Wilmer McLean House

A modern photograph shows the Wilmer McLean House in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, site of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Confederate general Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865.

McLean was the former owner of the dwelling that had served as Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard's headquarters during the First Battle of Manassas, the first major battle of the American Civil War that had taken place on July 21, 1861. That house was damaged during the fighting and McLean moved his family to Appomattox Court House, in the words of Confederate general Edward Porter Alexander, "a secluded spot where he could hope never to see a soldier": "It was certainly a very remarkable coincidence. The first hostile shot I ever saw strike, went through his kitchen. The last gun was fired on his land and the surrender took place in his parlor; nearly four years of time & 200 miles of space intervening."