Destinations & Discovery: Appomattox: The End of the Civil War?

Appomattox has long served to mark the end of the American Civil War. Yet closely examining the spring and summer of 1865 reveals a far more contentious, uncertain, ambiguous, and lengthy ending to the American Civil War than previously understood.
It underscores the complexity of decisions made by the US army, civilian authorities, and soldiers from Lee’s army as well as the unintended consequences of those decisions. Rather than serving as a clear ending to the conflict, the surrender of Confederate forces brought into stark relief many of the legal, social, and political questions that had plagued the war from the beginning. Most importantly, what followed the surrender would offer the first real test of how a democracy might end a civil war.
Join Cavalier Travels as we host Caroline E. Janney, John L. Nau III Professor of History of the American Civil War and Director, John L. Nau Center for Civil War History for this engaging talk on Appomattox.