Posted on 04/06/2015 11:23:24 AM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep
As Lee’s desperate army swarmed the riverfront streets from Petersburg across the Appomattox River late on April 2 and early April 3, it presented an inviting target of opportunity for enemy cannon-fire. But, a humane General Grant, whose huge army swiftly entered the city, allowed it to temporarily get away. “I had not the heart to turn the artillery upon such a mass of fleeing men I hoped to capture soon,” he said.
Making good time, on April 3, Lee’s harried forces reached Amelia Courthouse, 35 miles westward, where supposedly a trainload of 350,000 rations Lee had ordered was awaiting them. However, the crammed freight cars contained only ammunition, caissons, and artillery horse harnesses. In the chaotic flight. Lee’s headquarters staff apparently had not requisitioned the Confederate Commissary at Richmond, where the crucial rations were stockpiled. Lee’s starving men were, thus, left in jeopardy.
Futile efforts were made by Lee’s supply wagons to forage in a region, which over four years had been stripped barren and could no longer succor the cause. Many of Lee’s crazed and demoralized Confederate soldiers “melted away into the woods.”
After two fatal days of languishing. Lee’s “Miserables” wearily trudged further west on April 5, contained, harassed, and delayed along their left flank by Sheridan’s pesky cavalry….
On April 6, at Sayler’s Creek, the marauding Sheridan attacked Lee’s wagons and cut off General Richard Ewell’s corps, capturing 6,000 Confederates including Ewell.
Learning of the disaster, Lee sadly exclaimed, “My God, has the army dissolved?”
(Excerpt) Read more at napavalleyregister.com ...
The War of Northern Aggression my Grandpa would say. And my other Grandpa called it The Lost Cause.
I’m pretty sure that Custer’s men were involved in capturing one of those trains.
Grant had a lot of respect for Le like so many in the north back then,. Actually men from both sides had respect for each other and it showed watching the old videos of their reunions.
Shame today that respect has been lost and flags as well as those who fought are now branded scum off many liberal northerners.
ping to this in case you had not seen it.
I know that Custer’s men accepted the first truce flag from the confederate side at Appomattox.
And as Obama pillages America, the retreats and parallels can be drawn.
God, they are all zealots. They have not one ounce of empathy for anyone who does not share their worldview.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
I am a Northerner who has debated too many sons of the Confederacy to count. But today I have to tip my hat.
The Rebs put up a good fight and they retired from the field to start their new lives.
I cannot imagine my country being invaded and devastated by “their” brothers in liberty. It must have been horrible.
From the other perspective, I can speak for my Great Great grandfathers and uncles generation who left Vermont and Massachusetts for 3 years of deprivation and horrible conditions. I can attest through the stories handed down over many generations that they felt an allegiance to the Union and they felt they were doing the wrong thing. While they did not die in the cause, they were wounded and one left a good part of his leg in Cold Harbor.
It is time to put the war to rest. It is time to acknowledge that we have moved on and focus our energies in addressing the current state of affairs in the US. I think we are close to the brink of another revolution, not rebellion. Fighting over what happened 150 years serves us no purpose.
So, I tip my hat to all of the families, north and south, that put up with the aggression, rebellion and suppression that happened 150 years ago.
Let us look forward to a time when we have to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Speaking of respect for the adversary, I’m not sure if this is true or not, but several years ago I was watching a semi-documentary show about the battle of Vicksburg...both sides would warn the other, something along the lines of ‘Keep your heads down Johnny, we’re opening up!’ before they began firing... Anyone ever heard of this or know if it is true or apocryphal?
Nice sentiments. Don’t expect all to agree. In my country, the license plates in the Province of Quebec STILL bear the slogan ‘Je me souviens’, which means, ‘I remember’. What exactly do they remember? The defeat of the French regime at Quebec in 1763, by the English, including elements from what is now the US. Until the separatistes came to power in the 1970s, the slogan on Quebec plates was ‘La Belle Province’, ‘The Beautiful Province’.
Great post!!
Ancestors of mine fought on both sides. In fact, one of them apparently fought on both sides.
He was captured by Yanks, and agreed to join the Union Army to avoid prison camp, which were often almost as bad in the north as the south.
He was sent west to fight Indians, on the probably accurate theory that if captured by his former comrades it would go hard for him.
Read the same on one of my books about the war.
Ok, without looking it up, do you know what Union officer received the CSA’s official surrender?
They had respect and video cameras, too? You learn something new every day.
It's called catharsis. They got it out of their system by shooting at each other for four years.
Many of the officers on both sides during the War Between the States fought on the same during the Mexican War some 12 years earlier.
Wasn’t it Joshua Chamberlain?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.