Conclusion of the American Civil War
Below is a timeline of the conclusion of the American Civil War which includes important battles, skirmishes, raids and other events of 1865, such as those that led to additional Confederate surrenders, key Confederate captures and disbandments of Confederate military units that happened after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender.
The fighting of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War between Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Potomac and Lee's Army of Northern Virginia seemed to dominate the reporting of the battles of the Western Theater, especially as the Eastern Theater skirmishes resulted in the Appomattox Campaign. Grant then was willing to launch an attack on a wide front when Lee’s army was exhausted and stretched thin on extended lines of defense on small sections of the thirty miles of strongholds around Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. This ultimately led to the surrender of Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.[1][2][3][4]
The timeline shows events that happened after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The last Confederate surrender happened on November 6, 1865, with the CSS Shenandoah being turned in, concluding the American Civil War.[5]
Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (April 9)
Gen. Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia, while Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon its Second Corps. Early in the morning of April 9th, Gordon attacked, aiming to break through Federal lines at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, but failed, and the Confederate army was then surrounded. At 8:30 A.M. that morning, Lee requested a meeting with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to discuss surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia. Shortly after twelve o'clock, Grant's reply reached Lee, and in it Grant said he would accept the surrender of the Confederate army under certain conditions. Lee then rode into the little hamlet of Clover Hill, where the Appomattox county court house stood, and waited for Grant's arrival to surrender his army.[6]
Surrender of Gen. St. John Richardson Liddell's troops (April 9)
The Confederates lost Spanish Fort in Alabama at the Battle of Spanish Fort, which took place between March 27 and April 8, 1865 in Baldwin County. After losing Spanish Fort, the Confederates went on to lose Fort Blakely to Union forces at the Battle of Fort Blakely, between April 2 and April 9, 1865. This is considered to be the last major combined-force battle of the American Civil War. It happened six hours after Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox. In the course of the battle, Brig. Gen. St. John Richardson Liddell was captured and surrendered his men. The successful Union assault can be attributed in large part to African-American forces.[7]
Disbanding of Mosby's Raiders (April 21)
Mosby's Rangers, also known as the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, were Confederate military cavalry companies who opposed the Union control of the Loudoun Valley area. Under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, John S. Mosby had formed the battalion on June 10, 1863, at Rector's Cross Roads near Rectortown, Virginia. Mosby practiced psychological as well as guerrilla warfare techniques to disrupt the Union stronghold. Mosby's men never formally surrendered and were disbanded on April 21, 1865, almost two weeks after Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant.[8] On the last day of Mosby's striking force, a letter from him was read aloud to his men:
Soldiers!
I have summoned you together for the last time. The vision we have cherished of a free and independent country, has vanished, and that country is now the spoil of a conqueror. I disband your organization in preference to surrendering it to our enemies. I am no longer your commander. After association of more than two eventful years, I part from you with a just pride, in the fame of your achievements, and grateful recollections of your generous kindness to myself. And now at this moment of bidding you a final adieu accept the assurance of my unchanging confidence and regard.
- Farewell.
John S. Mosby, Col. [9]
Surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and his various armies (April 26)
The second and last major stage in the peace making process concluding the American Civil War was the surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and his armies to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865, at Bennett Place.[10] The Army of Tennessee was among nearly one hundred thousand Confederate soldiers that were surrendered from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.[10] The conditions of surrender were in a document called "Terms of a Military Convention" signed by Sherman, Johnston, and Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Raleigh, North Carolina.[11]
The first major stage in the peace making process was when Lee's surrender occurred at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.[12] This coupled with Lincoln's assassination induced Johnston to act, believing: "With such odds against us, without the means of procuring ammunition or repairing arms, without money or credit to provide food, it was impossible to continue the war except as robbers."[13] On April 17 Sherman and Johnston met at Bennett Place, and the following day an armistice was arranged, when terms were discussed and agreed upon. Grant had authorized only the surrender of Johnston's forces, but Sherman exceeded his orders by providing very generous terms. These included: that the warring states be immediately recognized after their leaders signed loyalty oaths, that property as well as personal rights be returned to the Confederates, the re-establishing the Federal court system, and that a general amnesty would be given. On April 24 the authorities in Washington rejected Sherman's proposed terms, and two days later Johnston agreed to the same terms Lee got back on April 9.[14]
Johnston surrendered the following commands under his direction on April 26, 1865: the Department of Tennessee & Georgia; the Army of Tennessee; the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, & Florida; and the Department of North Carolina & Southern Virginia.[15] Johnston's forces that were surrendered combined for a total of around 30,000 men.[14] On April 27 his adjutant announced the terms to the Army of Tennessee in General Orders #18, and on May 2 he issued his farewell address to the Army of Tennessee as General Orders #22.[16] The remaining parts of the Florida "Brigade of the West" surrendered with the rest of Johnston’s forces on May 4, 1865, at Greensboro, North Carolina.[10]
There is a historical marker at the farm house in Durham, North Carolina, where Johnston surrendered his departments and armies.
Surrender of the Confederate departments of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana regiments (May 4)
The documentation of the surrender of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor's small force in Alabama on May 4th was another stage in the process of concluding the American Civil War. The son of former U.S. President Zachary Taylor, Richard Taylor commanded the Confederate troops in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, consisting of ten to twelve thousand soldiers. Mobile, Alabama, had fallen to Union control by April 1865, and reports reached Taylor of the meeting between Johnston and Sherman about the terms of Johnston's surrender of his armies. Taylor agreed to meet with Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby for a conference north of Mobile, and they settled on a 48 hour's truce on April 30. Taylor agreed to a surrender after this time elapsed, which he did on May 4 at Citronelle, Alabama.[17]
Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest surrendered on May 9 at Gainesville, Alabama. His troops were included with Taylor's. The terms stated that Taylor could retain control of the railway and river steamers to be able to get his men as near as possible to their homes. Taylor stayed in Meridian, Mississippi, until the last man was sent on his way. He was paroled May 13 and then went to Mobile to join Canby. Canby took him to his home in New Orleans by boat.[17]
Surrender of the Confederate District of the Gulf (May 5)
The Confederate District of the Gulf was commanded by a Maj. Gen. Dabney H. Maury. On April 12 Maury retreated with his troops after the two major Confederate forts of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely were lost to the Union forces. He declared Mobile, Alabama, an open city after these battles. Maury went to Meridian, Mississippi, with his remaining men. He wanted to join the remains of the Army of Tennessee in North Carolina, however hearing of Johnston's surrender to Sherman on April 26 he soon ran out of options. Ultimately Maury surrendered Mobile's military infantry soldiers and artillery of about four thousand men to the Union army on May 5 at Citronelle, Alabama. It was the last of the Confederate forces to surrender east of the Mississippi River.[18]
Capture of President Davis (May 10)
Jefferson Davis
On May 10, Union cavalrymen, under Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson's command, captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis as he fled Richmond, Virginia, following its evacuation in the early part of April 1865. Davis was going to Danville, Virginia, with his Confederate Cabinet. On May 5, 1865, in Washington, Georgia, Davis had held the last meeting of his Cabinet. At that time, the Confederate Government was declared officially dissolved.[19]
The sequence of events that led to Davis' capture began early in May 1865, when the 4th Michigan Cavalry was set up in an encampment of tents at Macon, Georgia. The military unit of several battalions was commanded by Lt. Col. Benjamin D. Pritchard. On May 7th, he was given orders to join many other units searching for the Confederate president. Pritchard's troops were to scout through the country along the Ocmulgee River, and by the next day the Michiganders had come to Hawkinsville, Georgia, about fifty miles south of Macon, from where they continued along the river to Abbeville, Georgia. There, Pritchard learned from Lt. Col. Henry Harnden that his First Wisconsin Cavalry was hot on Davis's trail. After a meeting between the two colonels, Harnden and his men headed off towards Irwinville, some twenty miles south of their position.[20]
Pritchard received word from local residents that on the night before a party, probably including the Confederate President, had crossed the Ocmulgee River just north of Abbeville. Since there were two roads to Irwindale, one of which had been taken by Harnden and his men, Pritchard decided to take the other, to see if he could capture Davis. He took with him about a hundred and forty men and their horses, while the balance of the Michiganders stayed on the Ocmulgee River near Abbeville. Some seven hours later, at 1 A.M. on May 10, Pritchard arrived at Irwindale. There was no evidence of Harnden's men being there yet.
Pritchard learned from local residents that about a mile and a half to the north there was a military camp. Not knowing whether this was Davis and his group or the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, he approached cautiously. He soon identified the camp as Davis's. At first dawn, Pritchard charged the camp, which was so surprised and overwhelmed that it offered no resistance and yielded immediately.[20]
About ten minutes after the surrender, Pritchard heard rapid gunfire to the north. He left Davis and the captured men in the hands of his twenty-one year old adjutant. Once he had approached the automatic gunfire, he realized it was the 4th Michigan and the 1st Wisconsin shooting at each other, neither realizing who they were shooting at. Pritchard immediately ordered his men to stop and shouted to the 1st Wisconsin to identify the parties. In the five minute skirmish, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry had suffered eight men wounded, while the 4th Michigan Cavalry had lost two men killed and one wounded.[20]
Back at camp, Pritchard's adjutant was almost fooled into letting Davis escape by a ruse. Davis's wife had persuaded the adjutant to let her "old mother" go to fetch some water. The adjutant allowed this, and walked away from their tent. Mrs. Davis and a person dressed as an old woman then left the tent to go for the water. One of the other ranking officers noticed the "old woman" was wearing mens riding boots with spurs. Immediately, they were stopped and the woman's overcoat and black head shawl were removed, to reveal Davis himself.[21] The plan of escape thus failed.[22] The Confederate president was subsequently held prisoner for two years in Fort Monroe, Virginia.[23]
Surrender of the Confederate Department of Florida and South Georgia (May 10)
In 1864, Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones had commanded the Departments of Florida, South Carolina, and South Georgia, with his headquarters in Pensacola, Florida. His primary orders were to guard the coastal areas of these states and to destroy Union gunboats. He was also to destroy all machinery and sawmills that would be beneficial to the Union armies.[24]
In the early part of 1865, Jones was transferred to Tallahassee, soon after Savannah had fallen to Sherman and the Union forces in December 1864. There, Jones headquartered the District of Florida. On May 10, at Tallahassee, he surrendered about eight thousand troops to Brig. Gen. Edward M. McCook. In military action east of the Mississippi River, the city of Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital not captured during the Civil War.[24]
Surrender of Thompson's Brigade (May 11)
Confederate Brig. Gen. "Jeff" Meriwether Thompson commanded Thompson's Brigade. The county seat of Wittsburg, Arkansas (county seat of Cross County from 1868 through 1886), would witness one of the final acts in the American Civil War. This happened after the collapse of Confederate forces east of the Mississippi. Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge sent Lt. Col. Charles W. Davis of the 51st Illinois Infantry on April 30, 1865, to Arkansas to seek the surrender of Thompson, commander of Confederate troops in the northeast portion of Arkansas. Davis, arriving at Chalk Bluff (now non-extant) in Clay County, Arkansas, on the St. Francis River, sent communications to Thompson asking that they have a conference. These two officers met then on May 9 to negotiate a surrender. Thompson requested from Davis two days to work out the details of the surrender with his officers. The Confederates under the command of Thompson agreed to surrender all the troops in the area on May 11. They picked Wittsburg and Jacksonport, Arkansas, as the sites where Thompson's five thousand military troops would gather to receive their paroles. Ultimately Thompson surrendered about seventy-five hundred men all total that were under his command consisting of 1,964 enlisted men with 193 officers paroled at Wittsburg and 4,854 enlisted men with 443 officers paroled at Jacksonport.
Surrender of Confederate forces of North Georgia (May 12)
The surrender of between 3000 and 4000 soldiers under Brig. Gen. William T. Wofford's command took place at Kingston, Georgia, and was received by Brig. Gen. Henry M. Judah on May 12, 1865.[25] There were several letters between the various generals involved in the negotiations of this surrender, including Wofford, Judah, William D. Whipple and Robert S. Granger.[26]
There is a Georgia historical marker in Kingston, Georgia, in Bartow County at the intersection of West Main Street and Church Street.
Disbandment after the Battle at Palmito Ranch (May 13)
The last land battle of the Civil War is obscurely recorded as being in a remote corner of Texas near Brownsville, and it was won by the Confederates. The Confederates held the city of Brownsville in the early part of 1865. In January or February a Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace was sent by the Union government to Texas. He was sent on an "inspection mission," which in reality was a mission to get Confederate support along the Rio Grande River for the Mexican government, whose president at the time was Benito Juárez. On March 11 Wallace had a meeting with the two major Confederate commanders of the region, Brig. Gen. James Slaughter and Col. John "Rip" Ford, under the premise that the official purpose was the "rendition of criminals." The real reason was to agree that any fighting in the region would be pointless and negotiate an unofficial indefinite cease fire. Slaughter and Ford, at this point in time, occupied Fort Brown near Brownsville.[27]
In May Col. Theodore H. Barrett was in temporary command of Union troops at Brazos Santiago Island. He had little military field experience and desired, it is surmised, "to establish for himself some notoriety before the war closed." Barrett knew that an attack on Fort Brown was in violation of orders from headquarters, since the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia already surrendered by Lee at Appomattox on April 9 and many other Confederate forces had surrendered or disbanded by then. In spite of these known facts Barrett decided anyway to go ahead with his plans.[28]
On May 12 Barrett instructed Col. David Branson of the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry to attack the Confederate encampment at Brazos Santiago Depot near Fort Brown. Barrett commanded the 62nd United States Colored Infantry and the 2nd Texas Cavalry, and advanced towards Fort Brown with the intention of reoccupying Brownsville with Union forces thinking they would not encounter any problems, assuming all the Confederates surely had heard of Lee's surrender by this time. To their surprise they encountered Confederates that didn't know what was happening in the New England states.
A ferocious battle erupted at Palmito Ranch, about twelve miles outside Brownsville. Union forces were outmaneuvered and overrun, and by the next day the Confederate cavalry had all but slaughtered most of the Union troops. The battle was lost by Barrett's Union regiments mainly because the Confederates outnumbered them five to one. In addition the Confederates cavalry had artillery as well as infantry, while the Union consisted only of foot soldiers.[28]
History records show that of the original three hundred Union troops that fought at Palmito Ranch, they lost over one third that were killed with several additional captured or seriously injured. Only about eighty managed to escape. From the captives the Confederates learned that Lee surrendered in April and this was the first major step in the peace making process of healing the nation. The Texas Confederates had won the last battle of the war and shortly thereafter disbanded.[28]
Surrender of Cherokee chief Stand Watie
On May 12 and 13 the last battle of the American Civil War was fought and won by the Confederate Cherokees under the command of Cherokee Brig. Gen. Stand Watie at Palmito Ranch.[29][30][31] Watie commanded the Confederate Indians when he surrendered on June 23. This was the last significant Confederate active forces.[32] When fighting started in the "Indian Nations", Watie had formed the Cherokee Mounted Rifles. He was a guerrilla fighter commanding Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Osage Indian soldiers amounting to over 200,000 men. The Oklahoma horse soldiers earned a notorious reputation for their bold and brave fighting. Watie was famous for leading his Confederate forces to victory in the Second Battle of Cabin Creek and for capturing a Federal steamship on the Arkansas River with cargo worth over one hundred thousand dollars. The booty from the three hundred Federal wagon trains at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek clothed and fed his entire regiment and dependents for more than four weeks. Yearly, Federal troops all over the western United States hunted down Watie, but to no avail as they never captured him. He surrendered at Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nations area of the Oklahoma Territory.[33]
Surrender of Kirby Smith (May 26)
Gen. Kirby Smith tried to send reinforcements east of the Mississippi River to relieve Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the spring of 1864 after the Battle of Mansfield and the Battle of Pleasant Hill. This was not practicable due to the Union naval control of the Mississippi River. Smith instead dispatched Maj. Gen. Sterling Price and his cavalry on an invasion of Missouri that was ultimately not successful. Thereafter the war west of the Mississippi River was principally one of small raids. By May 26 a representative of Smith's negotiated and signed surrender documents with a representative of Maj. Gen. Edward Canby. Canby in Shreveport, Louisiana, then took custody of Smith's force of 43,000 soldiers when they surrendered. Gen. Smith surrendered his troops which by then was the only significant Confederate forces left west of the Mississippi River. With this ended all organized Southern military resistance to the Union forces. Smith commanded the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, that surrendered May 26, and officially signed the surrender papers on June 2 on board the U.S.S. Fort Jackson just outside Galveston Harbor.[34]
Surrender of CSS Shenandoah (November 6)
The C.S.S. Shenandoah, was commissioned by the Confederacy to interfere with Union shipping to hinder their efforts in the American Civil War. It was a Scottish-built merchant ship originally called the Sea King, secretly purchased by the Confederate forces in 1864. Captain James Waddell commanded the Confederate warship C.S.S. Shenandoah after the Sea King was converted to a warship out in International waters in October, weeks after leaving England. William Conway Whittle, Waddell's right hand man, was the ship's executive officer.[35]
Then sailing west and north into the South Pacific the Shenandoah was in Micronesia at the Island of Ponape (called Ascension Island by Whittle) when the American Civil War came to terms with the surrender of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to the Union forces in April 1865.[36]
The Shenandoah continued up to the Aleutians and into the Bering Seas. In the Bering Seas she demolished twenty-four innocent Union whaling ships.[37] She then traveled north crossing the Arctic Circle on June 19.[38] Continuing then south along the coast of Alaska they came upon a fleet of Union ships whaling on June 22.[38] The Shenandoah opened fire continuously, destroying a major portion of the Union whaling fleet.[38] Capt. Waddell took aim at a Union whaling ship and at his signal, the gunner jerked a wrist strap and fired at the fleeing ship Sophia Thornton, being the last two shots of the American Civil War.[39]
They eventually got word on August 2 from an English barque, Bark Barracouta, from San Francisco bound for Liverpool that in fact Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865 — some four months earlier. In the log of the Shenandoah was written that day a long entry that started with the words "The darkest day of my life." The captain realized then in his grief that they were taking innocent unarmed Union whaling ships as prizes when the rest of the country had ended hostilities.[37] He knew that they were now being hunted as pirates,[37] so as they traveled south off the coast of South America they stayed far away from any mainland and went into the South Pacific. They knew pirates could be hanged. Waddell immediately then converted the warship back to a merchant ship,[37] as it was known previously as the Sea King.[40] From then on they saw no land for another 17,000 miles until they arrived back in England, logging a total of over 44,000 miles around the world in a year's travel — the only Confederate ship to do a round-the-world trip.[41]
At this point all Waddell wanted to do was surrender the Shenandoah and that the proper place to do this, in his mind, was at a European port. He decided on the Port of Liverpool. The last Confederate surrender did not occur until November 6, 1865, when the notorious ship under Capt. Waddell's command surrendered at Liverpool to Capt. R. N. Paynter, commander of HMS Donegal of the British royal navy.[42][43][37] The Shenandoah was surrendered by letter to the Earl Russell of England.[44][45][46][47]
See also
- American Civil War
- Confederate States of America
- Origins of the American Civil War
- Turning point of the American Civil War
- Military of the Confederate States of America
- Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
References
Footnotes
- ^ Heidler, p. 703
- ^ Heidler, p. 704
- ^ Heidler, p. 705
- ^ Harrell, pp. 360–362
- ^ Schooler, The Last Shot, Introduction
- ^ Davis, To Appomattox - Nine April Days, 1865, pp. 307, 309, 312, 318, 322–328, 341–403
- ^ Sutherland, pp. 188–189
- ^ Wert, pp. 32–45, 275–289
- ^ Wert, pp. 288–289
- ^ a b c Katcher, p. 184
- ^ Bradley, p. 270
- ^ Catton, A Stillness at Appomattox, pp. 294–295, 339, 365–366
- ^ Snow, p. 301.
- ^ a b Eicher, Longest Night, pp. 834-5.
- ^ Eicher, Civil War High Commands, p. 323.
- ^ Snow, p. 302.
- ^ a b Heidler, p. 584
- ^ Johnson, p. 411
- ^ Korn, pp. 160, 162
- ^ a b c Ballard, pp. 97–116
- ^ Johnson, Pursuit, pp. 197–198
- ^ Cutting, p. 302
- ^ Van Doren, p. 912
- ^ a b Heidler, p. 1093
- ^ Gelbert, p. 37
- ^ United States War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, pp. 735–737
- ^ Hunt, pp. 25–37
- ^ a b c Hunt, pp. 1–12
- ^ Hunt, Back cover
- ^ Marvel, pp. 69-73
- ^ Comtois, pp. 51-53
- ^ Markowitz, p. 846
- ^ Hoxie, p. 679
- ^ Cotham, pp. 181–183
- ^ Baldwin, pp. 1–11
- ^ Baldwin, pp. 198–205
- ^ a b c d e McKenna, p. 340
- ^ a b c Baldwin, pp. 238–254
- ^ Baldwin, p. 255
- ^ Baldwin, p. 279
- ^ Baldwin, pp. 275–307
- ^ Sheehan-Dean, p. 130
- ^ Davis, The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts, p. 213
- ^ Baldwin, p. 319
- ^ Thomsen, p. 279
- ^ Whittle, p. 212
- ^ Waddell, p. 36
Primary sources
- Johnson, Robert Underwood, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Yoseloff, 1888
- United States War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Government Printing Office, 1902
- Waddell, James Iredell et al, C. S. S. Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Crown Publishers, 1960, Original from the University of Michigan – digitized Dec 5, 2006
- Whittle, William Conway et al, The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable Cruise, University of Alabama Press, 2005, ISBN 0-8173145-1-2
Secondary sources
- Baldwin, John, Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship, Crown Publishers, 2007, ISBN 5-5577608-5-7, Random House, Incorporated, 2007, ISBN 0-7393271-8-6
- Ballard, Michael B., A Long Shadow: Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy, University of Georgia Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8203194-1-4
- Bradley, Mark L., This Astounding Close: The Road to Bennett Place, UNC Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8078256-5-4
- Catton, Bruce, A Stillness at Appomattox, Doubleday 1953, Library of Congress # 53-9982, ISBN 0-385-04451-8
- Comtois, Pierre. "War's Last Battle." America's Civil War, July 1992 (Vol. 5, No. 2)
- Cotham, Edward Terrel, Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston, University of Texas Press, 1998, ISBN 0-2927120-5-7
- Cutting, Elisabeth, Jefferson Davis - Political Soldier, Read Books, 2007, ISBN 1-4067233-7-1
- Davis, Burke, The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts, Wings Books, 1960 & 1982, ISBN 0-5173715-1-0
- Davis, Burke, To Appomattox - Nine April Days, 1865, Eastern Acorn Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9159921-7-5
- Eicher, David J., The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Simon & Schuster, 2001, ISBN 0-684-84944-5.
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Faust, Drew Gilpin, The Dread Void of Uncertainty": Naming the Dead in the American Civil War, Southern Cultures (magazine) – Volume 11, Number 2, University of North Carolina Press, Summer 2005
- Gelbert, Doug, Civil War Sites, Memorials, Museums, and Library Collections: A State-by-state Guidebook to Places Open to the Public, McFarland & Co., 1997, ISBN 0-7864031-9-5
- Harrell, Roger Herman' The 2nd North Carolina Cavalry: Spruill's Regiment in the Civil War, McFarland, 2004, ISBN 0-7864177-7-3
- Heidler, David Stephen et al, Encyclopedia Of The American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, W. W. Norton & Company, 2002, ISBN 0-3930475-8-X
- Hoxie, Frederick E., Encyclopedia of North American Indians: Native American History, Culture, and Life from Paleo-Indians to the Present, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1996, ISBN 0-3956692-1-9
- Hunt, Jeffrey William, The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch, University of Texas Press, 2002, ISBN 0-2927346-1-1,back cover
- Johnson, Clint, Pursuit: The Chase, Capture, Persecution, and Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Kensington Publishing Corp., 2008, ISBN 0-8065289-0-7
- Katcher, Philip, The Civil War Day by Day: Day by Day, MBI Publishing Company, 2007, ISBN 0-7603286-5-X
- Kennedy, Frances H., The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990, ISBN 0-395522-8-2X
- Korn, Jerry, Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles, Time-Life Books, 1987, ISBN 0-8094478-8-6
- Markowitz, Harvey, American Indians: Ready Reference, vol III, Salem Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8935676-0-4
- Marvel, William. "Last Hurrah at Palmetto Ranch." Civil War Times, January 2006 (Vol. XLIV, No. 6)
- McKenna, Robert, The Dictionary of Nautical Literacy, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003, ISBN 0-0714195-0-0
- Schooler, Lynn, The Last Shot, HarperCollins, 2006, ISBN 0-0605233-4-4
- Sheehan-Dean, Aaron, Struggle for a Vast Future: The American Civil War, Osprey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1-8460321-3-X
- Snow, William P., Lee and His Generals, Gramercy Books, 1867, ISBN 0-517-38109-5.
- Sutherland, Jonathan, African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2004, ISBN 1-5760774-6-2
- Thomsen, Brian, Blue & Gray at Sea: Naval Memoirs of the Civil War, Macmillan, 2004, ISBN 0-7653089-6-7
- Tidwell, William A., April '65: Confederate Covert Action in the American Civil War, Kent State University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8733851-5-2
- Van Doren, Charles Lincoln et al, Webster's Guide to American History: A Chronological, Geographical, and Biographical Survey and Compendium, Merriam-Webster, 1971, ISBN 0-8777908-1-7
- Weigley, Russel F., A Great Civil War: A Military and Political History, 1861-1865, Indiana University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-2533373-8-0
- Wert, Jeffry D., Mosby's Rangers, Simon and Schuster, 1991, ISBN 0-6717474-5-2
- Wright, Mike, What They Didn't Teach You about the Civil War, Presido, 1996, ISBN 0-8914159-6-3
Further reading
- Andrews, J. Cutler, The North Reports the Civil War, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1955
- Badeau, Adam, Grant in Peace: From Appomattox to Mount McGregor; a Personal Memoir, S.S. Scranton & Company, 1887
- Beatie, Russel H., The Army of the Potomac, Basic Books, 2002, ISBN 0-3068114-1-3
- Boykin, Edward M., The Falling Flag: Evacuation of Richmond, Retreat and Surrender at Appomattox, E.T. Hale, 1874
- Bradford, Ned, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Gramercy Books, 1988, ISBN 0-5172982-0-1
- Chaffin, Tom, Sea of Gray: The Around-the-World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah, Hill and Wang/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007, ISBN 0-8090850-4-6
- Crotty, Daniel G., Four Years Campaigning in the Army of the Potomac, Dygert Brothers and Company, 1874
- Catton, Bruce, This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War, Doubleday 1953, Library of Congress # 56-5960, ISBN 18532669-6-5
- Coombe, Jack D., Gunfire Around the Gulf: The Last Major Naval Campaigns of the Civil War, Bantam Books, 1999, ISBN 0-5531073-1-3
- Craven, Avery, The Coming of the Civil War, University of Chicago Press, 1957, ISBN 0-2261189-4-0
- Cunningham, S.A., Confederate Veteran, Confederated Southern Memorial Association et al, 1920
- Davis, Jefferson, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, D. Appleton and Company, 1881
- Dunlop, W. S., Lee's Sharpshooters, Tunnah & Pittard, 1899, ISBN 1-5821861-3-8
- Gills, Mary Louise, It Happened at Appomattox: The Story of an Historic Virginia Village, Dietz Press, 1948, ISBN 0-8751703-8-2
- Kean, Robert Garlick Hill et al, Inside the Confederate Government: The Diary of Robert Garlick Hill Kean, Head of the Bureau of War, Oxford University Press, 1957
- Konstam, Angus et al, Confederate Raider 1861-65, Osprey Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1-8417649-6-5
- Konstam, Angus et al, Confederate Blockade Runner 1861-65, Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-8417663-6-4
- Long, Armistead Lindsay, Memoirs of Robert E. Lee: His Military and Personal History, Embracing a Large Amount of Information Hitherto Unpublished, J. M. Stoddart & Company, 1886
- Longstreet, James, From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America, J.B. Lippincott, 1908
- Marvel, William, A Place Called Appomattox, UNC Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8078256-8-9
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- Schooler, Lynn, The Last Shot: The Incredible Story of the C.S.S. Shenandoah and the True Conclusion of the American Civil War, Thorndike Press, 2005, ISBN 0786280794
- Wise, Jennings Cropper, The Long Arm of Lee: The History of the Artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia; with a Brief Account of the Confederate Bureau of Ordinance, J. P. Bell Company, 1915, volume 2