Posted on 04/12/2017 4:46:49 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
General John B. Gordon leads an infantry column of 27,000 men toward an open field near Appomattox Court House, VA. Awaiting them is General Joshua Chamberlain at the head of his 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Corp. As Gordon passes, Chamberlain orders his brigade "attention" "shoulder arms", Then he offers a sword salute to General Gordon and his passing soldiers. Gordon turns and returns the sword salute. Gordon orders "halt", "front". The formations stops. Then shifts from a marching column of 4 men abreast to a 2 rank line of battle. "fix bayonets, "stack arms" The soldiers stack their rifles, and place their waist belts and cartridge boxes over the bayonets of the stack, then step back into line. General Gordon order "right face" the two rank formation turn to the right and doubles into a four man front marching formation. "Forward March". The column steps off, and the Army of Northern Virginia passes into the History of our great Country. A good account of this event can be found at http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/the-last-salute-of-the-army.html
It is only now as an oldish adult that I have gained respect for General Grant and his lieutenants of the North. What happened at Appomattox Courthouse and the manner in which the leading actors behaved toward one another was the key to restoring the Republic. Lee’s role was crucial, of course, but personally, I have been late to appreciate fully the victor’s role.
BTW, thanks for this post.
Subsequently ruined by politicians.
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And then reconstruction happened
Someone should send this to the US Senate.
reading a book on Grant now. One thing I didnt know.. he NEVER cursed. Just not the image I had of him... and he was a clerk when the war started!!
That would be a wasted effort in my opinion. These days, there is little in the way honor and even less dignity to be found in our Senate.
Grant was a mediocre soldier, and largely a failure as a citizen. He came into his own as a general when Lincoln recognized that sometimes sheer tenacity wins wars. In contrast to the “feint-and-withdraw” complacency of Maclellan, Grant was a steady, driving force that pounded onward even against repeated resistance. He knew he could defeat the Confederates just by wearing them down.
Lee was the tactician — and a brilliant one. Grant was the strategist, more determined than brilliant.
Grant found little success in life after he left the army in
1854. When the war started, he was a clerk in his father’s leather goods store in Galena IL.
” . . . ruined by politicians.”
Career politicians from the East Coast at that! LOL
> Subsequently ruined by politicians. <
Subsequently ruined by John Wilkes Booth.
A failed clerk, too. He had an amazing life - filled with drama and endless rags to riches stories. I’ve visited the house he died in which is in NY state. There are photos of him taken there while he was writing his memoirs.
Mediocre? Won the American Civil War and won two terms as president is mediocre? Phew.
yes it was quite an interesting life, I think he was much smarter than people gave him credit for. Some people are only good at certain things. learned quite a lot about him reading it...
Forcing the states which wanted to secede to stay in. To ‘preserve the union’. (Make sure you say in in Godly sepulchral tones “...The Union...”)
Imagine if the civil was had not been about forcing on the southern states what they had to do about slavery, imagine if it was about forcing them to, oh... I dunno... buy health insurance that sucked and no one wanted?
Mostly, he just had more audacity than the Generals he was facing. The battles he was in were some hair raising affairs - if McClellan had a pair he would have beaten Lee in the Seven Days and the war would have been over in 1862.
And right you are.
These men knew that the war was over and that any actions other than those taken would be detrimental. Lee and Grant were leaders
Not for a couple more years.
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