Speaker: Elizabeth Varon, Langbourne M. Williams Professor, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, American History; Associate Director, John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History Elizabeth Varon will dispel the myth that the Appomattox surrender was a “gentleman’s agreement” between Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant that reunited the South and North. She argues that the surrender terms were controversial from the start and became the touchstone for political conflicts during Reconstruction. Her talk will address meanings of the surrender in central Virginia and Albemarle County, especially for the former slaves and black Union soldiers who regarded April 9, 1865 as a key turning point in the long process of emancipation. http://alumni.virginia.edu/learn/program/appomattox-legacies-legends/