To Regain His Rights Of Citizenship

Confederate General Robert E Lee signed an Amnesty Oath October 2^nd 1865, but his citizenship was restored.

On April 9^th 1865 at the Wilmer McLean house in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, Robert E Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S Grant.  A little over a month later on May 29^th 1865, United State President Andrew Johnson issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon.  There were fourteen classes of people who had been in rebellion against the Union, whom the Proclamation excluded.  If you were a member of one these classes, you had to make a special application directly to the President.  Lee wrote an application on June 13^th 1865, which said, “Being excluded from the provisions of amnesty & pardon contained in the proclamation of the 29th Ulto; I hereby apply for the benefits, & full restoration of all rights & privileges extended to those included in its terms. I graduated at the Military Academy at West Point in June 1829. Resigned from the U.S. Army April '61. Was a General in the Confederate Army, & included in the surrender of the Army of N. Va. 9 April '65.”

Lee was made the president of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia on October 2^nd 1865, the same day he signed his Amnesty Oath in compliance with the Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon.  He did not however receive a pardon nor was his right to citizenship returned.

It would not be until August 5^th 1975 that through a joint Congressional resolution, President Gerald R Ford signed the paper giving Lee back his right to be a citizen of the United States.

Robert E Lee’s Amnesty Oath stated that, “I, Robert E. Lee of Lexington, Virginia, do solemnly swear in the presence of almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of the states there under, and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamation which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves, so help me God."

The Surrender House

The Wilmer McLean house where Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant was opened to the public on April 9th 1949.

The “Surrender House” was purchased for $1,250 by Nathaniel Ragland in 1875. His widow sold the property for $10,000 in 1891 to Captain Myron Dunlap of Niagara Falls New York. Dunlap purchased the property planning to make money off the history of the house. Among the ideas, were to take the house apart and move it to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition as an exhibit, or to Washington DC and charge fees to see the home. Detailed drawing were made, the house was dismantled, and packed to be shipped, but Dunlap ran out of money, and the house was left forgotten for fifty years.

The United States Congress created the Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument in 1940. The archaeological work began on the 970 acre property in February 1941. The site was cleaned of years of brush and honeysuckle, and a meticulous reconstruction began. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought everything to a halt. Work was begun again in 1947.

Eighty-four years after Lee and Grant meet in the McLean House for the surrender the National Park Service opened the house on April 9th 1949 to the public. There was a dedication ceremony April 16th 1950 at which descendents of Robert E Lee and Ulysses S Grant cut the ribbon.

The Surrender House

The Wilmer McLean house known as the “Surrender House” as it was the house in which Ulysses S Grant excepted Robert E Lee’s surrender, was sold at auction on November 29th 1869.

The house was built in 1848 by Charles and Eliza D Raine. In 1863 the Raine estate was sold to Wilmer McLean. The first major battle of the Civil War; the Battle of First Manassas took place on the Wilmer McLean farm in Virginia. After that battle McLean decided to move south in an attempt to avoid the war. He bought the house at Appomattox, Virginia.

McLean made a nice fortune during the war smuggling sugar, however most of it was in Confederate money. With the end of the war the currency was worthless. In 1867 McLean left Appomattox and returned to his wife’s estate in Prince William County, Virginia. The bank in Richmond, Virginia obtained a judgment for the default of loans made to McLean. The house known as the “Surrender House” was sold on November 29th 1869 at auction to recover money owed on loans. It was purchased by John L Pascoe, who rented the house to the Ragland family of Richmond, Virginia.