"148 years ago today" Topic

I'm surprised no one has already brought up the anniversary of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. Contrary to popular belief, not the end of the Civil War, but certainly the death-knell of the Confederacy.

I would have posted this morning, but my internet was down til 20 minutes ago.

Once at Appomattox I read a plaque that stated:
"From this spot, on April 9, 1865, the artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia fire in defiance for the last time."

I always liked that statement.

I did have an ancestor who was wearing blue at Appomattox and I'm guessing he wouldn't have found the wording to his liking.

You mean the Confederacy fielded more than just the Army of Northern Virginia?

The ANV had a couple franchises out west. They did not do well.

You could probably get away with saying it was effectively the end of the war… once Confederates still in the field heard about Lee's surrender, it didn't take long for them to follow suite.

BY

The ANV had a couple franchises out west. They did not do well.

OK, it's starting to become clear.

Now I thought the American Civil War was strictly fought within a 100 mile radius around Brandy Station.

What is this "out west" of which you speak?

Yes, indeed

At good old Major Wilmer McLean's place – he moved from Bull Run to avoid the war and it wound up finding him!

The West aside, Joe Johnston didn't formally surrender until April 26. The forces under his command comprised the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia and totaled more men than the rest of Confederate forces combined even before Lee surrendered the ANV. In excess of 89,000 men, Johnston's was the largest capitulation of the war.

I am cheerfully reminded of this every day, as I have in my hallway a framed original page from the Illustrirte Zeitung of 3. JUNI, 1865 showing the "Der Bürgerkrieg in Amerika: Waffenfiredung (sic) der Armee Johnston's 26. April".

Before the white flags flew, the Proud ANV fought their last battle. The evening of April 8 the lead elements of the army were almost to Appomattox Station. The Column was the Artillery reserve under Gen. Walker, the Union Cav. under Gen. Custer had reached the station first to capture the trains of supplies badly needed by the ANV. Interesting game would be the strange battle of Southern Artillery without Infantry support fighting off a heavy Cavalry attack in woods.
April 9th – Gen. Lee planned for a dawn attack to open the Richmond-Lynchburg road, the escape route for the southern army.
The combined Left Wheel attack by Fitz Lee's Cav. and the Infantry under Gen. Grimes fought the Union Cav. and openned the road…but only for a short time.
A possible game might be the Rebels fighting to open the only road – only to have to face heavy Union Inf. columns arriving to replace the Union Cav. on the line.

And BG Stand Watie's command about a month later in the Trans-Mississippi theater,followed by Edmund Kirby-Smith.

Yes, one of the things that bugs me the most is when people talk about how the Civil War ended on April 9th. Yes, the news of Lee's surrender raced over a thousand miles within minutes broadcasting the surrender. I am also sure this would be a surprise to the Confederate and Union soldiers that died after April 9th as well.

Way out west … Where John Wayne lives, he won the war for,the Union BTW.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to have held the day book of the 34th Indiana, which has the name of the last man killed in the Civil War at the Battle of Palmito Ranch, May 12-13, 1865.

John Williams would have found it strange to find out that he was killed more than a month after the end of the War.

As I recall one of the Confederate raiding ships was still out there taking prizes six months later.

My father-in-law, who grew up in Texas, said he didn't know the South had lost until he joined the Navy. Probably not something included in his history classes.