Wilmer McLean
Wilmer McLean | |
---|---|
Born | Manassas, Virginia, U.S. | May 3, 1814
Died | June 5, 1882 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 68)
Resting place | St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery |
Occupation | Grocer |
Wilmer McLean (May 3, 1814 – June 5, 1882) was an American wholesale
American Civil War
First Battle of Bull Run
The initial engagement on July 21, 1861, of what would become the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) took place on McLean's farm, the Yorkshire Plantation, in Manassas,
McLean was a retired major in the Virginia militia but, at age 47 he was too old to return to active duty at the outbreak of the Civil War. He made his living during the war as a sugar broker supplying the Confederate States Army. He decided to move because his commercial activities were centered mostly in southern Virginia and the Union army presence in his area of northern Virginia made his work difficult. He undoubtedly was also motivated by a desire to protect his family from a repetition of their combat experience. In the spring of 1863, he and his family moved about 120 miles (190 km) south to Appomattox County, Virginia, near a dusty, crossroads community called Appomattox Court House.[2]
Appomattox Court House
On April 9, 1865, the war revisited McLean. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was about to surrender to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. He sent a messenger to Appomattox Court House to find a place to meet. On April 8, 1865, the messenger knocked on McLean's door and requested the use of his home, to which McLean reluctantly agreed. Lee surrendered to Grant in the parlor of McLean's house, effectively ending the Civil War.[2] Later, McLean is supposed to have said, "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."[3]
Once the ceremony was over, members of the Army of the Potomac began taking the tables, chairs, and various other furnishings in the house — essentially, anything that was not tied down — as souvenirs. They simply handed money to the protesting McLean as they made off with his property.
After the war
After the war, McLean and his family sold their house in 1867, unable to keep up the mortgage payments, and returned to their home in Manassas.[9] They later moved to Alexandria, Virginia. He worked for the Internal Revenue Service from 1873 to 1876.
Wilmer McLean died in Alexandria and is buried there at St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery.
Notes
- ^ G. T. Beauregard. "The First Battle of Bull Run".
- ^ a b "Key Civilians at Appomattox; Wilbur McLean".
- ISBN 0-19-515330-8. Alternative versions of this quote are "... began in my front yard ...", "front lawn", and "front porch".
- ^ "Lula McLean's Rag Doll; The "Silent Witness"". Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Burr, Frank A. (1888). "Little Phil" and His Troopers: The Life of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. J. A. & R. A. Reid. pp. 303.
Wilbur McLean.
- ^ a b Rudolph Unger (March 5, 1986). "The Price for a Piece of History". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Furniture used by Grant and Lee at App". si.edu. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
- ^ "Appomattox Court House National Historical Park - The McLean House". Retrieved 2011-02-04.
References
- Description of McLean's Appomattox house and biographical details
- Yorkshire Plantation Historical Marker Text
- U.S. War Dept., The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Series 1, vol 2, Part 1 (First Manassas Campaign), U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
- Beauregard's report on the battle