The moment had now come when the fate of the retreat was to be decided.  To General Gordon, who had proved himself, in the last operations of the war, a soldier of the first ability, had been intrusted the command of the advance force; and this was now moved forward against the enemy beyond Appomattox Court-House.  Gordon attacked with his infantry, supported by Fitz Lee’s cavalry, and the artillery battalion of Colonel Carter, and such was the impetuosity of his advance that he drove the Federal forces nearly a mile.  But at that point he found himself in face of a body of infantry, stated afterward, by Federal officers, to number about eighty thousand.  As his own force was less than five thousand muskets, he found it impossible to advance farther; and the Federal lines were already pressing forward to attack him, in overwhelming force, when the movement suddenly ceased.  Seeing the hopelessness of further resistance.  General Lee had sent a flag to General Grant, requesting an interview looking to the arrangement, if possible, of terms of surrender; and to this end the forward movement of the Federal forces was ordered to be discontinued.

The two armies then remained facing each other during the interview between the two commanders, which took place in a farm-house in Appomattox Court-House.  General Lee was accompanied only by Colonel Marshall, of his staff, and on the Federal side only a few officers were present.  General Grant’s demeanor was courteous, and that of General Lee unmarked by emotion of any description.  The hardships of the retreat had somewhat impaired his strength, and his countenance exhibited traces of fatigue; but no other change had taken place in his appearance.  He was erect, calm, courteous, and confined his observations strictly to the disagreeable business before him.  The interview was brief; and, seated at a plain table, the two commanders wrote and exchanged the accompanying papers: 

APPOMATTOX COURT-HOUSE, April 9, 1865.

General R.E.  Lee, commanding C.S.A..: 

In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: 

Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officers as you may designate.

The officers to give their individual parole not to take arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged; and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands.

The arms, artillery, and public property, to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them.  This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage.

This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside.