評論
打印
Seated in McLean's parlor, the two men chatted amiably about their Army days in the Mexican War. Finally, Lee brought up "the object of our present meeting." Grant took out a pencil, rapidly wrote out the terms of surrender, and handed the paper to Lee.
兩人在麥克萊恩的客廳里落座，親切地聊著墨西哥戰爭時的軍旅生活。最后，李提出“商談我們此行的目的”。格蘭特拿出一支鉛筆，很快地寫下了投降的條款，遞給了李。
This will have a very happy effect on my army, Lee said after reading the terms, which, far from hounding the enemy with reprisals, simply let them all go home. Lee mentioned that many of his men owned their horses and asked if those horses could be kept. Grant agreed. He said he assumed that most of the men were small farmers, and without their horses he doubted that they would be able to put in a crop to get through the next winter.
“這將對我的軍隊大有好處。”李看后說。受降條款里并沒有報復性的迫害，而是讓所有人都回家。李提到許多士兵有馬，并詢問是否可以保留這些馬。格蘭特同意了。他說他知道大多數士兵都是小農場主，沒有馬他們種不了莊稼，很難度過明年冬天。
This will do much toward conciliating our people, Lee replied. In parting, he told Grant that he would be returning some Union prisoners because he didn't have any provisions for them—or, in fact, for his own men. Grant said he would send 25,000 rations to Lee's army.
“這將大大撫慰我們的人民。”李回答道。分別時，他告訴格蘭特他將釋放一些聯軍戰俘，因為他沒有糧食供給他們。事實上他連供給自己人的糧食都沒有。格蘭特承諾他會給李的軍隊送去25，000人的口糧。
When word of the surrender reached the nearby Union headquarters it touched off a spree of cannon firing. Grant put an end to it. "The war is over—the rebels are our countrymen again," he told his staff. He felt that he couldn't exult in the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly. Catching the clemency of the moment, the Union troops decided not to wait for the official delivery of food to the defeated enemy.
當投降的消息傳到附近的聯軍總部時，人們開始鳴炮慶祝。格蘭特命令他們停止慶祝。“戰爭結束了——叛軍重新成為我們的同胞。”格蘭特告訴他的軍隊。與自己頑強作戰多年的敵人戰敗了，他不能表現得歡欣喜悅。聯軍士兵領悟到統帥的寬厚和仁慈，決定不等給敗軍送的糧食到達，
