Trivia 11-30-2020 Artifact

[ami]

Among the Smithsonian Institution's artifacts from Appomattox is a symbolic item whose use enabled the surrender negotiations ending the Civil War. What is the item, and who donated it to the Smithsonian?

credit: @LoyaltyOfDogs

 

[hughes]

oval table used by Gen. Grant on which he wrote the terms of surrender
Libby Custer

 

[Stone in the wall]

Appomattax surrender table
donated by Elizabeth Custer

 

[ErnieMac]

What is the item? The table upon which Grant signed the surrender document.
Who donated it to the Smithsonian? Elizabeth Bacon 'Libby' Custer.

Furniture used by Grant and Lee at App

 

[DBF]

There were three items I found that were donated: Generals Grant & Lee's chairs and the table Grant used to write the surrender and Lee signed the agreement. The table is perhaps the item "used to enable the surrender negotiations" and the chain of command went from General Sheridan and he presented it to Elizabeth Custer and in 1912 she lent the table to the National Museum and after her death in 1936 and according to her wishes "the loan became a bequest" and remains there today.​

http://www.civilwar.si.edu/appomattox_furniture.html

 

[Pollaco]

A WHITE LINEN DISH TOWEL used as a flag of truce could be considered a symbolic item among the many artifacts in the Smithsonian. This item was donated by MRS. ELIZABETH B. CUSTER.

 

[NFB22]

The Smithsonian possesses the surrender table (as well as the chairs they sat in) used by Grant & Lee to draft and and sign the terms of surrender. It was donated to the Smithsonian by Libbie Custer, wife of George A. Custer.

 

[stuart1861]

One of the many alternatives: Robert E. Lee's chair from Appomattox. Captain Patrick O'Farrell's widow, Bridget E. O'Farrell, donated the chair to the national collections in 1915.

Or: General Grant's spool-turned table he used to sign the document setting forth the surrender terms. Philip H. Sheridan presented the table to Elizabeth B. Custer, the wife of Major General George A. Custer. In 1912 Mrs. Custer lent the table to the National Museum. In 1936, according to the terms of her will, the loan became a bequest, and the table has remained in the national collections ever since.

 

[VMIKeydet]

This is a pretty vague question with a number of possible answers, but I'll go with the flag of truce used by Confederate soldiers on the morning of the 9th. It was donated by Elizabeth Custer, George's wife. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_515980

 

[Ole Miss]

1) A Flag of Truce - A white towel used by Confederates to seek meeting for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virgina. Secured by George A. Custer
2) Bequest of Elizabeth B. Custer, 1936
Regards
David

 

[Brenal]

This towel was used as a flag of truce by Confederate troops during Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. It was preserved by Gen. George A. Custer, who was present at the surrender.
Bequest of Elizabeth B. Custer, 1936

 

[WJC]

Among the Smithsonian Institution's artifacts from Appomattox is a symbolic item whose use enabled the surrender negotiations ending the Civil War. What is the item, and who donated it to the Smithsonian?

credit: @LoyaltyOfDogs

There are at least three items that fit the description:
1. The table upon which the surrender was signed, Given by General Philip H. Sheridan to Mrs. George A. Custer and donated by her to the Smithsonian;
2, The chair in which General U. S. Grant sat, donated to the Smithsonian by General Wilmon W. Blackmar;
3. The cained armchair in which General R. E. Lee sat, donated to the Smithsonian by Mrs. B. O'Farrell.

Source: "Furniture Used by Grant and Lee at Appomattox", Smithsonian Institution, CivilWar@Smithsonian. http://www.civilwar.si.edu/appomattox_furniture.html
Soure: Stephen Lynch, "The Smithsonian's Unexpected Treasures", New York Post, December 14, 2013. https://nypost.com/2013/12/14/the-smithsonians-unexpected-treasures/

 

[FarawayFriend]

I think the question is referring to the symbolic white linen dish towel that was used as flag of truce.
It was donated by Elizabeth Bacon Custer (who also donated the table where Robert E. Lee signed the surrender document)

A Flag of Truce

By late 1864 the war was coming to an end. In December Gen. William T. Sherman completed his destructive march to the sea. Richmond, the Confederate capital, fell early in April, and on April 9, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

americanhistory.si.edu

Flag of Truce

As an admirer of General Longstreet I find it signficant that the the white towel came from General Longstreet's staff. It does not look very bright now, after so many years, but it must have been bright white back then and that is typical of Longstreet. When General Longstreet was carried from the field after his wounding at the Wilderness, some onlookers noticed that he excelled in the finest and cleanest white socks and underwear. Seems General Longstreet had his laundry done very thoroughly and carefully!

 

[JimW]

Grant's table donated by Libby Custer?

Edit - Correct, JimW. Welcome to the trivia game.

Hope you'll come back and play again.

hoosier

 

[kholland]

I'm guessing the towel used by the Confederates as a flag of truce. It was saved by Union General George Armstrong Custer. His wife Elizabeth donated it to the museum.

 

[connecticut yankee]

GRANT'S CHAIR
Estate of General Wilmon W. Blackmar

Chair used by General Ulysses S. Grant during surrender at Appomattox, 1865 | Smithsonian Institution

www.si.edu

Note: I suspect this question may solicit other answers as the Smithsonian has a variety of McLean house furniture associated with the surrender, such artifacts donated after the war and before 1915.

 

[JOHN42768]

U.S. Grant's chair from the negotiation at Appomattox donated by MOH winner Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar (July 25, 1841 – July 16, 1905)

Photo from 1893. Donated in 1905 at his passing to the Smithstonian
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmon_W._Blackmar

 

[James N.]

Pretty sure you're referring to the wooden-top table that Lee sat at and where he made notes upon the surrender document drafted by Col. Eli Parker of Grant's staff. (I believe Grant sat at the marble-topped table.) Afterwards, Phil Sheridan purchased the table and presented it to George Custer, who departed balancing it on the pommel of his saddle; much later around or after the turn of the century, Custer's widow Libby donated it to the Smithsonian.

 

[streetwiseprof]

The Smithsonian has several surrender-related artifacts, including the chairs Lee and Grant used, and the table on which the surrender document was signed. By "symbolic" I presume you mean the white towel that was used by the Lee and his escort as a truce/surrender flag on their way to the meeting. It (along with the surrender table) was donated by Elizabeth Custer, G.A. Custer's widow.

 

[hoosier]

The Smithsonian has the table on which the surrender document was signed. It was donated by Elizabeth Custer, widow of George Armstrong Custer.

Furniture used by Grant and Lee at App