Robert M. Dunkerly - To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy

APPOMATTOX, BENNETT PLACE, AND THE SURRENDERS OF THE CONFEDERACY

by Robert M. Dunkerly

Chris Mackowski, series editor
Daniel T. Davis, chief historian

Also part of the Emerging Civil War Series:

The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead by Meg Thompson

Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 18-20, 1863 by William Lee White

Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865 by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Dawn of Victory: Breakthrough at Petersburg, March 25-April 2, 1865 by Edward S. Alexander

Fight Like the Devil: The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863 by Chris Mackowski and Daniel T. Davis

Grants Last Battle: The Story Behind the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Chris Mackowski

Hurricane from the Heavens: The Battle of Cold Harbor, May 26-June 5, 1864 by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson: The Mortal Wounding of the Confederacys Greatest Icon by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign by Robert M. Dunkerly, Donald C. Pfanz, and David R. Ruth

A Season of Slaughter: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

Simply Murder: The Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

Strike Them a Blow: Battles Along the North Anna, May 21-25, 1864 by Chris Mackowski

That Furious Struggle: Chancellorsville and the High Tide of the Confederacy, May 1-5, 1863 by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White

APPOMATTOX, BENNETT PLACE, AND THE SURRENDERS OF THE CONFEDERACY

by Robert M. Dunkerly

Savas Beatie

California

2015 by Robert M. Dunkerly

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

First edition, first printing

ISBN-13: 978-1-61121-252-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958739

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There have been many good studies of Appomattox, and even of the lesser-known large surrender at Bennett Place, North Carolina, but there has never been an attempt to document all of the surrenders in a comprehensive work. This attempts to do that.

Space limited the depth to which any one event could be explored, but each is given equal coverage.

Several points emerged in the course of this research:

First, the war did not end with a neat closure; its ending dragged on for months in fits and starts.

Second, the end of the war was very different in each theatermore so than I first realized.

Lastly, the way the war, and its ending, has been remembered has greatly influenced our understanding and interpretations of it.

Robert M. Dunkerly

Now known as the Silent Witness, a doll belonging to Lula McLean, daughter of Wilmer McLean, sat in the room where Lee surrendered to Grant. A Union officer who was also there took the doll as a souvenir. In 1993, the family descendants of that soldier returned the doll to Appomattox National Historical Park. (cm)

I would like to thank the following for their help with this rewarding project: Series Editor Chris Mackowski; editor Daniel Davis; at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park: Ernie Price, Patrick Schroeder, and Chris Bingham; with Bennett Place State Historic Park: John Guss and Ryan Reed; Chris Calkins of Sailors Creek Battlefield State Historic Park; author Jeff Toalson; in Mobile: Dr. Ben George and Robert Eddington; with the Citronelle Historical Museum: Alma Johnson and Debbie Odom; Mark Ballard with Jacksonport State Historic Park; Dennis Northcott with the Missouri History Museum; Jana Meyer with the Filson Historical Society; Yvonne Settlemeir with the Clay County AR Judges Office; Michael Mumaugh with Mansfield State Historic Site; Ken Cook; Mike McBride; Joe Davis with Fort Townson; Shannon Moeck of Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park; Preston Ware with the Oklahoma Historical Society; Ansley Wegner of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources; Jonathan Jackson with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; Michael T. Kelly and Gregory Mertz, both of the National Park Service; and Dave Roth with Blue & Gray Magazine. Thanks also Theodore P. Savas.

The Confederate Rest monument, surrounded by 1,100 graves, is a centerpiece of Mobile, Alabamas, Magnolia Cemetery. Mobile National Cemetery sits adjacent. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg is among the notables buried at Magnolia. (gm)

Special thanks go to Sarah Nance, who endured a whirlwind history tour through the Deep South and assisted with research and editing.

I hope that this under-studied aspect of the conflict will receive greater attention from historians and the public.

Theodore P. Savas, publisher

Chris Mackowski, series editor

Daniel T. Davis, chief historian

Sarah Keeney, editorial consultant

Kristopher D. White, emeritus editor and co-founder