We, the undersigned Prisoners of War, belonging to the Army of Northern Virginia, having been this day surrendered by General Robert E. Lee, C. S. A., Commanding said Army, to Lieut. Genl. U. S. Grant, Commanding Armies of United States, do hereby give our solemn parole of honor that we will not hereafter serve in the armies of the Confederate States, or in any military capacity whatever, against the United States of America, or render aid to the enemies of the latter, until properly exchanged, in such manner as shall be mutually approved by the respective authorities.
Done at Appomattox Court
House, Va., this 9th day of
April, 1865.
[signed by each individual]
R E Lee Genl
W H Taylor Lt Col AAG
Chas Venable Lt Col & AAG[1]
Charles Marshall Lt Col & AAG[2]
H. E. Peyton Lt Col & Inspector Genl[3]
Giles B. Cooke Maj & AA&IG[4]
H. E. Young Maj AAG JAGenl[5]
Source: National Archives
Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2015 November 11
[1] Charles Scott Venable (1827-1900) was born in Farmville, Virginia. He attended Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia. He taught mathematics and astronomy in Virginia and South Carolina before the war. He first served in a South Carolina unit before joining the staff of Robert E. Lee in the spring of 1862. He stayed on Lee’s staff until the end the surrender.
[2] Charles Marshall (1830-1902) was born in Warrenton, Virginia. He was the great nephew of Justice John Marshall. He studied at the University of Virginia and taught at Indiana University. He later moved to Baltimore, where he practiced law. He joined Lee’s staff in March 1862 and served with him until the end of the war. He died in Baltimore and is buried there. Marshall’s papers were collected by Sir Frederick Maurice and published as Lee’s Aide-De-Camp published in 1927.
[3] Henry E. Peyton (ca. 1834-1900) was from southern Virginia and attended Randolph-Macon College. He married Mary Elizabeth Branden (1836-1878). He joined the Loudoun cavalry and fought well at the battle of Bull Run, where he got the attention of Beauregard, whom he served with at the battle of Shiloh. He served with Lee until the end of the war. Afterward, he moved to various states and died in 1900 in St. Louis and was buried in a pauper’s grave.
[4] Giles Buckner Cooke (1838-1937) was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and attended the Virginia Military Institute. He first served on the staff of Philip St. George Cocke, Braxton Bragg, and Gustave Beauregard. He joined Lee’s staff in October 1864. After the war, he became an Episcopal minister and was the last surviving member of Lee’s staff. He died at the age of 99 in Mathews County.
[5] Henry E. Young (1831-1918) was a native of Grahamville, South Carolina. He worked as a lawyer in Charleston before the war. He served on the staffs of Generals Thomas Drayton, D. R. Jones, R. H. Anderson, and James Longstreet. For the last year of the war, he was Judge Advocate General.
