<P> At 8: 00 a.m., Lee rode out to meet Grant, accompanied by three of his aides . Grant received Lee's first letter on the morning of April 9 as he was traveling to meet Sheridan . Grant recalled his migraine seemed to disappear when he read Lee's letter, and he handed it to his assistant Rawlins to read aloud before composing his reply: </P> <P> General, Your note of this date is but this moment, 11: 50 A.M. rec 'd., in consequence of my having passed from the Richmond and Lynchburg road . I am at this writing about four miles West of Walker's Church and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you . Notice sent to me on this road where you wish the interview to take place . </P> <P> Grant's response was remarkable in that it let the defeated Lee choose the place of his surrender . Lee received the reply within an hour and dispatched an aide, Charles Marshall, to find a suitable location for the occasion . Marshall scrutinized Appomattox Court House, a small village of roughly twenty buildings that served as a waystation for travelers on the Richmond - Lynchburg Stage Road . Marshall rejected the first house he saw as too dilapidated, instead settling on the 1848 brick home of Wilmer McLean . McLean had lived near Manassas Junction during the First Battle of Bull Run, and had retired to Appomattox to escape the war . </P> <P> With gunshots still being heard on Gordon's front and Union skirmishers still advancing on Longstreet's front, Lee received a message from Grant . After several hours of correspondence between Grant and Lee, a cease - fire was enacted and Grant received Lee's request to discuss surrender terms . </P>

Where did the confederates surrender to the union