THE MAKING OF A NATION - The American Civil War: Surrender a

THE MAKING OF A NATION - The American Civil War: Surrender¹ at Appomattox
By Frank² Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, June 02, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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Robert E. Lee
The end had finally come for the great soldier, General Robert E. Lee, and for the Confederacy which he served with such brilliant military leadership.

It was mostly his military genius that kept the south in the field so long. But even his brilliant generalship could not save the south from the industrial power of the north and its mighty³ armies -- armies that were well-fed and equipped.

VOICE TWO:

The last chapter of the bitter four-year struggle came in April, eighteen sixty-five. General Grant⁴ had pushed Lee's army away from richmond and nearby Petersburg, Virginia. His Union forces had kept after the Confederates for almost a week.

Lee fled westward⁵ across Virginia. His tired, hungry soldiers tried to turn south, to reach safety in the Carolinas. But always, the Union army blocked the way.

Finally on Saturday, April eighth, Lee's army found it could flee no farther⁶. A Union force at Appomattox Station blocked any further movement to the west.

Early the next morning, Lee tried to break through the ring of Union soldiers that surrounded his army. But he failed. Nothing was left. Nothing but surrender.

VOICE ONE:

Lee sent a note to General Grant asking to meet with him to discuss surrender terms. A few hours later, General Grant rode into the crossroads village of Appomattox Court House.

General Lee was waiting for him at the home of a man named Wilmer McLean. Lee rose as Grant walked into the house.

 
Ulysses Grant
Grant did not look like a great military leader, the chief of all Union armies. He was dressed simply. His clothes were the same as those worn by the lowest soldiers in his army. His boots and pants were covered with mud. His blue coat was dirty and wrinkled⁷. But on its shoulders were the three gold stars of the Union's highest general.

VOICE TWO:

Lee was dressed in his finest clothing. He wore a beautiful grey coat with a red sash tied around it. At his side, he carried an ivory⁸ and silver sword.

The two generals greeted each other and shook hands. Grant said: "I met you once before, General Lee, while we were serving in Mexico. I have always remembered your appearance. I think I would have recognized you anywhere."

Lee said: "Yes, I know I met you then. And I have often tried to remember how you looked. But I have never been able to remember a single feature."

VOICE ONE:

Grant continued to talk of their service in the Mexican War. He said later that he did so because he was finding⁹ it difficult to bring up the question of surrender.

Lee took part in the light talk for several minutes. Finally, he said: "I suppose, General Grant, that the purpose of our meeting is fully¹⁰ understood. I asked to see you to learn upon what terms you would receive the surrender of my army."

Grant answered: "The terms I propose¹¹ are those I offered in my earlier note to you. That is, the officers and men surrendered¹² will not take up arms again. And all your weapons and supplies will become captured¹³ property."

VOICE TWO:

Lee said those were the conditions he had expected. He asked Grant to put the terms in writing so he could sign them. "Very well," said Grant. "I will write them out."

It took him several minutes to write the surrender agreement. Only once did he look up.

He had just written the sentence: 'The arms, artillery¹⁴, and public property will be given over to the Union Army.' Grant stopped writing and looked over at the sword the old general wore.

He decided¹⁵ there was no need to hurt Lee's pride by taking away his sword. So he added:

'This will not include the side arms of the officers nor their horses or other private property. Each officer and man shall be allowed to return to his home. He will not be disturbed by United States authorities¹⁶ as long as he honors¹⁷ this agreement and obeys the laws where he lives.'

VOICE ONE:

Grant gave the paper to Lee. Lee read it slowly. When he finished, Grant asked if the Confederate General wished to propose any changes. Lee was silent for a moment. "There is one thing," he said. "The cavalrymen and artillerymen in our army own their own horses. I would like to understand if these men will be allowed to keep their horses."

"You will find," Grant said, "that the terms as written do not allow it. Only the officers are permitted to take their private property."

"You are correct," said Lee. "I see the terms do not allow it. That is clear."

VOICE TWO:

Until now, Lee's face had shown no emotion. But for a moment, his self-control weakened¹⁸. Grant could see how badly Lee wanted this.

"Well," said Grant, "I did not know that any private soldiers owned their horses. But I think that this will be the last battle of the war. I sincerely hope so. I think that the surrender of this army will be followed soon by that of all the others.

"I take it that most of your soldiers are small farmers and will need the horses to put in a crop that will carry themselves and their families through the next winter. I will not change the terms as they are written. But I will tell my officers to let all the men who claim to own a horse or mule¹⁹ take the animals home with them to work their little farms."

VOICE ONE:

Lee was pleased with this. He told Grant: "This will have the best possible effect upon the men. It will be very gratifying and will do much to help our people."

While waiting for the surrender papers to be copied, Grant presented Lee to the other Union officers in the room. Lee had known some of them before the war.

After a few minutes, Lee turned to Grant. He told him that his army held about one thousand Union soldiers as war prisoners. He said that for the past few days, he had no food but cracked corn to give them. He said he had nothing to give his own men to eat.

Grant called in his supply officer and ordered him to feed the Confederate Army. He told him to send to Lee's army enough food for twenty-five thousand men.

VOICE TWO:

Finally, the surrender papers were ready. Grant and Lee signed them. Lee shook hands with Grant and walked out of the house.

Lee got on his horse and rode slowly back to his army. As he entered Confederate lines, men began to cheer. But the cheering died when the soldiers saw the pain and sorrow in Lee's face. Tears filled the old man's eyes. He could not speak. Soldiers

removed their hats and watched silently as Lee rode past. Many wept.

VOICE ONE:

A crowd of soldiers waited at Lee's headquarters²⁰. They pushed close around him trying to touch him, trying to shake his hand.

Lee began to speak. "Boys, I have done the best I could for you. Go home now. And if you make as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will do well. I shall always be proud of you. Goodbye. And God bless you all."

From the crowd came a loud cry. "Farewell, General Lee! I wish for your sake²¹ and mine that every damned²² Yankee on earth was sunk ten miles in hell²³!"

VOICE TWO:

On the other side of the lines, Union soldiers began to celebrate. Artillerymen fired their guns to salute²⁴ the victory over Lee.

Grant heard the artillery booming²⁶ and sent orders that it should stop. "The rebels²⁷ are our countrymen again," he said. "We can best show our joy by refusing to celebrate their downfall."

VOICE ONE:

General Grant left Appomattox Court House to return to his headquarters a few kilometers away. Suddenly, he stopped his horse. He had forgotten to tell President Lincoln or War Secretary Stanton that Lee had surrendered. He sat down at the side of the road and wrote a telegram to Secretary Stanton.

News of the surrender reached Washington late on Sunday. Most citizens in the capital did not learn of it until early the next morning. Then cannons²⁸ began to boom²⁵ out over the city. Crowds rushed to the white house to cheer the president. They asked

Lincoln to make a victory speech.

Lincoln said he had not prepared a statement. He wished to wait until the next night. He asked the people to come back then and he would have something to say.

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VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Leo Scully and Stuart Spencer. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

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1 surrender   

v.投降，自首；屈服；交出，放弃

参考例句：

• He preferred to die rather than surrender to the enemy.他宁死也不愿向敌人投降。
• Liu Hulan would rather die than surrender before the enemy.刘胡兰在敌人面前宁死不屈。

2 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 grant   

vt.同意给予，授予，承认；n.拨款；补助款

参考例句：

• If you grant my request, you will earn my thanks.如果你答应我的要求，就会得到我的感谢。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

6 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

7 wrinkled   

adj.有皱纹的v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指皮肤）起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth. 她把起皱的桌布熨平了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A wrinkled purse,a wrinkled face. 手中无钱，愁容满面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

9 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 propose   

v.提出，建议；提名，推荐

参考例句：

• Did he propose marriage to you?他向你求婚了吗？
• I propose resting for an hour.我建议休息一小时。

12 surrendered   

n.电子放单；Telex releasedv.投降( surrender的过去式和过去分词 )；放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• The bandit chief surrendered himself to despair and took his own life. 匪首在绝望中自杀了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She gradually surrendered her dream of becoming an actress. 她渐渐放弃了当演员的梦想。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

14 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 weakened   

adj.虚弱的v.（使）削弱， （使）变弱( weaken的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The team has been weakened by injury. 这个队因伤实力减弱。
• In his weakened condition, he is very susceptible to cold. 他身体很弱，因此很容易患感冒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

20 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。

21 sake   

n.缘故，理由

参考例句：

• He loves poetry for beauty's sake.他因为爱美而喜欢诗歌。
• We can't risk big things for the sake of small ones.我们不能因小失大。

22 damned   

a.该死的;打入地狱的

参考例句：

• The play was damned by the reviewers. 这部戏被评论家们批评得一无是处。
• She damned herself with one stupid remark. 她被自己的一句蠢话毁了。

23 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

24 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

25 boom   

n.隆隆声；vt.发隆隆声

参考例句：

• The country is having a great boom in industry.这个国家的工业正蓬勃发展。
• Boom!Boom!Boom!A series of explosions shook the valley.轰！轰！轰！一连串爆破声震撼山谷。

26 booming   

adj.急速发展的v.激增( boom的现在分词 )；猛涨；发出隆隆声；以低沉有力的声音说话

参考例句：

• The opera singer has a deep, booming, masculine voice. 这位歌剧演唱家有一副深沉而又浑厚有力的嗓音。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He is booming as a teacher. 作为一位教师，他日趋成功。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

28 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》