fact that this probably meant the surrender of Lee's army, the main-stay of the Rebellion; and their countenances accordingly lighted up with the thought of the pleasing prospect of this glorious consummation, which all felt was devoutly to be wished for, and which had been hoped, prayed and fought for through four long years of blood and tears, and tears and blood.

(586) Soldiers hardly ever have knowledge before hand of any great military movement in which they are to engage. Sometimes they are precipitated into a hazardous undertaking without a minute's notice. They are even sometimes engaged in important movements without knowing definitely what they are doing. A soldier, who was in McClellan's army in its retreat from the Chickahominy to the James, once related that he thought that all the time they were fighting and marching they were going toward Richmond instead of retreating. But, as to the matter of the early knowledge of what was about to be done, for once, that 9th of April, the soldiers got ahead of the Commander of the United States Army, for they had at about 9 o'clock A.M. that eventful day a pretty strong intimation of what was about to take place; while Lee's dispatch to Grant agreeing to surrender on Grant's terms did not reach him until half past eleven o'clock A.M., the latter being considerably in the rear of his forces, passing from the right to the left to communicate with Sheridan. He could not be found till then, and consequently did not know sooner of Lee's acceptance of his terms.

(587) Perhaps it was shortly after 12 P.M. that our line moved up toward the Rebel camp into open ground, and soon their camp some half mile distant appeared in view. Not long after this a great volume of cheers was heard rolling round the lines from right to left. This we soon learned was caused by the announcement of the surrender. The cheering was not precisely continuous, but was rather somewhat intermittent. It would break out in great roars, then subside, then in a few minutes break out again, all the time coming nearer as the news was carried from organization to organization. Pretty soon our commander, Col. Curtis, rode in front of the regiment and repeated the gladsome news of the surrender, saying that the war was virtually over; that we would soon be mustered out, and sent home; that we would get home in time for harvest. The boys, inspired by the thought of final victory, that the "cruel war" was over, and especially by the thought of home, gave three such rousing heart-felt cheers as doubtless never escaped their lips before.

(588) Such vigorous, frantic and deep-down-from-the-heart cheering was perhaps never before heard on this continent as was heard that day; and the boys need not ever expect to hear the like again. Men acted with the delirium of joy, climbing trees, throwing their hats in the air, jumping on them and doing all sorts of frantic things. They forgot all about the long and weary marches they had made; their suffering from sickness, hunger and cold; the dangers, battles and scenes of carnage they had passed through. All thoughts of these things were swept away by the great flood of joy that overwhelmed them, because of the glorious victory of the hosts of Union and Liberty over the hosts of Treason.

(589) And now a remarkable feature of this almost closing scene in the great drama of the Civil War should not fail of receiving notice, especially as it has not hitherto been alluded to, so far as has been observed, in any other published account of the surrender. About a half hour after the cheering had ceased on the part of the Union soldiers, there was almost as vigorous cheering in the Rebel camp. This conduct of the enemy had something of the appearance of rejoicing over their own defeat. However, though no explanation is remembered as ever having been given for this demonstration, the reasonable inference is that they were cheering because they had heard the news that they were to be paroled upon the field and sent home, instead of being sent to prison. Like the Union soldiers they were delighted with the prospect that they should soon "breathe the air again of our (their) own beloved home." Be this as it may, this cheering of Lee's defeated veterans was a most extraordinary occurrence. And it is doubtful if a parallel to it can be found anywhere in all previous history. This was a scene the like of which could occur nowhere else, perhaps, on the earth at this time than in this free, enlightened and humane land of ours.

(590) Some mention here of Lieut. H. R. McCord will perhaps be not without interest. He was mustered in as first sergt. of Company G. During the war he received promotions up to first lieutenant, and when Col. Curtis was put in command of a brigade, McCord was appointed adjutant general on the colonel's staff. The lieutenant had relations living all during the war within the Rebel lines, and he would hear, through letters from them occasionally. He came to believe and so expressed himself during the last year of the war, that the Rebels would never be conquered. Doubtless the die-in-the-last-ditch spirit breathed in those letters was responsible for that belief. He never gave up that idea until the morning of Lee's surrender. This want of faith in final success, however, in nowise interfered with his faithfulness and efficiency as a soldier, for he was ever ready to do his whole duty bravely and well. The cloud of despair that had hung over him was all swept away that memorable morning, as a fog before the breeze. And perhaps there was not a gladder man, nor one that rejoiced more heartily that day in the entire army than he, over the glorious victory and the downfall of the Rebellion.

(591) Two divisions of the Twenty-fourth Corps and some other troops remained on the field of surrender while the Rebels were in course of being paroled. At first for about one day our guards kept the soldiers of the two armies apart and from mingling with each other. After that there was no restraint put upon them, and the late deadly enemies met and chatted in a quite amicable and seemingly friendly way, just as if they had never been at war with each other. The Johnnys were disposed to contend that if the number of their men and their means had been equal to those of Uncle Sam, they could not have been conquered. But they said nothing at that time about one Southern man being able to whip five Yankees.

(592) There was considerable trading going on between the soldiers of the two armies. The boys on either side were disposed to trade almost anything they had. The Johnnys would sell their Confederate money for about anything they could get for it, and they would go to our sutlers and spend any "green-back" or postal-scrip money thus obtained for tobacco, being anxious to get, as they said, some "Yankee tobacco." They quite generally expressed a willingness to give up the struggle; to have the war end immediately, and to submit to the authority of the United States.