Appomattox

Lee s surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House evokes a highly gratifying image in the popular mind it was, many believe, a moment that transcended politics, a moment of healing, a moment of patriotism untainted by ideology But as Elizabeth Varon reveals in this vividly narrated history, this rosy image conceals a seething debate over precisely what the surrender meant and what kind of nation would emerge from war The combatants in that debate included the iconic Lee and Grant, but they also included a cast of characters previously overlooked, who brought their own understanding of the war s causes, consequences, and meaning In Appomattox, Varon deftly captures the events swirling around that well remembered but not well understood moment when the Civil War ended She expertly depicts the final battles in Virginia, when Grant s troops surrounded Lee s half starved army, the meeting of the generals at the McLean House, and the shocked reaction as news of the surrender spread like an electric charge throughout the nation But as Varon shows, the ink had hardly dried before both sides launched a bitter debate over the meaning of the war For Grant, and for most in the North, the Union victory was one of right over wrong, a vindication of free society for many African Americans, the surrender marked the dawn of freedom itself Lee, in contrast, believed that the Union victory was one of might over right the vast impersonal Northern war machine had worn down a valorous and unbowed South Lee was committed to peace, but committed, too, to the restoration of the South s political power within the Union and the perpetuation of white supremacy Lee s vision of the war resonated broadly among Confederates and conservative northerners, and inspired Southern resistance to reconstruction Did America s best days lie in the past or in the future For Lee, it was the past, the era of the founding generation For Grant, it was the future, represented by Northern moral and material progress They held, in the end, two opposite views of the direction of the country and of the meaning of the war that had changed that country forever. Read Appomattox – kino-fada.fr Contrary to hagiography and popular memory, Appomattox wasn t a gentleman s agreement between Robert E Lee U.S Grant to bury the hatchet Technically, the Army of Northern Virginia was cornered after a westward flight out of Richmond and Petersburg Both men entered a limited agreement to grant safe passage to its repatriating veterans, thus preventing a union with other leftover Confederate forces in the field In a deeper sense, both generals claimed the moral ...Varon has researched newspapers, diaries, letters, sermons and even Congressional testimony to show the marked difference between Northern and Southern interpretations of Appomattox meaningShe also unmasks Lee for the racist reactionary he was Hethan anyone enabled the South in the mythos of its noble cause He was outspoken against Republican attempts to protect newly freed blacks and made common cause with Democratic Copperheads in the North post civil war Grant understood these dyn Varon has researched newspapers, diaries, letters, sermons and even Congressional testimony to show the marked difference between Northern and Southern interpretations of Appomattox meaningShe also unmasks Lee for the racist reactionary he was Hethan anyone enabled the South in the mythos of its noble cause He was outspoken against Republican attempts to protect newly freed blacks and made common cause with Democratic Copperheads in the North post civil war Grant understood t...Elizabeth Varon s Appomattox is the end of my Civil War project I had set out to read one book per Civil War battle, campaign, and major engagement Appomattox is, of course, the right place to end such a project It s where Robert E Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S Grant, and while it wasn t the very final action that the war between states, it was clearly understood to be The End.Well, kinda.I liked what Varon did here she portrayed, with an unflinching gaze, the awful mess that one m Elizabeth Varon s Appomattox is the end of my Civil War project I had set out to read one book...An intriguing and though provoking look at the meaning and different interpretations of Grant s surrender terms for Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia This is a good read to bridge the gap between the end of the war and the beginning of Reconstruction The book explores three major fronts the military actions that led to surrender, the thoughts of both Southern and Nor...This book eradicates some myths about Appomattox, such as the gentlemen s agreement between Lee and Grant It also helps to understand why we are having discussions about how we must remember the civil war The decisions to remove Confederate statues and monuments could have been made moot if our ancestors had followed some who believed those who made the choice to separate from the Union were not heroes they were traitors It s said that history is written by the victors, but that is not entire This book eradicates some myths about Appomattox, such as the gentlemen s agreement between Lee and Grant It also helps to understand why we are having discussions about how we must remember the civil war The decisions to remove Confederate statues and monuments could have been made moot if our ancestors had followed some who believed those who made the choice to separate from the Union were not heroes they were traitors It s said...Varon adds life and amazement to a historic event that, as a Virginia, I thought I knew and understood Was I wrong In Varon s able prose, Lee, Grant, Lincoln, and company burst to life with raw ambitions, manipulation of optics, and sadly misguided aims Andrew Johnson explodes with raw rhetoric and mercurial nature The joy of emancipation and wars end collapses into another version of ...Essential history one of many, also check out Douglas Blackmon s Slavery By Another Name and Carol Anderson s White Rage for understanding the resurgence of racist ideologies in America, the rise of Trump, the battles over memorials celebrating traitors, and the recent violence and...Restoration v Reconstruction.The legacy of Appomattox and the persistence of the unreconstructed confederates to accept military defeat set the stage for 100 plus years of racial intolerance Excellent telling of the r...Many Americans know that the Civil War ended at Appomattox, but the implications of Lee s surrender on the post war order are not as well understood Varon s account is well researched and insightful, rebutting some of the southern mythology the arose to explain away its loss.Seemed very redundant, but the basic ideas she expounds are interesting and compelling.

• English
• 14 May 2017
Elizabeth R. Varon
• Hardcover
• 305 pages
• 0199751714
• Elizabeth R. Varon
• Appomattox