PHILADELPHIA — Officials at a small Civil War museum made an intriguing discovery while sifting through storage: A document long treated as a photo reproduction of the terms of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender appears, upon closer inspection, to contain actual signatures and date to 1865.
Museum officials think they have one of the three original documents signed by representatives of the Union and Confederacy in Appomattox Court House, Va., on April 10, 1865, a day after Lee’s surrender.
The National Park Service historian at Appomattox said it is more likely a souvenir copy signed by the same men at that time — still a significant discovery, he said, even if it’s not an official copy.
The Civil War & Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia has held the document since the early 20th century. It was pulled out of storage and re-evaluated as officials prepared for the museum’s shutdown Saturday ahead of its move to a new building.
Three copies of the document were made, according to the memoir of Union Gen. John Gibbon, whom Grant put in charge of working out the details of the surrender.
Gibbon kept one copy, according to his memoir and a letter he wrote to the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore when he donated his to the society. Another copy was sent to Grant’s headquarters and is now in the National Archives.
By process of elimination, museum officials think they have the Confederate copy.
