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Seated in McLean's parlor, the two men chatted amiably about their Army days in the Mexican War. Finally, Lee brought up "the object of our present meeting." Grant took out a pencil, rapidly wrote out the terms of surrender, and handed the paper to Lee.
两人在麦克莱恩的客厅里落座，亲切地聊着墨西哥战争时的军旅生活。最后，李提出“商谈我们此行的目的”。格兰特拿出一支铅笔，很快地写下了投降的条款，递给了李。
This will have a very happy effect on my army, Lee said after reading the terms, which, far from hounding the enemy with reprisals, simply let them all go home. Lee mentioned that many of his men owned their horses and asked if those horses could be kept. Grant agreed. He said he assumed that most of the men were small farmers, and without their horses he doubted that they would be able to put in a crop to get through the next winter.
“这将对我的军队大有好处。”李看后说。受降条款里并没有报复性的迫害，而是让所有人都回家。李提到许多士兵有马，并询问是否可以保留这些马。格兰特同意了。他说他知道大多数士兵都是小农场主，没有马他们种不了庄稼，很难度过明年冬天。
This will do much toward conciliating our people, Lee replied. In parting, he told Grant that he would be returning some Union prisoners because he didn't have any provisions for them—or, in fact, for his own men. Grant said he would send 25,000 rations to Lee's army.
“这将大大抚慰我们的人民。”李回答道。分别时，他告诉格兰特他将释放一些联军战俘，因为他没有粮食供给他们。事实上他连供给自己人的粮食都没有。格兰特承诺他会给李的军队送去25，000人的口粮。
When word of the surrender reached the nearby Union headquarters it touched off a spree of cannon firing. Grant put an end to it. "The war is over—the rebels are our countrymen again," he told his staff. He felt that he couldn't exult in the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly. Catching the clemency of the moment, the Union troops decided not to wait for the official delivery of food to the defeated enemy.
当投降的消息传到附近的联军总部时，人们开始鸣炮庆祝。格兰特命令他们停止庆祝。“战争结束了——叛军重新成为我们的同胞。”格兰特告诉他的军队。与自己顽强作战多年的敌人战败了，他不能表现得欢欣喜悦。联军士兵领悟到统帅的宽厚和仁慈，决定不等给败军送的粮食到达，
