On April 9, 1865, history took place in the small village of Appomattox Court House.

Things happen in history and you learn key phrases and buzz words. (If you remember it all, props to you.) For me, Appomattox Court House was the end of the Civil War. Thanks to an hour and a half drive, the National Park Service and guide, I learned more about that last sentence.

First off, I guess I just always assumed Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in the courthouse and signed a paper saying it's all over. Turns out, they met in the parlor of the McLean house. Turns out it was Palm Sunday, so no business was going to take place in the courthouse. So, Appomattox Court House is just the name of the village. There was no actual courthouse building used in the signing process.

Secondly, I thought they would have signed the same document. One document with two signatures after some intense discussion. That sounded about right. Nope. Instead, Lee had Grant write up terms. Lee review them, noted a few things with a pencil and handed them back to Grant. Then both men had someone write up their letter. Grant's man wrote up the terms; Lee's man wrote up the agreement letter. They traded papers and signed those. The two men didn't sign the same paper.

So after a day of trotting around town, (yes, we actually galloped on our horse and mule, we are that cool) I learned something about history I thought I knew. I think you should check it out. If you are too far away right now, I encourage you to check out my Appomattox Court House photo album and peruse the photos below.

Shout out to Maggie. Peace on peace. The surrender of Lee's army inside the McLean house started the Civil War peace process.

Our tour guide told us the whole story. I really enjoy hearing it instead of reading lots of signs. So thank you sir. We also stuck out in the tour crowd. We are always quite a bit younger than the rest of the audience. We must just be too cool.

Here's a depiction of what the sign might have looked like.

Cole gives history and ending the Civil War a thumbs up as he stands in the McLean parlor where the documents were signed.

The frame of this couch is the real deal, but almost everything else in the house is just a replacement.

The McLean family had a little girl, Lula, who had toys in the house, like the little doll she left in the parlor that was taken by someone as a souvenir.

Cole stops outside the law office in the village to read his textbooks. OK, not those things, just the brochure.

Law school student by the law office is a needed photo.

This is the inside of one of the law offices. Cole hopes to be so lucky someday. :)

I suppose I have to have a photo, too, but I am outside the tavern, not a law office.

Us with the McLean house.

Outside of the village was a Confederate graveyard from soliders who died nearby.

This photo basically tells you how excited Cole is about me and my camera. I have to document this stuff though.