Wilmer McLean

     "One of the lesser-known figures of American history is Wilmer McLean, a Virginia farmer who took little interest in politics.
     "In 1861, most of the Rebel army marched onto McLean's land. The Union forces attempted to bar their way, and the first full-scale battle of the Civil War (Battle of Bull Run), got underway--right on his farm. Thirteen months later, it happened again. The second battle at Bull Run destroyed McLean's land. McLean had had enough. He packed his wagons and moved two hundred miles away from the war.
     "Three years later, in a weird twist of fate, two men confronted each other in Wilmer McLean's parlor. These two men talked and signed a document on McLean's best table; for he had moved to a little village called Appomattox Court House--where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant negotiated the end of the Civil War."

--Ripley's Believe It or Not.

For additional information, please visit Wikipedia link   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmer_McLean