From The Gettysburg Battlefield To The Appomattox Courthouse
Mary Lincoln. Letter to Charles Sumner, Washington, D.C., April 10, 1865. Manuscript. |
General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865. The next day, First Lady Mary Lincoln wrote to friend and confidant Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner with good news: “Mr. L. told me the news, last night at ten o’clock, that Lee & his Army were in our hands.” “If possible,” she continued, “this is a happier day, than last Monday [the fall of Richmond], the crowds around the house have been immense, in the midst of the bands playing, they break forth into singing.” MS Am 1 (3857) Charles Sumner, Correspondence Gift of Edward L. Pierce and family. |
