Civil War

[W. Gray]

On April 9, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant met with General Robert E. Lee in a private residence in Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The South surrendered and the Civil War was over.

The fact is the south did not surrender.

The surrender signed by General Lee on April 9, 1965, was only for his Army of Northern Virginia. He had no authority to speak for or surrender the Confederate States of America.

War stuttered on.

On April 26, 1865, General Joseph Johnston, disobeying orders, surrendered his three armies. This was the largest surrender during the Civil War, some 90,000 men.

On May 10, 1865, President Johnson, himself a southerner who had remained loyal to the United States, proclaimed hostilities over. Two days later a major battle occurred in Texas. Other battles and insurrections continued.

On November 6, 1865, the last Confederate ship surrendered.

On April 2, 1866, President Johnson declared southern insurrection at an end everywhere except in Texas.

On August 20, 1866, President Johnson issued a proclamation declaring the Civil War officially over.
Historically, Lee surrendering to Grant on April 9, 1865, has meant that for all practical purposes the war ended.

The Confederate States of America was never, diplomatically speaking, a country. Not one other country in the world recognized it—but interests in Britain and France did provide aid.