Ends of War

Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Rather than a definitive end to the Civil War, Caroline E. Janney skillfully traces a confused, contradictory, and contentious surrender process that, in Virginia, endured until the end of June. Moreover, she finds that between seventeen thousand and twenty thousand of Lee's soldiers had escaped the Union grip and meticulously details how these thousands of Confederate soldiers steadfastly “refused to surrender themselves” (p. 4). Their unwavering dedication to Southern independence and slavery laid the groundwork for the Lost Cause mythology that “would haunt generations to come” (ibid.). Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, as Janney explains, insisted on rather generous surrender terms not just to begin national reconciliation but, pragmatically, to prevent guerilla warfare that harsher measures undoubtedly would have inspired, costing even more lives. Overly conciliatory measures might sustain Southern separatism but implementing even Grant's modest measures proved astonishingly baffling. Who might be charged with treason? Should surrendering soldiers be imprisoned, paroled, or granted amnesty? Could they keep their weapons, horses, and gear? Could they return home, and how would they get there? What should be done with Rebel soldiers from the border states—including West Virginia—who did not leave the Union? These and more questions, as Janney thoroughly investigates, challenged the entire Union command

Amnesty · Independence (probability theory · Political science · Politics · Spanish Civil War · Surrender · Victory · American Constitutional Law and Politics · American History and Culture · History · Law