評論
打印
Lee refused; further fighting, he explained, would only inflict needless pain on regions of the South that had been spared the havoc of war. "There is nothing left me but to go and see General Grant," he said, "and I would rather die a thousand deaths." On April 9, Lee sent his aide, Lt. Col. Charles Marshall, into the nearby village of Appomattox Court House to find a suitable place for the two men to meet.
李拒絕了；他解釋道，如果繼續作戰只會使那些沒有遭受戰爭破壞的南方地區蒙受無須承受的戰亂之苦。“我別無選擇，只能去見見格蘭特將軍，”他說，“其實我寧愿死一千次也不愿意這么做。”4月9日，李派他的副官陸軍上校査爾斯·馬歇爾到附近的阿波馬托克斯鎮的村莊找一個適宜兩人見面的地方。
My schoolboy memory was that Grant and Lee actually met in a courthouse. They didn't, as I learned on my visit; in the 19th-century southern Virginia, certain towns that served as the county seat had the words Court House appended to their name. But in fact, when Colonel Marshall rode into town it was Palm Sunday and the courthouse was closed. Almost nothing was stirring. Only about 100 people—half of them slaves—lived in the village, and many white homeowners, hearing the rumble of armies, had left. One who remained, a merchant named Wilmer McLean, was persuaded by Colonel Marshall to allow his home to be used for the surrender.
在我兒時的記憶中，格蘭特和李將軍是在縣法院見的面。但據我在路途中得知’事實并非如此。19世紀的弗吉尼亞南部，一些作為縣首府的小鎮在其名稱后都加上“法院”二字。事實上，當馬歇爾上校騎馬來到鎮上的時候，正值棕枝主日，縣法院大門緊閉。幾乎沒有什么令人興奮的事。只有大約100人——其中半數都是奴隸——住在村子里。聽到軍隊的隆隆炮火聲，許多白人莊園主早已逃走了。留下來的人當中有一個叫威爾默·麥克萊恩的商人，他在上校馬歇爾的勸說下，同意把他家作為舉行受降儀式的場所。
Lee arrived first, wearing full dress uniform, with a sash and a presentation sword. Grant, who had outraced his baggage wagon, was in his customary field uniform, with muddy trousers tucked into muddy boots.
那天，是李將軍先到的，他身著整齊的軍裝，佩戴著飾帶和軍劍。格蘭特的行李車還未到達，因此他只穿了平常的作戰服，滿是泥巴的褲子被塞進了泥靴子里。
