By Perry D. Jamieson
When Gen. Robert E. Lee fled from Petersburg and Richmond,
Virginia, in April 1865, many observers did not realize that the Civil War had
reached its nadir. A large number of Confederates, from Jefferson Davis down to
the rank-and-file, were determined to continue fighting. Though Union successes
had nearly extinguished the Confederacy’s hope for an outright victory, the
South still believed it could force the Union to grant a negotiated peace that
would salvage some of its war aims. As evidence of the Confederacy’s
determination, two major Union campaigns, along with a number of smaller
engagements, were required to quell the continued organized Confederate
military resistance.
In Spring 1865 Perry D. Jamieson juxtaposes for the
first time the major campaign against Lee that ended at Appomattox and Gen.
William T. Sherman’s march north through the Carolinas, which culminated in
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender at Bennett Place. Jamieson also addresses
the efforts required to put down armed resistance in the Deep South and the
Trans-Mississippi. As both sides fought for political goals following Lee’s
surrender, these campaigns had significant consequences for the
political-military context that shaped the end of the war as well as
Reconstruction.
About the Author
Perry D. Jamieson
is senior historian emeritus of the U.S. Air Force. He is the coauthor of Attack
and Die: Civil War Military Tactics and the Southern Heritage and the
author of Crossing the Deadly Ground: United States Army Tactics, 1865–1899.
ISBN 978-0803225817, University of Nebraska Press, © 2015,
Hardcover, 320 pages, Maps, Photograph & Illustrations, End Notes, Bibliographic
Essay & Index. $34.95. To purchase a copy of this book
click HERE.
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