Whitaker, Edward Washburn

Autograph letter signed ("E. W. Whitaker"), 7 pages (8 x 5 in.; 204 x 127 mm) on 7 sheets of Whitaker's law office letterhead, Washington, D.C., 17 August 1891, to H. W. Clarke. Half green morocco folding-case, russet morocco spine labels.

The Confederate surrender at Appomattox described by an eyewitness. Whitaker served on George Custer's staff and deserved as much as Custer the nickname of "Boy General"; he was breveted as a brigadier general at twenty-three, although he was not appointed to full rank. By the 1890s, the era of Civil War memoir and history was in full flower, and in this letter, Whitaker proposes to make clear to "alleged historians" what really happened at Appomattox on the morning of 9 April 1865.

"I will say that the surrender flag of truce under which I informed Gen. Chamberlain on Ord's infantry line of battle of the unconditional surrender of Gen. Lee's Army on the morning of Apr. 9, 1865, at Appomattox C.H. was in my hand and was immediately again used by me at the Cavalry line ... where it had first been presented by Capt. Sim's of Longstreets Staff with the request of Gen. Lee for a suspension of hostilities.

"Gen Custer had sent me in these words 'Whitaker take this truce and go with this officer to Gen. Lee, give him my compliments and tell him I can not stop this charge unless he announces an unconditional surrender as I am not sole in command on this field.' I took the towel and at some risk entered rebel lines. Gordon and Longstreet were so profuse with assurances that it was absoultely an unconditional surrender and your infantry battle line was so near I was easily entreated to go westward with the towel to stop the battle by announcing the surrender. ... I hurried back to Custer with the towel still in my hand.

"No other truce to announce a surrender was used on that field. ... it was first used to request a suspension of hostilities, and was used twice immediately after in my hands to announce to the two Arms of the service, between which the rebels were being crushed, the absolute surrender of Lee." Whitaker describes the difficulty that Lee and Grant had in finding one another after the surrender and reports that the surrender flag is currently in the possession of Custer's widow. The towel was given to the Smithsonian by her bequest in 1936.