The alarm clock went off precisely at 6:00am on Saturday May 11, 2019 and my photographer jumped out of bed as though he was shot from a cannon. It was obvious to me that the ten hours of sleep he had was just what he needed. Mongo was gone; he had awakened around 4:45am and went back to Poplar Forest for his morning run. Once Bob returned and the two guys got dressed and the car packed, we left the Timberlake Motel and headed for Appomattox Court House that was about 30 miles to the east. Tom knew that we would arrive about 45 minutes before the historic park opened, but he figured we could walk into the area and capture our exterior photos before too many other tourists had arrived. When we pulled the Acadia into the parking lot, we saw a couple of NPS Rangers as they walked to their positions at the various buildings, but no one else was there. I was impressed; my cameraman’s scheme worked to perfection – and before I knew it, I was in the camera case and the three of us were headed into the Appomattox Court House National Historic Park.
I could hear the pea stone or crushed gravel crunch under Tom and Bob’s feet as we headed towards the center of the park. When we arrived at the crossroads, the Plunkett-Meeks Store was directly in front of us and the Old Appomattox Court House was situated to our right. Our targeted site, however, was the McLean House; and that was a short distance down the road to our left. As we slowly made our way down the gravel road, I peeked out of the camera bag and saw the historic “Surrender House” over the white picket fence. During that moment, I realized that the road we were walking was the same path that General Robert E. Lee had taken on his way to surrender to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant on Palm Sunday April 9, 1865. I had wondered what might have been going through Lee’s mind as he sat high on his horse Traveller and headed slowly towards the McLean House with two of his Confederate officers following behind.
Standing in front of the McLean House was an amazing experience for me. The Civil War, which had given America a black eye then and still today, was ceremoniously ended in that house. As I stood on the porch, I envisioned Lee, clad in his full-dress uniform with his sword hanging from his hip, slowly make his way up the nine wooden steps, past me, and then disappear into the house. Confederate Colonel Charles Marshall and Lieutenant Colonel Walter H. Taylor followed behind. Roughly a half-hour later, Grant walked past me – dressed in a muddy private’s uniform with only his Lieutenant General shoulder boards to identify his rank.
During our 45-minute wait for the NPS to open the McLean House to visitors, Tom was able to capture exterior images of the four historic buildings of interest in the park – which included the “Surrender House”, the Old Court House, the Plunkett-Meeks Store, and the Clover Hill Tavern. Although a few other tourists had arrived moments before the park “officially” opened, all of them headed to the visitor’s center inside the courthouse, which gave the three of us the opportunity to visit the interior of the McLean House alone. At precisely 9:00am, I was carried up the steps and into the McLean House where I was taken straight to the parlor – which was the “Surrender Room”. Although the small room was filled with reproduction furnishings, it was still cool in my eyes to be there. A large ornate marble-topped table was situated to the left of the fireplace; while a small, spool-turned table was to the right. During the negotiations for a peaceful end to the Civil War on April 9, 1865, General Lee sat behind the marble-topped table while Grant sat behind the modest one as he drew up the Articles of Capitulation that resulted in the surrender of the Confederate Army. Even though I knew the original and historic tables were protected in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, I could still envision that room full of officers as Grant explained the conditions of surrender to Lee. I could also feel the presence of both generals as they affixed their signatures to the document – the Civil War appeared to be over. But keep in mind, Lee only surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia. Other generals continued to fight, but after learning of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, they too eventually surrendered one by one. It wasn’t until August 2, 1866 when President Andrew Johnson declared the Civil War officially over.
As we walked in the footsteps of the despaired and distraught General Lee; first in the front lawn of the McLean House and then down the road where he rode towards the Old Court House; I had some empathy for him. Nobody likes to lose. But the fact that the southern cause during the Civil War was based on things that I don’t support; my empathy didn’t last long. When we arrived back at the crossroads, my photographer carried me into the Old Appomattox Court House, which also served as the park’s visitor’s center and museum. The original courthouse, which burned to the ground in 1892, was built in 1846; but played no role in the surrender as it was closed on that Palm Sunday in 1865. Once we were inside the museum, my photographer carried me to a display that contained several authentic artifacts that were centered on Lee’s surrender to Grant. I saw a tabletop that was used by officers from both sides on April 10, 1865 when they drew up and signed the official surrender papers. Located next to that wooden tabletop were the pens used during the meeting between Lee and Grant. In another display case, I saw a woven towel that was used as a surrender flag on the day that Lee called it quits.
At roughly 10:15am, we had left the Old Appomattox Court House and were headed west towards the town of Appomattox when out of nowhere Tom spotted an area where Grant’s headquarters had been situated on the day of the surrender. When we got out of the car, all I saw was Civil War-era wooden fencing. An informational sign, however, directed my photographer to the precise area where Grant’s headquarters had stood on the historic day. After the general had scribbled a message of the surrender that was delivered to Washington, Grant spent his final night in the field along the crest near where I stood. It was a short hike for my photographer as we trudged through a field of weeds until we arrived at the top of that small crest. It was there, amongst his men’s small gathering of tents, that Grant’s main tent had been erected. As I stood in the tall grass and weeds, I thought about the general and how relieved he must’ve been on the evening of April 9, 1865. Grant likely couldn’t wait to see President Lincoln in person at the White House; although he had no way of knowing that Lincoln had less than a week to live.
We spent about 20 minutes in the field where Grant’s headquarters once stood. While I spent the entire time thinking about Grant, I was certain that my photographer was worried about ticks as he maneuvered through the grass and weeds. After I was carried back to the Acadia and placed onto the back seat, I was able to see some of the beautiful Virginia countryside as we made our way north towards Montpelier Station in Orange County, Virginia. The 85-mile journey seemed to go quickly, although it took nearly two hours to make the trip from Appomattox to Montpelier – the estate of James and Dolley Madison.
Minutes after I had posed with a cool statue of the President and First Lady, we had our tickets and were headed towards the mansion. I was excited to see the interior of Montpelier and I had hoped to feel the presence of James and Dolley. Since indoor photography was permitted, I was anxious to pose in the same rooms where the Madison’s had raised their family and entertained guests. Before our tour began, I was able to pose for several photos near the exterior of the beautiful mansion; a large plantation home that had been built in 1764 when James was roughly 13 years old. After he was President, James Madison said he remembered helping his father, James Sr., move furniture into their new home.
As I was carried through the front door and into Montpelier, it was a journey back in time. There was no doubt that the spirits of James and Dolley Madison were inside their house. With every step that my photographer took with me in his hand, I could feel the Madison’s watching me – and they were smiling. And during my time in the Drawing Room, where I gazed at the artwork on the walls, I think they laughed out loud as my eyes were affixed to Mary Magdalene’s portrait that hung next to Jefferson’s. While the Drawing Room was packed with art, the Madison’s dining room was filled with history. Once I was placed onto the large dining room table and looked at the seven cardboard figures seated around the table, it was an impressive guest list – including Jefferson, Monroe, and Andrew Jackson. Hosts James and Dolley Madison were seated there as well; along with Dolley’s sister Anna Payne Cutts and author Margaret Bayard Smith; a close friend of Dolley’s. While all five guests were never at Montpelier at the same time, all of them had dined with the Madison’s in that room and at that table.
During our time on the first floor, I was carried into James Madison’s private chamber where I saw the bed where he had died on June 28, 1836. As I stood near that bed, I could see the 85-year-old President, who was dying from congestive heart failure, as he tried to eat his breakfast. When his niece asked him what was wrong, Madison replied: “Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.” With those words still echoing in the room, our fourth President was dead. The upstairs of Montpelier featured the Madison’s Master Bedroom, where Dolley slept during her husband’s final days. We also visited Madison’s personal library – which was his favorite room in the house. In that library, James Madison recorded on paper his recollections of the Constitutional Congress, as well as other memorable meetings throughout his life. Although James Madison was small in stature, standing at only 5′ 4″ tall, he was larger than life in dedication to our country. And for me to spend some time inside the home where he lived, loved, and died; it was a true honor and privilege.
As our tour inside Montpelier finished, I felt sad when I was carried back outside and into the heat of the day. That feeling of sadness wasn’t because there was a threat of rain in the air. James and Dolley Madison were with me inside their home; and although I knew James was ever-present during the entire time, it was the First Lady who remained closest to me. Then it dawned on me as to why: When Thomas Jefferson was President, he was a widower. His two married daughters stepped-in shortly after his inauguration and served as White House hostess, but only for a short time. Neither daughter resided in the White House during Jefferson’s administration; which forced the President to find a more suitable replacement as hostess. That replacement turned out to be Jefferson’s Secretary of State’s wife, Dolley Madison – and the elegant Mrs. Madison remained White House hostess throughout the remainder of Jefferson’s Presidency. She continued her role through her husband’s two terms in office as well.
There was a small museum inside the Montpelier Visitor’s Center, but there wasn’t much to see when it came to authentic artifacts. When Bob asked, he was told all of the artifacts were inside the house – which was the true Madison museum. We did, however, have one final stop to make at Montpelier: the Madison family cemetery. With me in the camera case, my photographer and Bob walked the pathway and followed the signage until the three of us arrived at the burial ground. I was surprised at how far the small cemetery was located from the house – it seemed as though it was about a half mile west of the mansion. There was a short brick wall that surrounded the burial ground and we could see about 40 tombstones rising above the ground – including two obelisks that marked the graves of James and Dolley Madison. The first person buried there was the President’s grandfather, Ambrose Madison, who died at the age of 36 on August 27, 1732. His grave, along with the graves of James’ parents, remain unmarked in the burial ground. As a matter of fact, when President Madison was buried there after his death on June 28 1836, his grave remained unmarked until 1857, which was when the obelisk was placed above his resting place. When Dolley Madison died in 1849, her body was placed in the Public Vault in Washington’s Congressional Cemetery. In 1858, Dolley’s remains were returned to Montpelier and re-interred in the Madison family cemetery behind her husband’s grave.
My photographer stepped over the small chain that surrounded the President and First Lady’s tombstones and he placed me onto a level edge on Madison’s obelisk. I had made it – the grave of James Madison was the 34th Presidential gravesite that I had visited and I was getting down to the last few that remained on Tom’s list. But as excited as I was to stand on the President’s tombstone, I was just as disappointed that my photographer didn’t place me onto Dolley’s obelisk. I was also equally as disgusted by the fact that Dolley’s tombstone was so much smaller than her husband’s; especially when I thought about the historical attributes made by Dolley Madison. She was the first First Lady in the White House; initially serving with Jefferson for nearly his entire Presidency and then alongside her husband for his two terms. That’s right – Dolley Madison was First Lady for nearly 16 years and became the model for all First Lady’s who followed her. During her time in the White House, she was also credited with saving the historic painting of George Washington when she ordered their enslaved valet Paul Jennings to remove the artwork from the wall as the Executive Mansion was being burned by the British. Dolley Madison was so popular that the Dolly Madison Bakery was created and they began selling snack cakes in the 1930s. And what did Dolley’s husband do that could compare? He only wrote the Federalist Papers which helped ratify the Constitution of the United States! There’s no way that those papers tasted better than a Zingers cake!
When Tom drove the three of us off the property and we saw Montpelier for a final time in the distance, I was honored to have spent time walking in the footsteps of James Madison. More importantly, however, I had the privilege to get close to Dolley Madison – the true First Lady of the United States.
