The correct answer is In Appomattox Court House, Virginia
A few years ago, I went to a conference in Charleston. During my free time, I entered an old market and went through the stores - all of which, it seemed, were specialized in Confederate historical objects. As I was looking for a souvenir for my son, I huddled among piles of toy rifles, piles of belt buckles and war flag stickers. Until I came across a large framed lithograph of Robert E. Lee and his officers from the Army of Northern Virginia, entitled "Lee and His Generals". Upon examining it, I noticed that something - or rather, someone - was missing. I was looking for a tiny, bearded brigade general, commander of the division who was with Lee at the Battle of Appomattox, and who accepted his decision to surrender that April 1865. I was looking for General William Mahone of Virginia - and I didn't find him because he was not there.
Born in Virginia, a railroad tycoon, slave owner and ardent secessionist, Mahone served in the Confederate Army during the war. He was one of the most capable commanders in the Northern Virginia Army, standing out above all in the summer of 1864 at the Battle of Crater, on the outskirts of Petersburg. After the war, Robert E. Lee recalled that, thinking of a successor, he concluded that Mahone "had acquired the highest qualities of organization and command".
