Appomattox Court House – Grant’s Headquarters
The Message of Peace wayside marker is at the park’s western edge in the Site of Grant’s Headquarters pull off. It is next to the Grant’s Pursuit orientation marker and the Battle of Appomattox Station wayside marker.
From the marker:
“Message of Peace”
From near his headquarters atop the rise in front of you, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent a message that jolted a nation. After finishing his meeting with Lee at the McLean House, Grant paused along the road and scribbled an unassuming note announcing the surrender (see below). Within hours, the message reached Washington. By midnight bells tolled in celebration throughout the North.
Amidst the small gathering of tents here, General Grant spent his last night in the field. The next day he departed for Washington, D.C., leaving details of the Confederate surrender to a group of military commissioners. The defeat of Lee’s army had required eleven months of constant toil, bloodshed, and death. But the job was done; Grant left Appomattox Court House a national hero.
From the caption at the bottom left of the drawing:
The “Message of Peace” included no exultation, no gloating. Its straightforward approach typified the manner of its author – the architect of victory – Ulysses S. Grant.
Location
The marker is at the Site of Grant’s Headquarters pull off on the west side of the park. The pull off is on the south site of Virginia Route 24 just over half a mile northeast of the US 460 interchange. (37°22’23.3″N 78°49’01.9″W)