Paroling Gen. Lee 

With the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, the task of paroling the 28,000 Confederates fell to Gen. George H. Sharpe, head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence and Assistant Provost Marshall. Sharpe’s intimate knowledge of the structure of the Confederate army and his meticulous record keeping made him a natural choice for the job. To facilitate Sharpe’s mission Lee issued one of his last official orders which read:

“Pickets and guards;

Permit Bvt. Brig. Gen. George H. Sharpe, Asst. Provost Marshall General to pass unmolested from Appomattox Courthouse over to the federal lines with such officers, orderlies and transportation as he may have with him.”

While filling out the paroles Sharpe was visited by Lee’s adjutant Col. Charles Marshall who requested a parole for Gen. Lee. Sharpe, taken by surprise at the request, replied that he was there to parole the army and did not have authority to parole Gen. Lee. Marshall left but soon returned saying that Lee had stated that he was a member of the army and reiterating his request for a parole. Sharpe apparently checked with Grant before issuing the following parole which was signed by Lee and his staff:

“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. Army, commanding said army, to Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant, commanding Armies of the 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.”

Sharpe then endorsed the parole with the following notation:

“The within named officers will not be disturbed by the United States authorities so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside.

 GEORGE H. SHARPE,

 Assistant Provost-Marshal. General.”

In his official report Sharpe remarked that the endorsement “was appended by the officers composing the commission [Maj. Gen. John Gibbon, Maj. Gen. Charles Griffin and Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt were appointed by Gen. Grant to oversee the details of the surrender], and by their direction was signed by me as assistant provost-marshal-general”. Sharpe also took pains to note that “General Lee at his own request receiving one from the undersigned by command of Lieutenant-General Grant."

In June a Federal grand jury indicted Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Davis would spend two years in prison while Lee was never officially charged. While several reasons may account for the failure to arrest Lee, one of them almost surely was the piece of paper endorsed by Gen. Sharpe which stated “The within named officers will not be disturbed by the United States authorities so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside.”