The Magee Farm, also known as the Jacob Magee House, is a historic residence in

Kushla Kushla (Кушла) is a village in southern Bulgaria, Zlatograd municipality, Smolyan Province, located near the border with Greece. In the Ottoman times the town was called Ugurli in Turkish and Kotyli in Greek. In 1918 the village was part of the ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Built by Jacob Magee in 1848, the -story wood-frame structure is an example of the Gulf Coast Cottage style. The house is best known as the site of preliminary arrangements for the surrender of the last

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Confederate General Richard Taylor negotiated a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

with Union General

Edward Canby Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He served as a military governor after the war. In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Depart ...

at the house on April 29, 1865. Taylor's forces, comprising 47,000 Confederate troops serving in Alabama,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, were the last remaining Confederate force east of the

. The Magee Farm was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on February 11, 1988. In 2004, partially through the efforts of the

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

, a division of the

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

, which helped save 12.6 acres of the farm, the house was opened as a museum. It ceased operation as a museum in 2010, due to a lack of public support and declining revenues, and was listed for sale. It was then listed on the Alabama Historical Commission's Places in Peril listing for 2010.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Houses completed in 1848 National Register of Historic Places in Mobile County, Alabama Houses in Mobile County, Alabama Gulf Coast cottage architecture in Alabama Alabama in the American Civil War Defunct museums in Alabama {{MobileCountyAL-NRHP-stub

See also

References