A Five Year War Starts at Your House and Finishes At Your House
How could this be? Ask poor Wilmer McLean. When federal troops headed south to enforce the union and bring secessionists states back into the fold, they were met by Confederate forces under General PGT Beauregard at the First Battle of Bull Run, called Manassas in the South. During the battle, Wilmer McLean’s house was used as the Headquarters for General PGT Beauregard. During supper, a cannon ball hit the house and fell through the kitchen roof rolling around the table where they were eating. So, the Civil War started, fought on McClean’s front porch and in his kitchen.
Wilmer McLean around 1860
Wilmer McClean felt a change of location would be good for his health, so he packed up and moved. In the Spring of 1863, he moved to a quiet place in Virginia where he could live in peace. Later, near the end of the war, the Confederates were beaten and surrounded. They decided to surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. They looked around for a suitable home for the ceremony and chose – the home of Wilmer McClean. General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General US Grant in the parlor of McClean’s home.
After the ceremony, officers started taking away McClean’s furniture as souvenirs of the event, throwing money at him as payment. General Ord payed $40 for the table they signed the surrender on, General Sheridan paid $20 for the table it was drafted on. Chairs, furnishings, anything not bolted down was removed, most not being paid for. Poor Wilmer McLean who had tried to avoid combat was in the wrong place at the wrong time again.
I believe he was the only man in history who can honestly say that a major war (the American Civil War in this case) started in his front yard, and ended in his parlor. It was his claim to fame for the remainder of his life.
Appomattox Court House
Michael Bradley - Time Traveler 