Appomattox

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It took General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac almost a year to dislodge Robert E. Lee’s army from its defenses outside Petersburg and open the way to the Confederate capital of Richmond. 

Gen. Robert E. Lee knew that his only chance of continuing the fight was to escape west and south to meet Gen. Joseph Johnston’s army in North Carolina. Lee and his army headed west across the Virginia countryside in an attempt to outrun U.S. forces. The Confederates desperately needed supplies, especially food, so they had to stay as close as possible to the railroad running from Petersburg to Lynchburg. The Union troops, however, did not give Lee much chance to use the railroad. They were able to capture and control key points along the way, constantly harassing the Confederates as they marched.

It was here, on the site of our museum, that part of the Union forces pursuing the Confederates stood their ground and effectively surrounded Lee’s beleaguered army. Lee determined the best course was to surrender. He met Grant at the McLean House just a mile and a half up the road from here. 

ACWM-Appomattox, through its two galleries of exhibits with more than 400 objects, documents, and photographs, explores the Civil War and its legacies, beginning with the secession of the southern states, delving into the last two years of the war, and ending with the Reconstruction era and post-war reunification efforts. 

A reconstructed antebellum cabin aids us in sharing the history of the Robertson family in Appomattox and daily life and economics in mid-19th century rural Virginia.