Author:   Robert E. Lee Date:1865 Annotation: By April 1865, Grant’s army had cut off Lee’s supply lines, forcing Confederate forces to evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. Lee and his men retreated westward, but Grant’s troops overtook him about a hundred miles west of Richmond. Recognizing that further resistance would be futile, Lee surrendered at Appomattox…

Author:   A.R. Lord Date:1865 Annotation: In March 1864, Lincoln gave Ulysses S. Grant command of all Union armies. Vowing to end the war within a year, Grant launched three major offenses. General Philip E. Sheridan’s task was to lay waste to farm land in Virginia’s Shenandoah valley, a mission he completed by October. Meanwhile,…

Author:   Mary Y. Prentiss Date:1865 Annotation: The 1864 presidential election was one of the most critical in American history. At stake was whether the war would end in unconditional surrender or a negotiated settlement, which might result in the preservation of slavery as a legal institution. Even though hundreds of thousands of slaves deserted…

Date:1865 Annotation: Twenty African-American men met African descent met with Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, and Major-Gen. Sherman, to discuss matters relating to the freedmen of the State of Georgia. Document: [New York, N.Y. February 13, 1865] MINUTES OF AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE COLORED MINISTERS AND CHURCH OFFICERS AT SAVANNAH WITH THE SECRETARY OF…

Author:   Samuel Thomas Date:1865 Annotation: Col. Samuel Thomas, a Freedmen’s Bureau official, describes the attitude of ex- Confederates toward the former slaves. Document: Wherever I go — the street, the shop, the house, or the steamboat — I hear the people talk in such a way as to indicate that they are yet unable…

Author:   Andrew Knox Date:1864 Annotation: A Union lieutenant in the 1st Connecticut Artillery offers his opinion of General George McClellan’s presidential campaign. Document: …Reinforcements are coming to this army daily so active times will soon be on hand. At present I have nothing to do but eat and sleep and go visiting when I…

Author:   National Union Free Convention Date:1864 Annotation: As their presidential nominee, the Democrats chose General George B. McClellan, who opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and who ran on a platform which condemned Lincoln for “four years of failure” and called for a negotiated end to the war. Some Radical Republicans also opposed Lincoln’s reelection. Lincoln…

Author:   Tobias Gibson Date:1864 Annotation: Slaves played a critical role in their own liberation. Southern slaves deserted plantations and fled to Union lines. Slaves also staged a few small insurrections during the war as the slave system itself began to unravel. Planters were stunned to see trusted house slaves and field drivers lead field…

Author:   Christian M. Epperly Date:1864 Annotation: Military desertions were treated harshly. A Confederate soldier describes the fate of men who tried to leave their companies and were recaptured. Document: I haven’t any news to write to you at this time, only the sad and awful Execution which taken place in our Brigade yesterday which…

Author:   Tobias Gibson Date:1864 Annotation: A supporter of the Confederacy criticizes the Union army of occupation. Document: I know you have reason to conclude that I have almost forgotten you, to judge by the infrequency of my letters to you, but nothing could be more erroneous than such an idea. When you knew how…