Wilmer McLean, the Virginia wholesale grocery of whom it can be proclaimed that the Civil War “began in his front yard and ended in his front parlor” found little success after the war. Although he had made a considerable wartime fortune smuggling sugar, McLean's money was in Confederate currency which became worthless at the end of the war. Unable to maintain the mortgage on his Appomattox home, McLean returned to Manassas and later moved to Alexandria, Virginia where he worked at a series of jobs until his death in 1882. The McLean home at Appomattox fell into disrepair until its purchase in 1941 and eventual restoration by the national government after World War II, when it was meticulously rebuilt and refurbished with replica furniture of the 1860’s era.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.