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Lane's Report--Appomattox Surrender (April 9, 1865)
Appomattox C.H. Apl 10th 1865
Major.
I have the honor to report that on the night of the 1st of April,
four Regiments of my Brigade, with intervals between the men varying from six to ten paces, were stretched along the works
between Battery Gregg & Hatcher's Run in the following order from right to left, 28th, 37th, 18th, 33rd. The right of
the 28th rested near the brown house in front of Genl. McRae's winter quarters, & the left of the 33rd on the branch near
Mrs. Banks'. The enemy commenced shelling my line from several batteries about 9 o'clock that night, & the picket lines
in my front opened fire at a quarter to 2 o'clock the following morning. The skirmishers from McGowan's Brigade, who covered
the works held by my command, were driven in at a quarter to five o'clock, & my line was pierced by the enemy in strong
force at the ravine in front of the right of the 37th near Genl. McGowans Hd. Qrs. The 28th, enfiladed on the left
by this force & on the right by the force that had previously broken the troops to our right, was forced to fall back
to the Plank Road. The enemy on its left took possession of this Road, & forced it to fall still further back to the Cox
Road, where [Page 2]
it skirmished with the enemy & supported a Battery of Artillery
by order of Brig. Genl. Pendleton. The other Regiments fought the enemy between McGowan's winter quarters & those occupied
by my Brigade, & were driven back; they then made a stand in the winter quarters of the right Regiment of my Command,
but were again broken, a part retreating along the works to the left, & the remainder going to the rear - these last,
under Col. Cowan, made a stand on the hill to the right of Mrs. Banks, but were forced back to the Plank Road, along which
they skirmished for some time, & then fell back to the Cox Road, where they supported a Battery of Artillery by order
of Lt. Genl. Longstreet. That portion of my Command which retreated along the works to the left, made two more unsuccessful
attempts to resist the enemy, the last stand being made in the Church Road leading to the Jones House. It then fell back to
Battery Gregg & the Battery to its left, but under Maj. Wooten & assisted by a part of Thomas' Brigade, it soon after
charged the enemy, by order of Maj. Genl. Wilcox, & cleared the works as far as the branch on which the left of the 33rd
rested the night previous. Here we were rejoined by Col. Cowan, & we deployed as skirmishers to the left of the Church
Road & perpendicular to the works, but did not hold this position long, as we were [Page
3]
attacked by a strong line of skirmishers, supported by two strong
lines of battle; a part of us retreated to Battery Gregg, & the rest to the new line of works near the "Dam." Battery
Gregg was subsequently attacked by an immense force, & fell after the most gallant & desperate defence, our men bayonetted
many of the enemy as they mounted the parapet. After the fall of this Battery, the rest of my command, along the new line,
was attacked in front & flank, & driven back to the old line of works running N.W. from Battery 45, where it remained
until the evacuation of Petersburg. We were here rejoined by the 28th under Capt. Linebarger.
On the afternoon of the 3rd we crossed the Appomattox at Good's Bridge,
bivouaced at Amelia C.H. on the 4th, & on the 5th formed line of battle between Amelia C.H. & Jetersville, where our
Sharp Shooters, under Maj. Wooten, became engaged. Next day, while resting in Farmville, we were ordered back to a fortified
hill to support our cavalry which was hard pressed, but before reaching the hill, the order was countermanded, we were moved
rapidly through Farmville, & sustained some loss from the Artillery fire, while crossing the river near that place. That
afternoon we formed line of battle, facing to the rear, between one & two miles from Farmville & my Sharp Shooters
were attacked by the enemy. During the night we resumed our march, & on the 9th, while [Page 4]
forming line of battle, we were ordered back & directed to stack
our arms, as the Army of Northern Virginia had been surrendered.
My officers & men behaved well throughout this trying campaign, &
superiority in numbers alone enabled the enemy to drive us from our works near Petersburg. Col. Cowan, though indisposed was
constantly with his command, & displayed his usual gallantry, while Maj. Wooten nobly sustained his enviable reputation
as an officer. We have to mourn the loss of Captains Nicholson, Faine, McAulay & Long, & other gallant officers. Capt.
E.J. Hale Jr. A.A.G. & 1st Lt. E.B. Meade A.D.C. were constantly at their posts; displaying great bravery, & giving
additional evidence of their efficiency as Staff Officers.
I am unable to give our exact loss at Petersburg. I surrendered at this point
fifty six (56) officers, & four hundred & eighty four (484) men, many of the latter being detailed non arms bearing
men, who were sent back to be surrendered with their Brigade.
The 7th, the other regiment of my Command, is absent in North Carolina, on
detached service.
I am Major
Very respectfully
Your Obdt. Servt.
James
H. Lane.
Brig. Genl.
[To:] Maj. Jos. A. Engelhard.
A.A.G.
List of Officers and Men of Lane's Brigade Present on April 9, 1865
at
Appomattox Court House
| NAME |
RANK |
Co. & Regt. |
| James H. Lane |
Brig. Genl. |
|
| E.J. Hale, Jr. |
Capt. A. A. Genl. |
|
| E. B. Meade |
1st Lieut. A.W.C. |
|
| E. W. Hearndon |
Major, Q. M. |
|
| T. H. McCoy |
Major, C. S. |
|
| D. Y. Russell |
Clerk Brig. Hd. Qtrs. |
Co. I, 18th |
| A. R. Joyce |
Courier |
Co. I, 28th |
| I. Draughn |
Courier |
Co. A, 28th |
| Frank Ketner |
Mail Boy |
Co. I, 33rd |
| F. L. Alexander |
Brig. Cmdn. Sergeant |
Co. I, 18th |
| James Eure |
Asst. to Brig. Cmdn. Sergt |
Co. E, 33rd |
Source: Auburn University Department of Archives and Manuscripts
Recommended Reading: Confederate
Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina
In The Civil War, 1861-1865. Description:
The author, Prof. D. H. Hill, Jr., was the son of Lieutenant General Daniel Harvey Hill (North
Carolina produced only two lieutenant generals and it was the second highest rank in the army)
and his mother was General “Stonewall” Jackson’s wife's sister. In Confederate
Military History Of North Carolina, Hill discusses North Carolina’s massive task of preparing and mobilizing
for the conflict; the many regiments and battalions recruited from the Old North State; as well as the state's numerous
contributions during the war. Continued below...
During Hill's Tar Heel State
study, the reader begins with interesting and thought-provoking statistical data regarding the 125,000 "Old North State"
soldiers that fought during the course of the war and the 40,000 that perished. Hill advances with the Fighting Tar
Heels to the first battle at Bethel, through numerous bloody campaigns and battles--including
North Carolina’s contributions at the "High Watermark" at Gettysburg--and
concludes with Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Highly recommended!
Recommended Reading: In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War
(Hardcover: 592 pages) (The University of North Carolina Press). Description:
This remarkable biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth
Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg,
earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg,
and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Continued below...
Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations
with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, he served four terms as governor of his
home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin
College. He wrote prolifically about the war, including The Passing of Armies: An Account Of The Final Campaign Of The Army Of The Potomac .
Recommended Reading: This
Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War. Editorial Review from Publishers
Weekly: Battle is the dramatic centerpiece of Civil War history; this penetrating study looks instead
at the somber aftermath. Historian Faust (Mothers of Invention) notes that the Civil War introduced America to death on an
unprecedented scale and of an unnatural kind—grisly, random and often ending in an unmarked grave far from home. Continued
below...
She surveys the many ways the Civil War generation coped with the trauma: the concept of the Good Death—conscious,
composed and at peace with God; the rise of the embalming industry; the sad attempts of the bereaved to get confirmation of
a soldier's death, sometimes years after war's end; the swelling national movement to recover soldiers' remains and give them
decent burials; the intellectual quest to find meaning—or its absence—in the war's carnage. In the process, she
contends, the nation invented the modern culture of reverence for military death and used the fallen to elaborate its new
concern for individual rights. Faust exhumes a wealth of material—condolence letters, funeral sermons, ads for mourning
dresses, poems and stories from Civil War–era writers—to flesh out her lucid account. The result is an insightful,
often moving portrait of a people torn by grief.
Recommended Reading: The
History Buff's Guide to the Civil War (400 pages). Description: Exploring
the Civil War can be fascinating, but with so many battles, leaders, issues, and more than 50,000 books on these subjects,
the task can also be overwhelming. Was Gettysburg the most important battle? Were Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis so different
from each other? How accurate is re-enacting? Who were the worst commanding generals? Thomas R. Flagel uses annotated lists
organized under more than thirty headings to see through the powder smoke and straighten Sherman’s neckties, ranking
and clarifying the best, the worst, the largest, and the most lethal aspects of the conflict. Continued below...
Major sections are fashioned around the following topics:
• Antebellum: Investigates the critical years before the war, in particular
the growing crises, extremists, and slavery.
• Politics: Contrasts the respective presidents and constitutions
of the Union and Confederacy, the most prominent politicians, and the most volatile issues of the times.
• Military Life: Offers insights into the world of the common soldiers,
how they fought, what they ate, how they were organized, what they saw, how they lived, and how they died.
• The Home Front: Looks at the fastest growing field in Civil War
research, including immigration, societal changes, hardships and shortages, dissent, and violence far from the firing lines.
• In Retrospect: Ranks the heroes and heroines, greatest victories
and failures, firsts and worsts.
• Pursuing the War: Summarizes Civil War study today, including films,
battlefield sites, books, genealogy, re-enactments, restoration, preservation, and other ventures.
From the antebellum years to Appomattox and beyond, The History Buff’s
Guide to the Civil War is a quick and compelling guide to one of the most complex and critical eras in American history.
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War Battlefield
Guide: The Definitive Guide, Completely Revised, with New Maps and More Than 300 Additional Battles (Second Edition)
(Hardcover). Description: This new edition of the definitive guide to Civil War battlefields
is really a completely new book. While the first edition covered 60 major battlefields, from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, the
second covers all of the 384 designated as the "principal battlefields" in the
American Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report. Continued below...
As in the first edition, the essays are authoritative and concise, written by such leading Civil War
historians as James M. McPherson, Stephen W. Sears, Edwin C. Bearss, James I. Robinson, Jr., and Gary W. Gallager. The second
edition also features 83 new four-color maps covering the most important battles. The Civil War Battlefield
Guide is an essential reference for anyone interested in the Civil War. "Reading
this book is like being at the bloodiest battles of the war..."
Recommended
Reading: General
Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse (624 pages). Editorial Review (Publishers
Weekly): You cannot say that University of North Carolina professor Glatthaar
(Partners in Command) did not do his homework in this massive examination of the Civil War–era lives of the men in Robert
E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Glatthaar spent nearly 20 years examining and ordering primary source material to ferret
out why Lee's men fought, how they lived during the war, how they came close to winning, and why they lost. Continued
below...
Glatthaar marshals
convincing evidence to challenge the often-expressed notion that the war in the South was a rich man's war and a poor man's
fight and that support for slavery was concentrated among the Southern upper class. Lee's army included the rich, poor and
middle-class, according to the author, who contends that there was broad support for the war in all economic strata of Confederate
society. He also challenges the myth that because Union
forces outnumbered and materially outmatched the Confederates, the rebel cause was lost, and articulates Lee and his army's
acumen and achievements in the face of this overwhelming opposition. This well-written work provides much food for thought
for all Civil War buffs.
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