Appomattox Court House > Site of Lee’s Headquarters
The Confederates Trapped orientation marker is at the site of Lee’s Headquarters at Appomattox National Historical Park. It is next to the Lee’s Last Headquarters wayside marker and across the parking are from the Confederate Field hospital wayside marker.
From the marker:
Confederates Trapped
For most of the war, Lee and his army had tormented their Northern enemies – at Gaines’ Mill, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville. But here, on April 9, 1865, the once-mighty Army of Northern Virginia found itself trapped. Lee faced the most difficult decision of his life.
“… there is nothing left me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths.”
Gen. Robert E. Lee, CSA April 9, 1865
The tortuous final journey began with the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond on April 2, 1865. Lee’s straggling columns started west, trying to outrun Grant’s men, trying to turn south into North Carolina to join another Confederate force under Joseph E. Johnston. But Federals from three armies dogged them all the way. Then, on the morning of April 9, Union infantry deployed across Lee’s path west of Appomattox Court House.
Two miles northeast of here, more Federals slashed at the Confederate rear. With Union troops blocking his route west on the Stage Road (present Route 24), with Union troops behind him, and with Union troops closing on his left flank from the east, Lee had no choice. At about 9 a.m. on April 9, he sent a final, painful message to Grant. Could they meet “with reference to the surrender of this army?”
From the caption to the map:
At Appomattox, the Federals caught Lee’s army in a vise. Some of Lee’s officers urged that the army scatter along open roads to the northwest and fight as guerrillas. Lee rejected the idea: ‘We would bring on a state of affairs it would take the country years to recover from,’ he said.
From the caption to the illustration at the bottom:
Sensing imminent disaster, the Confederates destroyed equipment (below) on April 8, 1865. The army that reached Appomattox Court House numbered about 30,000 men, but not all were armed. During the march west, thousands of men had simply drifted away, unable to keep up.
Closeup of the map from the marker
Location
The Confederates Trapped orientation marker is on the east side of the parking area at the site of Lee’s Headquarters in the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The site of Lee’s Headquarters is at a pull out about 1 1/4 mile to the northeast of the park’s Visitor Center on the right side of Virginia Route 24. (37°23’29.1″N 78°47’01.1″W)