Serutan
Eatibus Anythingibus
Prelude:
March 28, 1865. Abraham Lincoln, and Generals Ulysses S. Grant William T.
Sherman meet aboard the Presidential steamer River Queen to discuss the the
final campaigns of the war, and also the peace to come. Lincoln made clear
that he did not want a harsh peace, and seemed to hope that high Confederate
officials such as Jefferson Davis would be able to slip out of the
country. Earlier, Lincoln had made equally clear to Grant the he was "not
to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question".
On April 2, 1865 WWI-like "siege" of Petersburg ended when the Union
Army of the Potomac (AoP) was finally able to break through the trenches held
by the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV). Unlike after Antietam and Gettysburg,
the Union forces vigorously pursued the beaten foe. The ANV was attempting to
get to North Carolina, and the AoP was racing to cut the ANV off. The AoP
succeeded, so now Lee took the ANV west in hopes that it could continue
the fight from the Lynchburg area. But it was not to be. On April 8,
the ANV stopped at the town of Appomatox Court House. The next morning,
they found that they had been cut off from the west by Union calvary
which was soon backed up by infantry, with other forces closing from the
east and south. Just as Phil Sheridan's forces were about to attack from
the west, a Confederate officer waving a white flag came galloping up
from the lines...
Once he realized that his army could not escape (although not cut off to
the north, there was nowhere to go in that direction), Lee faced a decision.
He could surrender to Grant, or he could simply tell his army to disband,
head for the hills, and become guerrilas. One of his subordinates
urged this course. But Lee turned his face against this. Saying "I am
too old to go bushwhacking", he concluded that his duty was to surrender to
Grant, even though he "would rather die a thousand deaths". The office who
urged Lee to disband the army later said that Lee had shown him the situation
"from a plane to which I had not risen"; no more was heard about taking
to the hills.
At the home of Wilmer Mclean, Grant and Lee sat down to discuss terms.
It is well known that the terms that Grant set were lenient. The terms
specifed that Lee's men would sign would sign paroles pledging not to take up
arms agains the US government "until properly exchanged". The terms ended with
the following sentence: "This done, each officer and man will be allowed to
return to his home, not to be disturbed by US authority so long as they observe
their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside." In that sentence,
Grant had "decided" on not only a political but a judical question. He said
that no one in Lee's army, from buck private to Lee himself, could ever be put
on trial for treason, or his actions during the war. It was a general amnesty.
The effects of both the decision and the sentence on post war America were
enormous. By his decision, Lee spared the country the nightmare of an ongoing
guerilla war (a foretaste of which was seen in Missouri, Virginia, and Kentucky
during the war). It went a long way towards preventing the South from becoming
another Northern Ireland. The sentence did the rest. By setting the precedent
for amnesty, all other Southern armies were able to surrender under identical
terms. Also, it helped to prevent a treason trial for Jefferson Davis
(even though he was imprisoned for a time after his capture). There would be
no mass hanging of traitors that might spark a new insurrection. America was
(eventually) able to reach towards the ideals that had always been preached but
hardly always practiced because the war did not end on a note of hatred or
revenge.
It goes without saying that either the decision or the sentence would have been
meaningless without the other. Lee himself might have eschewed guerilla warfare, but
draconian terms from Grant would have made it much less likely that Lee's army
would have gone along with it, for all the devotion that Lee commanded.
And if Lee had decided to disband,then the generosity of the terms available
would never have been known...
Postscript:
Lincoln was assasinated 5 days after Lee surrendered. Given the atmosphere of panic
and suspicion which prevailed at that time (sound familiar?), it is fortunate that
Lee had already surrendered. One wonders whether or not Andew Johnson would
have approved Grant's terms if the assasination had occurred first. Or if Grant
would have offered them in the first place.
NOTES:
The idea for the title was taken from the book titled "April 1865: The Month That
Saved America".
Bibliography:
"The Centennial History of the Civil War", 3 vols :
Vol 1 "The Coming Fury"
Vol 2 "Terrible Swift Sword"
Vol 3 "Never Call Retreat"
"Grant Moves South"
"Grant Takes Command"
"A Stillness at Appomattox"
All above by Bruce Catton.
"Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McPherson.
"The Civil War: A Narrative" (3 vols) by Shelby Foote.
"Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity 1822-1865" by Brooks Simpson.
March 28, 1865. Abraham Lincoln, and Generals Ulysses S. Grant William T.
Sherman meet aboard the Presidential steamer River Queen to discuss the the
final campaigns of the war, and also the peace to come. Lincoln made clear
that he did not want a harsh peace, and seemed to hope that high Confederate
officials such as Jefferson Davis would be able to slip out of the
country. Earlier, Lincoln had made equally clear to Grant the he was "not
to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question".
On April 2, 1865 WWI-like "siege" of Petersburg ended when the Union
Army of the Potomac (AoP) was finally able to break through the trenches held
by the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV). Unlike after Antietam and Gettysburg,
the Union forces vigorously pursued the beaten foe. The ANV was attempting to
get to North Carolina, and the AoP was racing to cut the ANV off. The AoP
succeeded, so now Lee took the ANV west in hopes that it could continue
the fight from the Lynchburg area. But it was not to be. On April 8,
the ANV stopped at the town of Appomatox Court House. The next morning,
they found that they had been cut off from the west by Union calvary
which was soon backed up by infantry, with other forces closing from the
east and south. Just as Phil Sheridan's forces were about to attack from
the west, a Confederate officer waving a white flag came galloping up
from the lines...
Once he realized that his army could not escape (although not cut off to
the north, there was nowhere to go in that direction), Lee faced a decision.
He could surrender to Grant, or he could simply tell his army to disband,
head for the hills, and become guerrilas. One of his subordinates
urged this course. But Lee turned his face against this. Saying "I am
too old to go bushwhacking", he concluded that his duty was to surrender to
Grant, even though he "would rather die a thousand deaths". The office who
urged Lee to disband the army later said that Lee had shown him the situation
"from a plane to which I had not risen"; no more was heard about taking
to the hills.
At the home of Wilmer Mclean, Grant and Lee sat down to discuss terms.
It is well known that the terms that Grant set were lenient. The terms
specifed that Lee's men would sign would sign paroles pledging not to take up
arms agains the US government "until properly exchanged". The terms ended with
the following sentence: "This done, each officer and man will be allowed to
return to his home, not to be disturbed by US authority so long as they observe
their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside." In that sentence,
Grant had "decided" on not only a political but a judical question. He said
that no one in Lee's army, from buck private to Lee himself, could ever be put
on trial for treason, or his actions during the war. It was a general amnesty.
The effects of both the decision and the sentence on post war America were
enormous. By his decision, Lee spared the country the nightmare of an ongoing
guerilla war (a foretaste of which was seen in Missouri, Virginia, and Kentucky
during the war). It went a long way towards preventing the South from becoming
another Northern Ireland. The sentence did the rest. By setting the precedent
for amnesty, all other Southern armies were able to surrender under identical
terms. Also, it helped to prevent a treason trial for Jefferson Davis
(even though he was imprisoned for a time after his capture). There would be
no mass hanging of traitors that might spark a new insurrection. America was
(eventually) able to reach towards the ideals that had always been preached but
hardly always practiced because the war did not end on a note of hatred or
revenge.
It goes without saying that either the decision or the sentence would have been
meaningless without the other. Lee himself might have eschewed guerilla warfare, but
draconian terms from Grant would have made it much less likely that Lee's army
would have gone along with it, for all the devotion that Lee commanded.
And if Lee had decided to disband,then the generosity of the terms available
would never have been known...
Postscript:
Lincoln was assasinated 5 days after Lee surrendered. Given the atmosphere of panic
and suspicion which prevailed at that time (sound familiar?), it is fortunate that
Lee had already surrendered. One wonders whether or not Andew Johnson would
have approved Grant's terms if the assasination had occurred first. Or if Grant
would have offered them in the first place.
NOTES:
The idea for the title was taken from the book titled "April 1865: The Month That
Saved America".
Bibliography:
"The Centennial History of the Civil War", 3 vols :
Vol 1 "The Coming Fury"
Vol 2 "Terrible Swift Sword"
Vol 3 "Never Call Retreat"
"Grant Moves South"
"Grant Takes Command"
"A Stillness at Appomattox"
All above by Bruce Catton.
"Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McPherson.
"The Civil War: A Narrative" (3 vols) by Shelby Foote.
"Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity 1822-1865" by Brooks Simpson.
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