Babcock House @babcock_house

#DYK: The village of Appomattox Court House sat at the junction of two roads, the heavily travelled Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road and the Prince Edward Court House Road, a secondary road that connected the seats of government of neighboring counties. #Ci…

#DYK: The formal copy of the terms of surrender for the Army of Northern VA, signed by Gen Ulysses S. Grant in the McLean parlor on April 9, 1865, was given to Gen Robert E. Lee. This document exists today at Stratford Hall, Lee's birthplace in Westmorel…

#DYK: In early 1865, many soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia were wearing uniforms made of English wool that had been shipped through the blockade into Wilmington, NC and made into jackets in Richmond. Unfortunately, few of these late war uniforms…

#OTD in 1864, the Maryland Constitutional Convention adopts a new constitution which abolishes slavery in the border state. It will be ratified on October 13 in a very close vote (30,174-29,799), with the state's absentee soldier vote tipping the balance…

#DYK: Co. D, 188th PA Infantry served as Provost Guard for Appomattox County during the summer and fall of 1865. The troops maintained law and order until civil government was restored and assisted the formerly enslaved with the transition to freedom. #C…

#OTD in 1864, Gen. William T. Sherman's victorious armies rest and re-group in and around Atlanta, GA. Meanwhile, in another blow to the Confederacy, Gen. John Hunt Morgan, the feared cavalryman and raider, is killed by Federal troops in Greeneville, TN …

#OTD in 1864, Gen. William T. Sherman's Federal armies capture the Confederate industrial and rail center of Atlanta, GA. This major victory a comes at a critical time for the Union war effort and boosts President Abraham Lincoln's chances for re-electio…

#OTD in 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee evacuates Atlanta, GA after a 4 month campaign. Gen John B Hood has failed to hold the vital industrial and communication center against the Federal armies of Gen William T Sherman, which had targeted Atlan…

#OTD in 1864, the Democrats nominate Gen George McClellan for President and Congressman George Pendleton (OH) for VP. Though against #Emancipation and other hard war measures, McClellan bucks the party's platform by wishing to continue the #CivilWar in o…

#OTD in 1864, the Democratic Convention in Chicago, IL adopts a platform for the upcoming elections. Calling the #CivilWar a failure, it blames the Lincoln administration for violating the constitution and civil liberties, and recommends negotiations to …

#OTD in 1865, President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation stating that articles previously declared as "contraband of war" could now be openly traded with the Southern states "recently declared in insurrection." #CivilWar #Reconstruction

#DYK: In the aftermath of the surrender at Appomattox CH, County Sheriff William "Billy" Hix and his associates roamed the area stealing horses, under the guise of collecting animals abandoned by the armies. Hix was arrested by Federal cavalry but later …

#StillnessAtAppomattox: General Ulysses S. Grant's table and chair in the McLean House parlor. These pieces are exact reproductions as the originals are in the National Museum of American History. #CivilWar #FindYourPark

#DYK: During the Appomattox Campaign, the entire 9th Corps of the Army of the Potomac was relegated to repair the South Side RR from Petersburg to Burkeville, VA as a Federal supply line. One of their tasks was to re-gauge the tracks from 5' to 4' 8 1/2'…

RT @NatlParkService: The National Park Service was officially established on August 25, 1916! Over the 107 years, we've grown into more than 400 national parks and many programs that reach communities around the country—and even the world! #NPSBirthday…

RT @NauCivilWar: New on the blog: UVA graduate student Presley Ramey (@PikaPres) discusses her summer internship at @AppomattoxNPS! Visit our website to read more: naucenter.as.virginia.edu/reflections-ap…

#OTD in 1864, Federal troops secure a lodgment on the Weldon RR south of Petersburg, VA at Reams Station and begin destroying track. Confederates sortie from their earthworks, attack, and rout the Federals, capturing nearly 2,000 men. The supply line rem…

#DYK: The Appomattox Campaign officially began on March 29, 1865 with the Battle of Lewis Farm, south of Petersburg, along the Boydton Plank Rd. This was the start of Gen Ulysses S Grant's final offensive to outflank Gen Robert E Lee's army and cut off h…

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#OTD in 1864, believing he will lose the upcoming election, President Lincoln asks his cabinet to sign unseen a letter pledging to work with the President elect to "save the Union between the election and the innaguration...as he can not possibly save it…

Yes. Isbell was one of 88 yes votes in the Virginia Secession Convention on April 17, 1861 (vs. 55 no votes). Appomattox County was won by John C. Breckinridge in the 1860 Election and was largely pro secession even before Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops.