The "All that's left are the Paroles" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The hoopla is all over and the bells are silent once again.  My guess is that by now most everything associated with the 150 anniversary of the ending of the Civil War is ancient history.  I had a great time participating in the program on the steps of the Lancaster County Courthouse  as well as listening to the stories told about distant relatives who were in the war and the bell-ringing that occurred at 3:15 PM at my church, St. James Episcopal, in downtown Lancaster.  About the only thing left that may be of interest is handing out of parole passes to those who visited the Appomattox Court House this week.  

An original Adams press, similar to the one used
to print paroles after the south surrendered at Appomattox.

Seems that parole passes were handed out to Confederate soldiers directly after the war ended on April 9, 1865 so they could return home without being harassed by Union soldiers who had not heard of the surrender at Appomattox Court House.  General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate troops really didn't raise the issue of granting paroles, but General U.S. Grant thought it appropriate to issue the paroles to make it easier for the southern troops to get home.  The parole passes were printing on a portable Adams press that comes in two pieces and can be carried by one soldier.  A small chase (metal frame) would hold the hand-set type in place and it would be placed on the bed of the Adams press.  It would be rotated under a upper roller after paper was place on the inked type.  This is what is known as relief printing where the inked surface transfers the ink to the paper as it goes under the roller.  

The hand-operated relief press used in my classroom.

For years I taught students how to set type by hand and then use a chase to lock up their type for running on a letterpress.  Or, if they wanted, they could put it on a press similar to the Adams press to pull a proof of the actual printed documents.  We also used the press to help in the printing of wood and linoleum blocks as well as dry-point etchings.  I stopped the other day at my old classroom to snap a photo of the current press that is used for these procedures.  Well, yesterday was the day that the Adams press was to be placed on the porch of the Clover Hill Tavern in Appomattox, Virginia to print paroles for all the tourists who passed by.  I'm sure there was quite a bit of hand-turning and cranking to produce all the paroles needed.  I would have loved to have been on location and had a chance to take a photo of the Adams press, which was patented in 1861 and is very rare, producing paroles.  Maybe next year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.