General Lee sat in the caned armchair at left when he
signed the terms of surrender. General E. W. Whitaker
acquired it, and it remained in his possession until November
3, 1871. He then presented the chair to the relief fund
of the Nathaniel Lyon Post, Grand Army of the Republic,
to be awarded to the person selling the most tickets for
a benefit performance. Captain Patrick O’Farrell
sold ninety-six tickets and became the new owner of the
chair. His widow, Bridget E. O’Farrell, donated the
chair to the national collections in 1915.
General Grant used this small spool-turned table to
sign the document setting forth the surrender terms.
After the signing, Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan
presented the table to Elizabeth B. Custer, the wife
of Major General George A. Custer. In 1912 Mrs. Custer
lent the table to the National Museum. In 1936, according
to the terms of her will, the loan became a bequest,
and the table has remained in the national collections
ever since.
The inscription on the chair at right reads: “This is the chair in which
Genl. U. S. Grant sat when he signed the Articles of Capitulation resulting in
the surrender of the Confederate Army by Genl. R. E. Lee at Appomattox Court House,
Virginia, April 9th, 1865.”
General Henry Capehart of the U.S. Volunteers acquired
this chair. In 1893 he gave it to General Wilmon W.
Blackmar, who left it in his will to the national collections.
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