Wilmer McLean

It is said that the American Civil War started in Wilmer McLean's front yard in 1861, and ended in his back parlor in 1865. The First Battle of Bull Run, fought on July 21, 1861, took place on the McLean farm. Wilmer McLean who was a retired Major in the Virginia militia, but was too old to enlist at the outbreak of the Civil War, decided to move in order to avoid the war. He and his family moved into the Appomattox Court House. On April 9, 1865, the war came back to Mclean when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of McLean's house.

McLean Farm

Appomattox Court House