Tag Archives: Surrender

Picturing Union Victory – Early Images of the Surrender at Appomattox

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Cecily Nelson Zander

Here’s a familiar story: On April 9, 1865, generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee met in Wilmer McLean’s parlor at Appomattox Courthouse to sign the documents that would dictate the surrender of the most important national institution in … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Memory | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

William McLain: On the Subject of Surrendering

Posted on May 1, 2020 by ECW Guest Post

ECW welcomes guest author Dan Masters. By August 1864, William Mosby McLain of Co. B, 32nd Ohio Infantry had become an expert on the ins and outs of surrendering. Having taken part in two of the largest mass surrenders of … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Soldier, Primary Sources | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Ending The War: General Hancock & The Surrender? (Part 1)

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

He had won his general stars on the battlefield, held the lines at Gettysburg, and been a trusted corps commander during the Overland Campaign. He had survived painful injury and returned to field command. He was a Democrat in politics … Continue reading →

Posted in Emerging Civil War | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Ends of the War in Rectortown

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Chris Mackowski

I’ve come to Rectortown, Virginia, looking for one end of the war, but I’ve unexpectedly found several. (The anniversary of one of them is today, April 21, as it happened.) Thick puffs of clouds that look like smoky cotton balls … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Cavalry, Leadership--Federal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Ending The War: John Wise’s Eulogy

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

And so I left them. As I rode along in search of the ford to which General Lee had directed me, I felt that I was in the midst of the wreck of that immortal army which, until now, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Soldier | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Ending The War: The Bonnie White Flag

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

Most Civil War buffs are familiar with the secession song The Bonnie Blue Flag. However, but 1864, at least one Confederate officer held prisoner at Camp Chase had different sentiments; perhaps surrender offered a better choice? His poetry—The Bonnie White … Continue reading →

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Charleston’s Surrender

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Emerging Civil War

On February 18, 1865, Charleston, South Carolina surrendered. It had been just two months shy of four years since the war officially began with the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston’s harbor and the city had experience war, losses, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

The Civil War Versions of “NUTS”!

Posted on December 26, 2019 by JoAnna McDonald

Welcome back, JoAnna M. McDonald History does not quite repeat itself in the literal sense, but it does rhyme.   For example, cheeky responses to surrender demands are apparently a tradition in American military history (and in military history in general).  … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles, Common Soldier, Primary Sources | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Question of the Week: 4/9-4/15/18

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Emerging Civil War

In your opinion, what was the most remarkable thing about the campaign or surrender at Appomattox?

Posted in Battles, Question of the Week | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Lee and Guerrilla Warfare

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Chris Mackowski

Two days before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, a council of officers in what was left of the bedraggled Army of Northern Virginia hashed out three possible options for Robert E. Lee to consider. General John Brown Gordon, who was not … Continue reading →

Posted in Campaigns, Leadership--Confederate | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments