A Southerner’s Unlucky Place in Civil War History

Many people crave to be eyewitnesses to history, seeing firsthand the moments that shape our lives and our world. Wilmer McLean would likely respectfully disagree.

At the onset of the Civil War, Wilmer McLean was living a good life. Born in Manassas, Va. in 1814, he spent several years as co-owner of a successful wholesale grocery business. In 1853, he married a widow by the name of Virginia Mason, who came from a wealthy family. In 1854, they inherited a 1,200-acre plantation in Manassas that straddled a stream called Bull Run.

McLean, a veteran of the Virginia militia and lifelong resident of the Old Dominion, was certainly sympathetic to the Confederate cause. But he was 46 years old when shots were fired at Fort Sumter and too old to fight. However, there were other ways that McLean could support his fellow Virginians.

In July 1861, as Confederate and Union forces squared off and prepared for battle 25 miles outside of Washington, D.C., McLean was approached by Confederate officers for assistance. Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard was in need of a headquarters from which to command his forces, and McLean’s property was perfectly situated to fill the need.

McLean formally entered into a contract on July 17 to lease certain buildings at the price of $150 per month for six months. He eagerly accepted this opportunity to contribute to the cause. He was also infected by the excitement and bravado of the upcoming battle and the chance to whip the Yankees. The novelty of the coming fight quickly wore off.

On July 18, Union artillery opened fire on Manassas. A shell crashed through McLean’s kitchen, interrupting Beauregard’s dinner. The Confederates eventually won the Battle of Bull Run (or the Battle of Manassas, as it was known in the South), but they continued to use McLean’s property as a supply point and barracks. McLean remained landlord of the plantation, and he also found lucrative work providing sugar and other commodities to the Confederate Army. But when the Union returned in August 1862 for another shot at the Confederate positions around Manassas, McLean decided to permanently relocate his family to a quieter location.

With much of his business dealings taking place in southwest Virginia, McLean moved about 75 miles west of Richmond. He purchased a house that was a former tavern in the town of Appomattox Court House. In 1863, this was about as far away from the war as McLean could get and still make a living. Within two years, however, the war came to McLean.

In early April 1865, Union General Ulysses S. Grant had chased Confederate General Robert E. Lee around southwestern Virginia, depleting his forces and driving his army to the brink of collapse. In the spirit of preventing further bloodshed, Grant offered Lee the opportunity to surrender. Lee too recognized the futility of continued hostilities, and he agreed to meet Grant to discuss terms. Lee was left with the task of finding a location for the conference.

Colonel Charles Marshall rode into nearby Appomattox looking for a suitable place for Lee’s meeting with Grant. He randomly came across McLean, and told him what he was looking for. McLean first suggested a rundown place with no furniture, but Marshall rejected it. McLean then suggested his own home.

On April 9, 1865, Lee arrived at McLean’s house and sat down in his front parlor. Grant arrived significantly later, and the two men engaged in small talk for half an hour. Lee was eager to get to the point of the meeting, and directed Grant to the issue at hand. Grant offered terms of surrender which Lee accepted. At 4 p.m. the two men shook hands and Lee departed.

As if the sight of watching the Confederate cause come to a bitter end right before his eyes weren’t enough, McLean was soon hit with another shock.

Members of the Union Army present at the meeting set about taking apart McLean’s house in the quest for souvenirs of the momentous event. They snatched up tables, chairs, strips of carpeting and drapes, candlesticks, and, according to one account, even a doll that belonged to McLean’s 7-year-old daughter. They offered money for their booty, and when McLean refused to accept it they tossed it on the floor.

McLean’s fortunes, like many across the South, turned sour after the war. He tried to sell his house in Appomattox in 1866 but got no takers. The house was repossessed and sold at auction in 1869. McLean’s family returned to Manassas and later moved to Alexandria where McLean got a job working for the Internal Revenue Service.

Wilmer McLean died in 1882 as the man who saw the Civil War begin in his front yard and end in his front parlor.