Talk:American Civil War - Wikipedia

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American Civil War was one of the Warfare good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones Date Process Result April 10, 2006 Peer review Reviewed November 4, 2006 Good article nominee Listed November 26, 2006 Good article reassessment Delisted December 10, 2006 Good article nominee Listed March 22, 2007 WikiProject A-class review Not approved March 28, 2007 WikiProject A-class review Approved April 21, 2007 Good article reassessment Kept October 14, 2007 Good article reassessment Kept November 5, 2007 Featured article candidate Not promoted December 10, 2008 Good article reassessment Kept March 23, 2011 Peer review Reviewed July 28, 2012 Good article reassessment Delisted May 30, 2014 WikiProject A-class review Demoted December 12, 2015 Peer review Reviewed May 25, 2021 Good article nominee Not listed Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on December 20, 2004, December 20, 2005, and December 20, 2006. Current status: Delisted good article

What should we change in this article to make it a good article? Let's try making a to-do list of things to change. SteelerFan1933 (talk) 00:46, 17 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

• End of the War date. See item posted immediately below and lengthy rationale posted in response to Captain Eek's post on End of the War further below. Donner60 (talk) 05:25, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

@SteelerFan1933, BusterD, CaptainEek, Maurice Magnus, GELongstreet, Hog Farm, Djmaschek, Mojoworker, Jojhutton, Rjensen, CaroleHenson, Alanscottwalker, Kevin Murray, TheVirginiaHistorian, and TwoScars:.

To give the topic/posts above a little more current exposure, I am pinging editors who are interested in the American Civil War and seem to have been actively contributing to Civil War articles recently. I omitted a few users who I would have pinged some time ago but from whom I don't see recent activity or I see only minor activity on a few articles on different topics. I apologize to anyone whom I missed and invite those pinged to ping others whom they think may be interested. I invite anyone who sees this item and is interested to join the discussion and the article improvement project generally. I agree with Captain Eek and BusterD that this is not a "good article" as it stands. It makes many good, general points but certainly has at least a few ambiguities or mistakes, even omissions, and probably needs more citations.

Since this post has turned out to be a little longer than SteelerFan1933 probably anticipated being posted in the above topic on listing possible changes, I am posting it separately to be less intrusive. Also, somewhat regrettably I think, the topic is already a few months old and has yet to generate further notice or interest. I think that talk pages often do not attract much interest, absent some pings, and I must admit that I am not frequently alert to such posts.

For changes, although this is perhaps just a small point in the scheme of things,I would start at the very beginning with changing the end date for the war in the first sentence/infobox. I planned, and may need to have, a further post asking for consensus on that point. The main rationale for change is already stated in my lengthy post in response to CaptainEek in the thread on the end of the war below. The revert of my recent change of the date with brief edit summary explanation stopped me from proceeding with a further review of the article which I had embarked on. I have been working on a comprehensive analysis for the change of date. I intended/intend a review of this article to pick out items that I thought obviously needed editing, revision or references. CaptainEek and a few others have been doing, and have intended to do, more comprehensive work than that. (I can understand that a talk page discussion was probably needed for the change of end date due to the persistence of the May 9 date and the need to explain in detail why the basis for using it is inaccurate.)

I think the end date is of some significance because, as I explain in more detail in the thread below, May 9 (more accurately May 10) is not a good date to use for the end of the war. The reasons for using it do not stand up to analysis. It is based mainly on a faulty New York Times headline and a misinterpretation of the May 10 proclamation that it declared an end to the war (it didn't) and that it withdrew "belligerent rights" from "Rebels" as erroneously stated in the New York Times article headline. The proclamation's substantive order, which I link in full below, only applied to continuing commerce raider crews. A broader reading of "Rebels" is not supported by the language of the proclamation or by any references that I can find, which are few and noted. E.B. Long specifically states the application of the withdrawal of belligerent rights was only to commerce raiders. It did not criminalize further armed resistance or rebellion in general after the order date. I realize that the end of the war date is subject to differing opinions because it is not clear cut and may depend on context. However, I think that an end date in the first sentence of this article with a basis that can be so easily analyzed, criticized and rejected is not a good start. I provide links to the full language of the May 9 order and May 10 proclamation.

I will plan further review of this article in line with the proposal when I finish and post a new end of the war item below if I need to do so. Perhaps this will no longer be necessary or productive. Since I would ping the same editors for my planned additional post as I have done here, perhaps comments and consensus might be reached from the current thread started by Captain Eek below. Then I can move on to other items without thinking I gave up on a point of at least some significance. In any event, I hope to give more suggestions or revisions for this article as time permits. Revising such a large, comprehensive article as this one is certainly going to be a challenge and will take some time, even assuming considerable work by some and a consensus among the participants, much less others. I suppose it will likely need some considerable interest to move it up to GA. Donner60 (talk) 05:25, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Before the edits I just made, the entry stated, incomprehensibly:

Confederate records compiled by historian William F. Fox list 74,524 killed and died of wounds and 59,292 died of disease. Including Confederate estimates of battle losses where no records exist would bring the Confederate death toll to 94,000 killed and died of wounds. However, this excludes the 30,000 deaths of Confederate troops in prisons, which would raise the minimum number of deaths to 290,000.[6] This says that 94,000 + 30,000 = 290,000.

I took some guesses as to what was meant, but I did no research. Perhaps another editor will examine this further. The paragraph preceding the one I quoted was also poorly written and required some guesswork.Maurice Magnus (talk) 23:06, 30 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

At first, I thought that "74,524 killed and died of wounds and 59,292 died of disease" meant that 74,524 died of wounds and 59,292 died of disease, but I rejected that thought because those two numbers add up to more than 94,000. Therefore, I changed it to "74,524 deaths of which 59,292 were from disease." But, again, this was a guess.Maurice Magnus (talk) 23:15, 30 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Maurice Magnus I don't think that is right either, because by your math, that means only 15,232 were killed/died of wounds, which is impossible. Frankly, I think we should probably just remove the whole paragraph and mention of Fox, since that total is from 1889! Much more modern and thorough work has been done on the subject. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 01:15, 31 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Removing it is fine with me. Maurice Magnus (talk) 01:18, 31 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Maurice Magnus and CaptainEek: Citing Dyer, Fox, Livermore and a few other sources, Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. OCLC 68283123. Page 710: "Exact counting was difficult then; it is, to understate the matter, impossible now." Page 710: "Total Federal army deaths from all causes are put at 360,222 by the War Department. Total battle deaths, both killed in action and mortally wounded numbered 110,100...Disease claimed 224,580, although the exact figure is in dispute. Of the total deaths in the Federal forces, some 30,192 died while prisoners of war." The remaining approximately 24,000 deaths were from a variety of stated additional causes. "...many men were wounded more than once. The Federal Army wounded are put at 275,175." The Navy listed "1804... as killed or wounded with 3000 dead of disease and accidents, and 2226 wounded." Page 711: "Casualties for the Confederacy are subject to more controversy than the Federal. Probably the best and most accepted estimate is 94,000 Confederates killed in battle or mortally wounded, while 164,000 died of disease. Total deaths came to 258,000. One incomplete record places wounded at 194,026. Estimates of Confederates who died in Northern prisons are put at 26,000 to 31,000. Total deaths in the Civil War for both sides may be placed at least at 623.026, with a minimum of 471,427 wounded, for a total casualty figure of 1,094,453." Even though 50 years old, I think this compilation, or something very close to it, represents the still commonly accepted numbers.

Modern research work and analysis makes an interesting and perhaps correct argument for revising the likely number of deaths and/or casualties to a higher number, although just what it should be is arguable. Some earlier authors acknowledged that the records, especially Confederate records as Long noted, were incomplete due to destruction or failures to file reports and the actual numbers could be higher than the commonly accepted numbers. On the other hand, many recent modern sources also still use the older numbers and some reject the new analysis outright. Two articles at the American Battlefield Trust web site are illustrative and I quote relevant sentences. From: "Should the number be higher?" https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/should-number-be-higher "Applying the tools of modern demographic and statistical analysis is immensely valuable to furthering our understanding of the Civil War--we are always striving to add new threads to the tapestry of our shared historical experience. Dr. Hacker provides important insight into the tragic loss of life from 1860-1870. However, his final estimate is very broad, includes civilian casualties, and is not directly linked to the war years of 1861-1865. The American Battlefield Trust will continue to use Fox's and Livermore's calculation of 620,000 military deaths in the Civil War. We look forward to continued research from Dr. Hacker and others." From: "Civil War Casualties" https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-casualties "Compiling casualty figures for Civil War soldiers is a complex process. Indeed, it is so complex that even 150 years later no one has, and perhaps no one will, assemble a specific, accurate set of numbers, especially on the Confederate side." And after posing several unanswered and probably unanswerable questions related to compiling accurate numbers, the article concludes: "A wholly accurate count will almost certainly never be made." As information. Donner60 (talk) 23:25, 31 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

Experts agree the old data is a bad estimate of Confederate soldier deaths. James M. McPherson states:

As I was working on my two syntheses of the Civil War era, Ordeal by Fire and Battle Cry of Freedom, I became increasingly aware that the standard estimate of 258,000 Confederate war dead was a significant undercount. Many Confederate records were lost or incomplete, especially for the last and bloodiest—year of the war. The number of disease-related deaths of Confederate soldiers was clearly underreported. There were no reported Confederate noncombat deaths from “miscellaneous” causes—accidents, drownings, causes not stated, et cetera—compared with nearly twenty-five thousand such deaths recorded for Union armies." [quote from p. 309 https://wordpress.viu.ca/davies/files/2018/03/A-Census-Based-Count-of-the-Civil-War-Dead.pdf .Rjensen (talk) 03:36, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

Right on the mark with an excellent reference, as always, Professor. Glad that we have interacted again - after quite a few years now. Donner60 (talk) 05:54, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

To follow up, citing McPherson, James M. "America's Wicked War" The New York Review of Books. February 7, 2013, Ron Chernow in Chernow, Ron. Grant. New York: Penguin Press, 2017, ISBN 978-1-59420-487-6, p. 516 wrote: "The Civil War had been a contest of incomparable ferocity, dwarfing anything in American history. It claimed 750,000 lives, more than the combined total losses in all other wars between the Revolutionary War and the Vietnam War." Donner60 (talk) 05:43, 3 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

The end of the war date has been the subject of a lot of editing recently. I had for a while agreed with the May 9 date, but I'm starting to think that putting April 9, or some other date might be better. The "effectively ended" on April 9 wording is quite widely used. The war did in effect end then, everything else was just mop-up. I'm not sure why Johnson's May 9 declaration has been chosen as the end date, when Johnson himself doesn't actually declare the war over until 1866. Not that I'm arguing for 1866, obviously the war ended in 1865. So I'm thinking either we go with "April 9" or "April 9 (effectively)", or we instead choose Waties surrender (June 23) or the surrender of the Shenandoah (November 6). Alternatively, we could just put "1865 (exact date disputed)." Regardless, just don't think May 9 is a sufficient date to put in the infobox sans explanation. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 23:16, 30 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

@CaptainEek and Maurice Magnus: There is no valid reason for the May 9 date because it is based on a misleading headline in a New York Times article dated May 9, 1865 and a misinterpretation of President Johnson's executive order dated May 9, 1865 and proclamation dated May 10, 1865. The proclamation is really the operative document. I suspect that there would have been a reason for an early release in order to give a little advance notice because it contains an effective date of the date of the order. Official records and compilations of presidential documents use the May 10 date, as do historians Allan Nevins and E.B. Long, among the few mentioning it in a reliable, authoritative source.

Unfortunately, I am spending considerable time that might be better spent in order to show that May 9, or May 10, is an especially bad date for the end of the war. I think I will probably need to post a little longer item with a bit more explanation, more sources and more pings in an effort to make this a solid point which can be generally accepted by Wikipedians and properly informative to readers. I am trying to be comprehensive because the end of the war date is of some significance and there is very good reason not to use a date which does not stand up to analysis. While the following reasons and explanation should be enough to make the case, I think I might anticipate some further disagreement unless I give an exhaustive treatment to this point in view of the rejection of my brief edit summary as a reason for changing the date of the end of the war.

Here is a version of the major points on which I base my conclusion. I intend to re-post as soon as I can do a little addition and perhaps editing in an effort to reach a consensus.

President Andrew Johnson issued an executive order on May 9 (https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-reestablish-the-authority-the-united-states-and-execute-the-laws-within) and a proclamation on May 10 (https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-132-ordering-the-arrest-insurgent-cruisers). The May 9 order has nothing to do with the end of the war as such or the treatment of anyone who carried on combat, resistance or any other form of rebellion after the date of the order. The purpose of the order was to declare acts taken by or under the supposed authority of Confederate government or Virginia government, those who directed the rebellion in the "State of Virginia" (in particular Jefferson Davis, John Letcher and William "Extra Billy" Smith), after April 17, 1861 as invalid and to restore the legal government of Virginia. The Times article sows some confusion by conflating this order with the May 10 proclamation. However, it does recite enough of the actual language of the orders, in particular the May 10 proclamation, to show that Johnson did not declare the end of the war nor did he condemn as criminals anyone who carried on "armed resistance" after that date. The withdrawal of belligerent rights and treatment as criminals only applied to commerce raider crews who continued their "depredations," the sole subject of the May 10 proclamation.

The rationale for the May 9 (10) date seems to be based on two arguments. First, Johnson, declared an end to the war (in a "whereas" clause, not an operative paragraph)." He didn't make such a declaration. Note that this clause in full reads: "Whereas armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end, and the persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent cruisers, was directed "are fugitives or captive;." This is not the same as end of the war. He merely used the near end of the war as a predicate to condemn further actions of commerce raiders as criminal and to warn that foreign nations that continue to grant them belligerent rights would be subject to sanctions such as denial of access to U.S. ports. The fugitives or captives are only those under whom the resistance, or the cruisers, "was directed." The proclamation continues to solely deal with the continuing actions of commerce raiders and those countries who give them belligerent rights at their ports.

The second basis, is that he declared that anyone who carried on the war after that date would be a criminal. He did not. The proclamation's operative language only dealt with commerce raider crews. The operative language is "Now, therefore, be it known that I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, hereby enjoin all naval, military, and civil officers of the United States diligently to endeavor, by all lawful means, to arrest the said cruisers and to bring them into a port of the United States, in order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy impunity for their crimes." Note the limitation to "persons on board them." The misleading, overly broad New York Times headline states in part: "Belligerent Rights of the Rebels at an End." The proclamation itself shows that the subject was only "persons on board them" (the commerce raider cruisers), not "Rebels" in general and the article uses the exact limited wording of the proclamation.

I have found and continue to look at many sources about the war and end of the war. The only ones that I have found so far that even mention this proclamation include: Nevins, Allan. The War for the Union. Vol. 4, The Organized War to Victory 1864 – 1865. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. ISBN 978-1-56852-299-9. p. 363. "On May 10, the same day Davis was taken in Georgia, Johnson proclaimed that "armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said insurrenctionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end," citing Richardson, James D. Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1897, VII, 3304-3552. A 1902 publication of the same work, but at Vol. VI, pp 308-309 is also available online along with a couple of other sources. Nevins was discussing the nearly universal hope that the war was ending, not that he was declaring that it was as of that date. The exhaustive source Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. OCLC 68283123, mentions the May 10 proclamation. Long quotes from the whereas clause of the proclamation ("armed resistance...virtually at an end") and gives a summary of its operative provisions as aimed at "crews of commerce raiders still on the high seas." (Entry for May 10, 1865, page 687.)

While this analysis refutes the May 9/10 date, too much of significance also happened after the May proclamation to consider that date as a good date among the several possibilities for an end to the war date which are better choices. The Battle of Palmito Ranch on May 13, the limited amnesty proclamation of May 29, the official surrender of Kirby Smith's large forces on June 2 (about 43,000 men still in the field) or the surrender of the last Confederate force under a general, Stand Watie, on June 23 are all better choices as an end of the war date, in my opinion. I favor the June 23 date, which is the point on which the introduction to the article ends. The surrender date of the CSS Shenandoah in November is such an outlier, I think that handling in the text is sufficient coverage of that occurrence without using it as the end of the war date. The 1866 end of the war declarations by Andrew Johnson and even the further amnesties in 1867 and 1868 show that Johnson did not consider the May 9/10 proclamation as an official end to the war. I do like adding the word "effective" end date, as well.

I could go on, and I suppose I will need to reiterate most of the above, perhaps edit a little and add some research in another post to bring this whole thing to a resolution as far as this article and Wikipedia in general is concerned. Thanks to anyone who gets through even this lengthy post and finds it of interest. This was posted before my comments about the end date and ping to possibly interested editors above. Depending upon any comments or consensus here, I may not need to post a further expanded thread. Donner60 (talk) 02:55, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Can anyone shed more RS light on yet another date: when the last cabinet meeting of Jefferson Davis was and what happened there? Not that that should be THE DATE but since we are talking dates it would be nice to have them all in order. Alanscottwalker (talk) 10:45, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Alanscottwalker: I though I would ping you about this reply; you have probably seen it, but it is easy for me to miss such postings if others follow before I look back for it so I thought I would note to you that I answered.> I noted below that the date of the last Confederate cabinet meeting is subject to dispute or at least that there are several possibilities. I note here a citation to the article from 1919 which I mentioned that states those possibilities. While I plan to look into this a little further to see if I can find any definite further opinions, that is probably unnecessary in view of the scholarship of the article. The author gives his conclusion on page 349 that if a cabinet meeting meets certain criteria such as a meeting of civil officers of the executive departments to discuss civil matters, "the last purely formal cabinet meeting of the Confederacy was held at Charlotte, North Carolina, April 26, 1865...." Meetings of Davis with some cabinet members and generals took place in Washington, Georgia, May 4 and perhaps May 5, 1865 but these dealt primarily if not totally with military matters. The article is freely available on JSTOR. Stable URL https://www.jstor.org/stable/1886329. James Elliott Walmsley. "The Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet." The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Vol. 6, No. 3 (Dec., 1919), pp. 336-349 (14 pages). Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of Organization of American Historians. The article pages are captioned Break-up of the Confederate Cabinet Donner60 (talk) 05:03, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

• Comment There is a considerable difference between being actively at war and an armed resistance. I believe the May 9th proclamation was a transition between those two concepts. Yes there were still an armed resistance in the field, but they were no longer at war. The May 9 proclamation was an attempt to define the status of anyone still resisting the rule of the federal government. Before that proclamation, confederate soldiers were treated as being part of an organized army and as such, were given the due process a prisoner of war might expect. After that date, anyone still in rebellion would be considered criminals in the eyes of the law and as such would be treated as criminals and not prisoners of war. That is my understanding of the May 9 proclamation. As such, it is a firm declaration that the actual "war" was over and that a new stage of the conflict had begun. It may be a fine line, but it's a line non the less.--JOJ ^Hutton 17:14, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Here is a timeline based only I what I found in a National Archives article. ref "Ending the Bloodshed - The Last Surrenders of the Civil War". U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 2022-06-01. end ref I like May 5 and June 23, but it would be good to know what some of the authors from universities have written. People such as Gary W. Gallagher, Gordon C. Rhea, Jeffry D. Wert, Stephen Z. Starr, and others. TwoScars (talk) 17:31, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

• April 12, 1865 Robert E. Lee formally surrenders Confederacy's largest army (documents signed April 9)
• April 21 John S. Mosby disbands
• April 26 Joseph E. Johnston surrenders (after a few days of problems with the terms)
• May 4 Richard Taylor surrenders
• May 5 Jefferson Davis officially dissolves Confederate government
• May 9 Nathan Bedford Forrest bids farewell to his troops
• May 10 Jeff Davis captured, followed by the surrenders of small forces in FL, GA, and northern AR
• May 10 Pres. Johnson says war "virtually at an end"
• May 12 Union Col. Theodore H. Barrett defeated at Palmito Ranch, Texas -- last (land?) battle of war
• --War still going on in Texas and Indian Territory--
• May 26 Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders
• May 29 Pres. Johnson makes proclamation concerning amnesty and pardon
• June 23 Stand Watie surrenders his Indian command near Fort Towson in Indian Territory
• November 6 CSS Shenandoah surrenders in Liverpool
• April 2, 1866 Pres. Johnson declares insurrection over (except Texas)
• August 20, 1866 Pres. Johnson issued a proclamation announcing the end of the American Civil War

• The question before us is: When did Confederate soldiers transition from bring belligerents in the field of battle who are subject to amnesty, to an unlawful armed resistance that can be prosecuted? These questions had legal international repercussions it is my opinion that it was that moment the actual Civil war ended.--JOJ ^Hutton 17:53, 1 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Here are a few short answers which I will need supplement with a more detailed one. I perhaps have covered most of the ground earlier but I need to address some questions just raised. I do not want to delay posting what I think is some key information and analysis in order to put everything in this post. I can provide some information about how historians have treated the questions here, or not taken a firm position on so I will do that later. The date of the last cabinet meeting of the Confederacy is subject to dispute but I have found an old article that discusses it in detail. Needless to say, it had to be before Davis was captured on May 10. I will note the possibilities. I answered above with citation that based on 1919 article the last formal cabinet meeting probably should be considered the one in Charlotte, NC on April 16, 1865 though meetings of Jefferson Davis with some cabinet members and generals took place in Washington, Georgia on May 4 and May 5 (likely), 1865.

Let me say that I think to draw a line between the predicate in a whereas clause of armed resistance nearly at an end and the end of the war is too fine to survive critical analysis of its use as an end of the war date. It presupposes that the predicate for the withdrawal of belligerent rights from commerce raiders in a whereas clause of an order of arrest of commerce raiders and a sanction against foreign governments who honor those rights, and nothing else, establishes the end of the war. This is also totally inconsistent with what happened later: Palmito Ranch, amnesty proclamations, especially the provisions of the May 29 order, lack of prosecutions in the final analysis, surrender of substantial field forces, sending Sheridan to Texas to end the rebellion there and in western Louisiana, and 1866 proclamations about the end of the rebellion (although I think the 1866 proclamations were too late to use as an effective date of the end of the war, even though the US Supreme Court confirmed them as the legal dates in an 1872 case).

This should be the gist. Question: "When did Confederate soldiers transition from bring belligerents in the field of battle who are subject to amnesty, to an unlawful armed resistance that can be prosecuted?" Answer: Confederate soldiers never transitioned from being belligerents (combatants might be a better word) to being an unlawful armed resistance that could be prosecuted. No such criminal class was ever created. Only commerce raider crews were covered by the May 10 proclamation. The May 10 proclamation can be accessed here: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-132-ordering-the-arrest-insurgent-cruisers. Only those insurgent raider crews and certain categories of high officials and other limited categories of persons were excepted from the May 29, 1865 amnesty. In fact most of the excepted categories, including high ranking officers and officials, could make an individual application for amnesty and many did. See Edmund Kirby Smith. Leonard, Elizabeth D, Lincoln's Forgotten Ally: Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt of Kentucky. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8078-3500-5. Page 219: "Around this time [the May 29 date] Johnson also began issuing pardons, which he continued to grant at an ever-accelerating rate, to those who fell outside the proclamations' general guidelines."

June 8: I have now found reference to an order of the War Department which in effect criminalizes acts of hostility against the United States east of the Mississippi River from and after June 1, 1865. It declares such persons will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death. I will add more detail to my entry earlier tonight below.

I have access to many references so it is only fair to say I cannot exclude the possibility that a source or a few sources may exist which make the same interpretation of the "virtually at an end" language. I will note them if I find any in my review of the histories as suggested by Two Scars.

The May 29 amnesty was issued only 19 days after the proclamation dated May 10 (obviously available to the press on May 9) and with no direct reference to it. The terms of the May 10 proclamation clearly only applied to commerce raider crews. Commerce raider crews were also one of the 14 exceptions to the May 29 proclamation; none of the categories was so broad as to criminalize all other persons including Confederate soldiers generally who continued to resist the authority of the United States or, just as importantly, to prevent almost all of them from applying for amnesty. The entire proclamation with all the exceptions can be accessed here: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-134-granting-amnesty-participants-the-rebellion-with-certain-exceptions. The commerce raider exception was "Eleventh. All persons who have been engaged in the destruction of the commerce of the United States upon the high seas and all persons who have made raids into the United States from Canada or been engaged in destroying the commerce of the United States upon the lakes and rivers that separate the British Provinces from the United States." The May 29 order certainly undermined the effectiveness of any intent to criminalize past or further actions of rebellion. Several authors have stated that Johnson's original intention, especially in view of Lincoln's assassination was to treat the Confederates harshly and to prosecute some of the top people. His later actions, starting with the May 29 order, show a change of mind and an intent to put the whole matter behind the nation in the spirit of what he viewed as Lincoln's wish for prompt reconciliation.

Jefferson Davis was released from prison without further prosecution on May 11, 1867. Along with Alexander Stephens and Clement Clay, released earlier, he was among the last, if not the last, to be so released. The captain of the commerce raider CSS Shenandoah even returned to the United States in 1870 and returned to civilian life without being prosecuted. See article on James Iredell Waddell. As far as I have ever read, the only two Confederate soldiers prosecuted for war crimes were Henry Wirz and Champ Ferguson and those prosecutions were not for actions after May 10, 1865.

The later surrenders were under the same terms as the earlier ones. No exceptions were carved out that would apply to anyone whose actions had been criminalized after May 10, 1865.

The only international legal repercussions were that the United States proclaimed in the May 10 order that foreign nations that continue to grant belligerent rights (neutral ports, perhaps no embargos, equal treatment) would not be granted access to U.S. ports. At that time granting belligerent rights to foreign combatants was essentially a declaration of neutrality. Under the perhaps informal conventions of the time, this meant that both sides would be treated equally and neutrally. Foreign nations never recognized the Confederacy as a sovereign nations so this neutrality would fall short of any rights or privileges that would be extended to a sovereign nation. It also would mean that the neutrality and treatment extended would be in the relations between the neutral country and the combatants and would have no effect on the rights the combatants would give to each other under what were considered the rules or laws of war at that time. The United States always objected to the neutral treatment for and supplying of the Confederacy because it was not a sovereign nation.

On June 2, 1865, the British government officially withdrew belligerent rights from the Confederacy. E. B. Long, p. 692.

The position of foreign governments building Confederate commerce raiders, which allowed great damage to US commerce, and harboring them, was resolved in favor of the United States in the The Alabama Claims, "which were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in British shipyards during the American Civil War....After international arbitration endorsed the American position in 1872, Britain settled the matter by paying the United States $15.5 million, ending the dispute and leading to a treaty that restored friendly relations between Britain and the United States." The US had to pay about $1 million in claims of foreign citizens for property damage or confiscation during the war. The international repercussions have no bearing on the date for the end of the war or armed resistance or how the US government interacted with or treated Confederate soldiers in general and ultimately all who joined in the rebellion. Donner60 (talk) 04:24, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

@SteelerFan1933, BusterD, CaptainEek, Maurice Magnus, GELongstreet, Hog Farm, Djmaschek, Mojoworker, Jojhutton, Rjensen, CaroleHenson, Alanscottwalker, Kevin Murray, TheVirginiaHistorian, and TwoScars:. I take the liberty of pinging again because I would like to call specific attention to my thought that we should not overlook as a good option CaptainEek's suggestion about a more general date such as "effectively May/June 1865" for the end of the war in the first sentence of the article and in the infobox would be a good way to resolve the problem of the specifying an end date for the war with general agreement. The war ended in different places for different purposes at different times throughout the months of May and June. Significant surrenders occurred already in April and that month should perhaps also be used. General agreement on a single date in all sources almost certainly can not be found and possibly not reached here. Perhaps it is unnecessary to have one if the dates used for various purposes or reasons in a date range are clearly explained as they are for the most part already.

After June, there is only the outlier of the surrender of the CSS Shenandoah on November 6, 1865. However according to Wikipedia's article, which I believe is accurate, the last action by the Shenandoah was June 28, 1865. So no more shots were fired after that and Shenandoah's cessation of activity can also be placed in June with mention of the November surrender in England. A variety of events from the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse through May and ending June 28 could be the last day of the war, depending on the context. The use of a general range of dates would simply leave the need for the article to go through the various occurrences with a conclusion that these events effectively ended the war for various purposes and their dates all have been cited as the end of the war for various purposes. It mostly does that already. If a range is used as a serious option, I don't see how that range could be subject to much dispute.

Of course, the legal end of the war was the dates of the two proclamations of April 2 and August 20 1866 (for Texas), as confirmed by the US Supreme Court in 1872. That has to be noted but the war itself otherwise had been effectively at an end by the end of June 1865. While I currently still favor June 23 (maybe June 28?) and not May 9 or 10 if one date must be used, the more general May/June 1865 or maybe April-June, 1865 might be better. Either works for me as well as a later single date. I will post a little more on this topic since I want to answer the question I deferred in the previous post about opinions of known historians and hopefully to finally round out the discussion. I invite comment on the alternative of a date range in addition to any comments on the single date if we need to carry that on. Donner60 (talk) 07:16, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I am still thinking but May 9 has the virtues of being after the major surrenders and dissolution of the confederate government, and a bit splitting the differences half way. What is clear to me is 1) the most important bit of info in the infobox now is not the exact date but that is was about 4 years of war, and 2) we do need to put clearer asterix explaining the end problem, perhaps by link to the end section of the article?) (I think I take a different view of the May 29 amnesty (offer) -- that was a revise, perhaps renewal of Lincoln's amnestie(s) (offers) and given the new realities, it does exclude basically every official of the confederacy, and everyone unwilling to conform, or who continues the fight on land and sea.) Alanscottwalker (talk) 12:46, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

See also our Conclusion of the American Civil War article, the lead of which states: The Ceasefire Agreement of the Confederacy commenced with the ceasefire agreement of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, at Appomattox Court House, by General Robert E. Lee and concluded with the ceasefire agreement of the Shenandoah on November 6, 1865, bringing the hostilities of the American Civil War to a close. Legally, the war did not end until a proclamation by President Andrew Johnson on August 20, 1866, when he declared "that the said insurrection is at an end and that peace, order, tranquillity, and civil authority now exist in and throughout the whole of the United States of America." That article seems to be taking some liberties terming it as the "Ceasefire Agreement of the Confederacy", but the concept of the end of hostilities, I think may have merit for determining what we say and how we say it.

Since there is some dispute even among historians about when the war ended (some even referring to it in plural as "the ends of the war"), I think CaptainEek's proposal may be the best choice rather than us coming to some consensus here that might not reflect what WP:RS actually show. Perhaps something like "1865 (exact date disputed – see Confederacy surrenders section)". Or perhaps "1865 – exact date disputed, end of hostilities April 9 – November 6, 1865, legal proclamation August 20, 1866 (see Confederacy surrenders section)". Or something similar. Mojoworker (talk) 18:37, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

April 9 should not be used. Lee did not speak for the entire Confederacy. I like May 9 or 10, especially since the other alternatives are explained in the text. However, I do not object to a later date. No matter what date is used, it is good that the alternatives are discussed in the text. Perhaps the Confederacy surrenders section should have a subsection, called War ends, that lists (or discusses) the alternatives such as the last land battle, the last few surrenders, the Shenandoah, and the 1865 and 1866 proclamations. I e-mailed a professor at UVA that was editor of two books I used for writing articles, asking for his opinion—but I would not be surprised if I do not get a response. Thinking from a different perspective: what is included in the war's casualty totals? If the May 12 battle is in the total casualties, we cannot say the war ended May 10 but use casualties from a later date (yes, that battle may have casualties that are only a very small rounding error for the approximate total). Are casualties from a later date included in the total? TwoScars (talk) 19:02, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Union casualties at Palmito Ranch were 2 killed, 6 wounded, 2 missing, 102 taken prisoner. Confederate casualties were 1 killed, 4 or 5 injured and 3 taken prisoner. Hunt, Jeffrey Wm. The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-292-73461-6. p. 128. Dyer's Compendium gives a Union casualty total of 118, not broken down by killed, wounded, missing, prisoners, 4 more than Hunt. Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged From Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, The Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources. First published 1908 by Dyer Publishing. P. 881. I know of no reason why these would not have been counted in totals prepared by the War Department or early historians since Col. Barrett filed an official report on May 21, 1865. Admittedly, the various 19th century works and the Official Records are not easy to research and I have not found a definitive date range for the figures and may not spend more time on it.

I agree April 9 should not be used, nor should April 26 unless perhaps as part of a range. Some writers state that one or both "effectively" ended the war, a word that is also used occasionally for a later date and which has even been suggested here. I am preparing a larger timeline of dates from April 1865 and later with references for possible use in articles and/or as part of the discussion - supplementing the list of events you posted above. This may also be useful for editing or adding to the Conclusion of the American Civil War article. I am also preparing a list of what historians have said about the end of the war. I may be a little delayed on finishing those, in part because I need to go back to some that I did not list. Some don't even address a possible date. I moved on from others because they did not have a clear end date stated but they may have made mention of several dates. Absence of expression of a firm and expression of several dates as ending the war seems to be relevant information, however, and I think I should add it to the list. Donner60 (talk) 10:19, 3 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I am posting a timeline of events at the conclusion of the American Civil War in a separate thread, after proofreading the preview in order not to unduly lengthen this end of the war thread discussion thread or distract from any further comments or opinions in it. I think it could be useful to the discussion in this thread, however, and may provide facts to use in this article or other articles such as Conclusion of the American Civil War and citations to support those facts. After spending a little more time on research, I will post some quotations from and summaries of writings of various authors about the end of the war. Donner60 (talk) 03:27, 7 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

This is something of an insert or further thought about my comments on criminalization of further actions by Confederate soldiers. User:jojhutton's question about the dates that further acts of war by Confederate soldiers would become criminal acts deserves a more complete answer and analysis and an additional possible answer. I will post more detail and citations soon. Here is my general thought for now. I should have written that no general criminal class was created by the May 9/10 orders/proclamations or by any order or proclamation which I have found. I have found none which I think clearly established a single date for the end of the war or for the criminalization of further actions by Confederate soldiers. [I found reference to a War Department order "from and after the first day of June 1865" that effectively criminalizes further hostile acts after that date a few hours after I wrote this. I include it in another post just below this one and in the timeline.] But there did have to be such a date because the fighting ultimately stopped and soldiers turned bandits could go on indefinitely using the war as an excuse. Jesse James might be an example.

We want to determine a date (or date range) for the end of the war in this thread if we can, but we also want to determine a date when soldiers would have been committing criminal acts rather than permissible acts of war if they carried on such acts. That may provide a rationale for a conclusion on the end date. I think the date after which lawful acts of war would become criminal acts would be the date that a soldier no longer had combatant status, which is different from a nation or insurgency's belligerent status with foreign nations. That date for the end of combatant status would be the date the army to which he was attached surrendered. It might also be the date of his parole, but that could give rise to dispute. This results in giving some extra basis for the "several ending dates" idea or to the last date of surrender (or perhaps the Trans-Mississippi Army surrender date as a practical matter). There is a little more detail to mention in connection with this, including the effect of one of the Confederate armies in the field and, importantly, some authors to cite. I will post the more detailed analysis at the end of this thread or in a separate one as soon as I can write it up. @CaptainEek, TwoScars, Alanscottwalker, Jojhutton, Mojoworker, and BusterD: Pinging you as info about this new or revised thought since you have written about this. This also lets you know I have another thought and am still working on completing the information about the questions in this thread. I hope anyone previously notified who is interested is still watching, as well. Donner60 (talk) 03:28, 8 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

After doing further research, I have just found reference to a War Department order that in effect criminalizes further acts of hostility against the United States east of the Mississippi River and provides for summary execution as follows: "General Order No. 90 of the War Department stated unequivocally that 'from and after the first date of June, 1865, any and all persons found in arms against the United States, or who may commits acts of hostility against it east of the Mississippi River, will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death.'" Trudeau, Noah Andre. Out of the Storm: The End of the Civil War, April–June 1865. Boston, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN 978-0-316-85328-6. p. 353. It would be interesting to know whether this was ever put into effect or tested in court. Donner60 (talk) 06:15, 8 June 2022 (UTC) I found one order which in effect enforces this on June 12, 1865 but the order contains language to arrest the persons involved apparently because their actions might have been a civilian rather than a military offense. I added it to the timeline. I also put the full terms of the order in a May 11 entry because it is premised on the surrender and disbandment of all Confederate forces east of the Mississippi and there being "no authorized troops" in that territory. Donner60 (talk) 05:47, 9 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

In response to User:TwoScars's suggestion, I have researched the statements, or just narratives, of historians about the end date for the war. Most of them cite various dates and events as ending the war but do not suggest a single end date. One who does is Bruce Catton who states that Kirby Smith surrender on Mary 26, 1865 "...and the war was over." I think I have now posted about all of the relevant information that I have found on the topic in the threads below. I will finish up with my final analysis and opinion at the end of this or if I think I need to add too many details or quotations, perhaps I will put it in yet another separate thread. I hope that anyone who reads this information will find it at least somewhat interesting, perhaps lead to a conclusion on the topic of this thread, and provide some research for possible inclusion in articles. I may not finish this for a week or so because real life will be taking up most or all of my time for about a week or so. I may have just a few random short edits over that time. Donner60 (talk) 05:47, 9 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Stand Watie was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation - not the Confederacy - but was he still conducting offensive operations against the USA during June anyway? I don't think so. The Cherokee had formed a treaty of alliance with a government that no longer existed- https://cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/digital/collection/p16057coll14/id/90842/ -Topcat777

Timeline of Major Events of the Conclusion of the American Civil War and Amnesties

Separate item on Presidential Reconstruction

I am posting this in a separate thread in order not to unduly lengthen the end of the war thread or distract from any further comments or opinions in that thread. I think it could be useful to the discussion in that thread, however, and may provide facts to use in this article or other articles such as Conclusion of the American Civil War and citations to support the facts whether by anyone who finds this information useful or possibly by me at a later date. I plan to post soon a separate thread on historians' statements about the end of the American Civil War after I do a little more research.

This list includes release dates of all Confederate cabinet members who had been imprisoned after the war according to Faust, Patricia L., ed. Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6.

Full citations to the short references in each item are at the end of the list. Some of the more well known or notable events have more than one citation; some of them and others could be supported by additional citations, which would be superfluous in this thread and perhaps in any edit to an article.

April 2, 1865. Last meeting of the Confederate cabinet in Richmond, Virginia (Attorney General George Davis missing). The Confederate government leaves Richmond as the Union Army captures the Confederate lines at Petersburg, VA. Government records were sent away or burned. Long, pp. 663-664.

April 9, 1865. Gen. Robert E. Lee signs documents surrendering the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to General-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant with headquarters with the Union Army of the Potomac at Appomattox Court House, VA. Long, pp. 670-671. The terms included: "The officers give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged and each company or regimental commander to sign a parole for the men of their commands....This done each officer and man to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States Authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside." Winik, p. 187.

April 11, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln issues a proclamation which insists that foreign countries end neutrality and, in diplomatic language, discontinue granting belligerent rights to the Confederacy. Here is the explanation by Stephen C. Neff in Justice in Blue and Gray Page 205: "In a companion proclamation to the one on port closure ["by exercise of sovereign right, as opposed to the belligerent method of blockade"] on the same day [April 11, 1865], Lincoln made it clear that the neutrality status of foreign countries was now expected to come to an end. Concretely, Lincoln stated that various restrictions on the treatment of Union ships in foreign ports, stemming from the application of foreign neutrality legislation, were expected to be discontinued – that the recognition of the Confederacy as a belligerent power by foreign states would not be tolerated. The United States, it was announced would now claim the full range of traditional peacetime privileges in foreign ports and would retaliate if they were not granted." Neff, page 205. The proclamation can be found at Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation 128—Claiming Equality of Rights with All Maritime Nations Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [1] It is apparently necessary to understand the diplomatic language used at the time for such matters to discern Neff's interpretation. Perhaps the proclamation might seem a little dense and technical without a familiarity with the meaning of the full rights of sovereign states and of neutrality and belligerent rights at the time, as understood at the time and explained by Professor Neff.

Neff immediately goes on to write at pages 205-206: "On May 10, 1865, President Johnson followed this up with a warning to foreign countries to stop offering hospitality of any kind to Confederate cruisers, coupling this with a threat of retaliation (in the form of refusing access to American ports to government vessels of noncooperating countries.)" Another sentence with regard to the May 10 proclamation is shown at the May 10, 1865 entry below.

April 12, 1865. Formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia ceremony takes place at Appomattox Court House. Long, p. 674.

April 12, 1865. Union forces under Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby occupy Mobile, Alabama, the last major city of the Confederacy to fall to the Union Army. Long, p. 673.

April 14, 1865. Union Army Brig. Gen. Robert Anderson raises the U.S. flag over the ruined Fort Sumter at Charleston, SC, which he had surrendered exactly four years previously. Long, p. 676.

April 14, 1865. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is fatally shot at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC about 10:00 p.m. Long, pp. 675-676.

April 15, 1865. President Lincoln dies. Vice President Andrew Johnson takes the oath of office as President of the United States. Long, p. 677.

April 21, 1865. Col. John S. Mosby disbands his Confederate partisan rangers at Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia, previously part of Fauquier County, Virginia. Long, p. 680. Mosby said "We are soldiers, not highwaymen." Shelby Foote wrote "So much then for baleful predictions as to the postsurrender activities of Virginia's leading partisan...." Foote, III, p. 1000.

April 26, 1865. Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston refuses to obey President of the Confederate President Jefferson Davis's order to disband his infantry and set a future rendezvous for the men to continue the fight as partisans. Johnston further refuses to join Davis with as many cavalrymen as he could. Thomas, p. 304.

April 26, 1865. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrenders the Confederate Army of Tennessee at Bennett Place, Durham, North Carolina on the terms accepted by the Army of Northern Virginia after more comprehensive and generous terms negotiated by Gen. Johnston and Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on April 18 were rejected in Washington, with Sherman receiving word on on April 24. Long, pp. 681-682, Foote, III, pp. 988-996.

April 26, 1865. Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth is mortally wounded by Union Army soldier Boston Corbett, is captured and dies. Assassination conspirator Davy Herold surrenders at the same time and place. Long, p. 682.

April 26, 1865. Last meeting of the full Confederate cabinet with Confederate President Jefferson Davis at Charlotte, North Carolina. Attorney General George Davis left the group which still intended to get west of the Mississippi River. Long, p. 683; Foote, III, p. 1002; Walmsley, pp. 336-349.

April 27, 1865. Sultana disaster. Long, p. 683, Foote, III, p. 1027.

April 27, 1865. Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury George A. Trenholm was ill and resigned. Confederate States Postmaster General John H. Reagan assumed his duties. Long, p. 683.

April 29, 1865. President Johnson ends trade restrictions in former Confederate territory east of the Mississippi River controlled by Union forces. Long, p. 684. Andrew Johnson, Executive Order Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [2]

April-July, 1865. Confederate prisoners of war are gradually released, most in June and July, after taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States. The last Confederate prisoners of war were released in November from Fort Lafayette, in New York Harbor. Wagner, p. 600.

May 4, 1865. Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces in Alabama, Mississippi and eastern Louisiana based on the Appomattox Court House terms. Long, p. 685. McPherson, p. 485.

May 4, 1865. Confederate Colonel George C. Gibbs paroles the remaining Union prisoners of war at Andersonville Prison, GA. Rodriguez, pp.50-51.

May 4/5, 1865. Last meetings of some of the Confederate cabinet members and certain generals are held with Jefferson Davis who effectively dissolves the Confederate government. Walmsley, pp. 336-349 .

May 8, 1865. Paroles are given to Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor's Confederate forces at Citronelle, Alabama. Long, p. 686; Foote, III, p. 1000. Richard Taylor is paroled at Meridian, MS, May 11, 1865. Eicher, John H., p. 523.

May 9, 1865. Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest bids farewell to his troops. He urges them to surrender and obey Federal authority. Henry, p. 438, Foote, III, pp. 1001-1002. He was paroled at Gainesville, AL on May 10, 1865. Eicher, John H., p. 240.

May 9, 1865. President Johnson declares terms to reestablish the authority of the United States and execute the laws within Virginia, orders actions by named executive department officers; recognizes Francis H. Pierpont as Governor of Virginia. Long, p. 686. Andrew Johnson, Executive Order—To Reestablish the Authority of the United States and Execute the Laws Within the Geographical Limits Known as the State of Virginia Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [3]

May 10, 1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured by two Union Army cavalry regiments, 4th Michigan and 1st Wisconsin, at Irwinville, Georgia. Long, p. 687; Foote, III, pp. 1009-1011; Thomas, p. 305; McPherson, p. 485.

May 10, 1865. Small Confederate forces in Florida, Georgia and northern Arkansas surrender. Long, p. 687.

May 10, 1865. U.S. President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation with the premises that "armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end" and "persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent cruisers, was directed are fugitives or captives." He orders US forces to "arrest the said [insurgent] cruisers and to bring them into a port of the United States, in order that they may be prevented from committing further depredations on commerce and that the persons on board of them may no longer enjoy impunity for their crimes." Long, p. 687. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 132—Ordering the Arrest of Insurgent Cruisers Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [4] Official Records, Series 3, Volume 5, p. 18. The British government officially withdraws belligerent rights from the Confederacy on June 2, 1865. Long, p. 692.

Stephen C. Neff in Justice Blue and Gray states at page 206: "This proclamation of May 10 - the very day of the capture of Jefferson Davis - also included an explicit statement that armed resistance was now 'virtually at an end' and persons in revolt were now reduced to the humble status of 'mere fugitives or captives.'" Note that the actual language is not "persons in revolt" but "persons by whom that resistance, as well as the operations of insurgent cruisers, was directed..." Neff wrote nothing about this applying to a larger group of soldiers or others or that it criminalized any acts by a larger group. Though he notes the "virtual" end of "armed resistance", he does not indicate this is the end date for the war. In fact, just before this on page 205 he states, among other things: "In practice, the war was brought to an end on a piecemeal basis, by way of a welter of specific measures by the Union government." Neff, p. 206.

May 10, 1865. Confederate Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones surrenders his forces at Tallahassee, FL. Long, p. 687.

May 10, 1865. Confederate guerrilla leader William Clarke Quantrill is fatally wounded in an action with an irregular Union force (the Shelby County Home Guard) near Taylorsville, Kentucky. Quantrill dies June 6 in Louisville. Long p. 687.

May 11, 1865. Confederate Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson surrenders his brigade at Chalk Bluff, AR. Long, p. 687.

May 11, 1865. "General Orders No. 90 } War Department, Adjt. General's Office, Washington, May 11, 1865. Punishment of Guerrillas. "All the forces of the enemy east of the Mississippi River having been duly surrendered by their proper commanding officers to the Armies of the United States, under agreements of parole and disbandment, and there being no authorized troops of the enemy east of the Mississippi River, it is -- "Ordered', That from and after the first day of June, 1865, any and all persons found in arms against the United States, or who may commit acts of hostility against it east of the Mississippi River, will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death. The strict enforcement of this order is especially enjoined upon the commanding officers of all U.S. forces with the territorial limits to which it applies. "By command of Lieutenant-General Grant: "E. D. TOWNSEND, "Assistant Adjutant General" The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, Page 1134. [5]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [6]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [7]..

May 12-13, 1865. Union Army Col. Theodore H. Barrett is defeated at the 2-day Battle of Palmito Ranch, Texas, the last land battle of any significant size in the war. Long, p. 688. Wagner, 328, 330. Eicher, David J., p. 843. Hunt, Jeffrey Wm. The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-292-73461-6. Dyer calls the second day as the Battle of White Hill. Dyer, p. 891 spells the word "Palmetto," as does Hunt, and adds "Battle of White's Ranch" as occuring on May 13 by the same Union force engaged at Palmetto Ranch, May 12-13.

May 13, 1865. Confederate governors of Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri and a representative from Texas urge Gen. E. Kirby Smith to surrender. Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby threatens to arrest him if he does. Long, p. 688.

May 14-27, 1865. Dyer lists seven skirmishes in Missouri between May 14 and May 27, 1865. He lists no casualties. Only one Union Army unit that was not a Missouri militia unit, a detachment of the 13th U.S. Cavalry, engaged in any of these skirmishes, the one near Waynesville on May 23. The skirmish at Switzler's Mill in Chariton County on May 27 is the last one listed by Dyer, p. 815, and the last one listed by Long at p. 690 other than his statement that there were operations in Texas against guerrillas for most of 1865. p. 691.

May 17, 1865. Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan is given command of US forces west of the Mississippi River and south of the Arkansas River. Long, p. 688. Lt. Gen. Grant orders Sheridan to take 50,000 men to pacify Texas and parts of Louisiana still controlled by Confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith and to offer surrender on the same terms granted to Lee and Johnston. Grant's further desired actions against the French puppet ruler of Mexico, Maximilian, for aiding the rebellion were told to Sheridan verbally. Direct actions against Maximilian were restrained by Secretary of State William Seward who favored a more cautious approach. Chernow, pp. 554-557; Foote, III, pp. 1018-1019..

May 17, 1865. The last Confederate prison for Union prisoners of war at Camp Ford, Texas, is evacuated. Wagner, p. 600.

May 19, 1865. Confederate commerce raider CSS Stonewall surrenders at Havana, Cuba. Long, p. 689.

May 20, 1865. Former Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory was arrested and charged with "treason and with organizing and setting on foot piratical expeditions." He was paroled with conditions on March 10, 1866. Denney, p. 570.

May 22, 1865. President Johnson ends restrictions at Southern ports except Galveston, La Salle, Brazos Santiago (Point Isabel) and Brownsville, TX on and after July 1, 1865. Long, p. 689. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 133—Raising the Blockade of Certain Ports Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [8]

May 22, 1865. Jefferson Davis is imprisoned at Fort Monroe, VA. Foote, III, p. 1013.

May 23, 1865. Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac in Washington, DC. Long, p. 689.

May 23, 1865. The pro-Union government of Virginia was established in Richmond, Long, p. 689.

May 24, 1865. Grand Review of Sherman's Army, the Military Division of the Mississippi. (Army of the Tennessee and Army of Georgia) in Washington, DC. Long, p. 689.

May 26, 1865. Confederate Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner on behalf of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith enters terms of surrender for the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi similar to those signed at Appomattox Court House by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Union Maj. Gen. Peter J. Osterhaus acted for Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby. The Army of the Trans-Mississippi was the last army of the Confederacy of significant size to remain in the field. Long, p. 690. Catton, Bruce in The Centennial History of the Civil War. Vol. 3, Never Call Retreat. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965 wrote at p. 445. "...and on May 26 he [E. Kirby Smith] surrendered and the war was over." In the case of United States v. Anderson, 76 U.S. 56 (1869) "The U.S. attorneys argued that the Rebellion had been suppressed following the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department, as established in the surrender document negotiated on May 26, 1865." Trudeau, p. 396. The Supreme Court decided that the "legal end of the American Civil War had been decided by Congress to be August 20, 1866 - the date of Andrew Johnson's final proclamation on the conclusion of the Rebellion." Trudeau, 397.

May 27, 1865. President Johnson orders "in all cases of sentences by military tribunals of imprisonment during the war the sentence be remitted and that the prisoners be discharged." Long, p. 690; Denney, p. 572, Foote, III, p. 1031. Andrew Johnson, Executive Order Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [9]

May 29, 1865. President Johnson issues a proclamation granting a general amnesty and pardon to "all persons who have, directly or indirectly, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted,..." There are 14 limited categories of exceptions. The proclamation continues "Provided, That special application may be made to the President for pardon by any person belonging to the excepted classes, and such clemency will be liberally extended as may be consistent with the facts of the case and the peace and dignity of the United States." Long, pp. 691-692; Denney, p. 572. Eicher, David J., p. 844. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 134—Granting Amnesty to Participants in the Rebellion, with Certain Exceptions Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [10]

"Altogether he [Johnson] granted 13,500 special pardons out of about 15,000 applications." McPherson, p. 505.

May 29, 1865. President Johnson proclaims terms for reorganizing a constitutional government in North Carolina; William W. Holden appointed governor. Long, 691. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 135—Reorganizing a Constitutional Government in North Carolina Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [11]

May 29, 1865-end of 1865. "There were operations in Texas and on the Rio Grande by the Federal Army for most of the rest of 1865 against guerrillas and former Confederates escaping to Mexico." Long, p. 691.

May 31, 1865. Confederate Lt. Gen. John B. Hood was paroled one day after he was captured. Foote, III, p. 1021.

June 1, 1865. On or just before this date: "General Order No. 90 of the War Department stated unequivocally that 'from and after the first date of June, 1865, any and all persons found in arms against the United States, or who may commits acts of hostility against it east of the Mississippi River, will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death.'" Trudeau, p. 353.

June 2, 1865. Gen. E. Kirby Smith approves and signs the terms of surrender in the agreement of May 26 for the Army of the Trans-Mississippi aboard the steamer USS Fort Jackson (1862) in Galveston harbor. Foote, III, p. 1021; Long, p. 692.

June 2, 1865. Order for the Trans-Mississippi with similar terms for treating soldiers engaging in continued hostility in the Trans-Mississippi after reasonable time for notice of the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi by Gen. Kirby Smith as in Lt. Gen. Grant's General Orders No. 90 of May 11, 1865 prescribing continued hostility east of the Mississippi after June 1, 1865 to be guerrilla, or outlaw, actions: "General Orders No. 24 } Headquarters Third Div., 7th Army Corps. Fort Smith, Ark. June 2, 1865 "I…............. "II. The Trans-Mississippi (rebel) Department having surrendered to General Canby on the 26th of May, reqires that all soldiers in arms against the United States immediately report to the nearest military post, when they will be paroled on delivering their arms to the U. S. authorities. All such persons who remain in arms engaged in acts of hostility to the United States after a reasonable time to be informed of their surrender, will be regarded as guerrillas and outlaws, and when arrested will be shot. "By Order of Brig. Gen. Cyrus Bussey: "L. A. Duncan, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General" The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, Part 2, Page 530. [12] Hathi Trust Digital Library, accessed June 12, 2022.

June 2, 1865. The British government officially withdraws belligerent rights from the Confederacy. Long, p. 692.

June 2, 1865. President Johnson orders "all military restrictions upon trade in any of the States or Territories of the United States, except in articles contraband of war--[as defined in the order] shall cease from and after the present date." Andrew Johnson, Executive Order—General Orders: 107 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [13]

June 3, 1865. Confederate naval forces on the Red River surrender. Long, p. 692, Foote, III, p. 1027.

June 6, 1865. President Johnson issues orders of discharge of prisoners of war for all enlisted men, petty officers and officers of the rebel army not above the grade of captain and of the rebel navy not above the grade of lieutenant unless graduates of a US military academy, upon taking an oath of allegiance. Orders for discharge of higher officers who are prisoners are to be issued when the discharge under this order is completed. All "who desire will be permitted to take the oath of amnesty after their release." Andrew Johnson, Executive Order—General Orders: 109 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [14]

June 12, 1865. Brevet Brig. Gen. William Gamble is ordered by Brig. General. John P. Slough to "send a squadron of the Eighth Regiment Illinois Cavalry to scout the country in the vicinity of Aldie [Virginia] to break up bands of marauders and guerrillas, and to ascertain the names of, and arrest, if possible, the persons concerned in the recent murders of Union people." The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, Page 1275. [15]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [16].

June 13, 1865. President Johnson declares trade open in all territory east of the Mississippi River except for contraband of war. Long, p. 693. The order specified an effective date "on and after the 1st day of July next, subject to the laws of the United States, and in pursuance of such regulations as might be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury." Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 137—Removing Trade Restrictions on Confederate States Lying East of the Mississippi River Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [17]

June 13, 1865. President Johnson declares that Tennessee reorganized its government, suppressed the rebellion and he restored the State and lifted almost all disqualifications from its inhabitants. This is included in proclamation 137 noted in the previous item for June 13, 1865, [18]. More in Presidential Reconstruction entry at end of this timeline.

June 16, 1865. Lt. Gen. Grant vigorously objects to President Johnson that indictments brought against Gen. Robert E. Lee and other Confederate officers in Norfolk, VA violated the terms of the surrender and paroles of the men of the Army of Northern Virginia and other Confederate armies. He threatens to resign as General in Chief if the indictments are not dismissed. Chernow, pp. 552-553.

June 19, 1865. Two days after taking command of the District of Texas at Galveston, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announces to the people of Texas that in line with a proclamation by the "Executive of the United States, all slaves are free." Conner, p. 177.

June 20, 1865. At President Johnson's order, U.S. Attorney General James Speed orders the U.S. Attorney at Norfolk, VA to drop the prosecutions of Gen. Lee and other officers. Chernow, p. 553. While the prosecution of Gen. Lee was not pursued, the indictment was not formally dropped until 1869 according to Noah Andre Trudeau. Trudeau, 358.

June 23, 1865. President Johnson ends the blockade of Southern ports. Long, p. 693. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 141—Raising the Blockade of All Ports in the United States Including Galveston, Texas Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [19]

June 23, 1865. Brig. Gen. Stand Watie surrenders his Native American (Indian) division near Fort Towson in Indian Territory, the last surrender of any sizable force of Confederate troops by a Confederate general officer. Long, p. 693.

June 24, 1865. President Johnson removes commercial restrictions from States and territories west of the Mississippi River. Long, p. 695. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 142—Removing Restrictions on Trade West of the Mississippi River Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [20]

June 28, 1865. The military operations of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Shenandoah end with the taking of 11 whaling ships in the Bering Sea. Long, p. 694. Wagner, p. 537. The Shenandoah is not surrendered to the British until November 6, 1865 in Liverpool, England. Long, p. 695.

June 28, 1865. At the order of Lt. Gen. Grant, the Army of the Potomac is demobilized; officers and soldiers not yet mustered out are reorganized into a provisional corps under Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright. The process was put into effect by GENERAL ORDERS, HDQRS. ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, No. 35. June 28, 1865. "By virtue of Special Orders, No. 339, current series, from the Adjutant-General's Office, this army, as an organization, ceases to exist....etc." By command of Major-General Meade: GEO. D. RUGGLES, Assistant Adjutant-General. Official Records of War of the Rebellion: Serial 097 Pages 1301-3. Chapter LVIII. [21]. ehistory, The Ohio State University, accessed June 8, 2022. Official Records, Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, pp. 1301-1303. [22], accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [23].

August 29, 1865. President Johnson declares that contraband of war could be traded with States "recently declared in insurrection", Long, 695. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 145—Removing Trade Restrictions on Contraband of War Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [24]

September 14/21, 1865. Various Native American (Indian) tribes renounce Confederate agreements and sign treaties of peace and friendship with the United States. Long, p. 695.

October 11, 1865. Alexander H. Stephens, John H. Reagan, George A. Trenholm, Charles Clark and John Archibald Campbell were paroled by President Johnson. Long, p. 695. Andrew Johnson, Executive Order Paroling Alexander H. Stephens and Others Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [25]

October 12, 1865. President Johnson declares the end of martial law in Kentucky. Long, p. 695. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 146—Declaring an End to Martial Law in the State of Kentucky Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [26]

November 6, 1865. Confederate Navy Lt. James Iredell Waddell surrenders the CSS Shenandoah to the British government in Liverpool, England. Long, p. 695.

December 1865. Former Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon is released from prison. Current, Macmillan Compendium, p. 942.

January 1, 1866. Former Confederate Attorney General George A. Davis is released from prison. He had not been arrested until November 1865 and spent only a few weeks in prison. Davis, pp. 381-385

January 1866. Former Confederate Secretary of State and Senator Robert M.T. Hunter is paroled. Current, Macmillan Compendium, p. 550.

March 10, 1866. Former Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory is paroled. Current, Macmillan Compendium, p. 668.

April 2, 1866. President Johnson declares the insurrection over (except in Texas). Long, p. 696. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 153—Declaring the Insurrection in Certain Southern States to be at an End Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [27]

August 20, 1866. President Johnson issues a proclamation announcing the end of the American Civil War in all States including Texas. Long, pp. 696-697. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 157—Declaring that Peace, Order, Tranquillity, and Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the United States of America Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [28]

May 13, 1867. Jefferson Davis is released on bail. Davis, p. 386; Foote, III, pp. 1038-1039.

September 7, 1867. President Johnson extends the amnesty of 1865 in a proclamation in which he declares that he did: "hereby proclaim and declare that the full pardon described in the said proclamation of the 29th day of May, A. D. 1865, shall henceforth be opened and extended to all persons who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late rebellion, with the restoration of all privileges, immunities, and rights of property, except as to property with regard to slaves, and except in cases of legal proceedings under the laws of the United States; but upon this condition, nevertheless, that every such person who shall seek to avail himself of this proclamation shall take and subscribe the following oath and shall cause the same to be registered for permanent preservation in the same manner and with the same effect as with the oath prescribed in the said proclamation of the 29th day of May, 1865..."

There were fewer limited exceptions than in the May 29, 1865 proclamation. The categories in the September 7, 1867 proclamation were high ranking Confederate executive officers and generals above the grade of brigadier or naval officers above rank or title of captain, Confederate agents in foreign countries, Confederate governors of States, persons who mistreated lawful prisoners of war, persons who were in confinement or custody of in the civil, military or naval service of the United States when they seek to obtain the benefits of the proclamation, or are out on bail, and any person who engaged in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or any plot or conspiracy connected with it. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 167—Offering and Extending Full Pardon to All Persons Participating in the Late Rebellion Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [29]

"Probably only some three hundred persons fell into these excluded groups. Moreover, this proclamation, like its predecessor, was supplemented by the continued granting of individual pardons. Eventually, nearly all of the civilian leaders of the Confederacy received pardons with two notable exceptions: Jefferson Davis and Secretary of War John Breckenridge (who was living abroad at the time), both of whom obstinately refused to request individual pardons." Neff, p. 225.

July 4, 1868. President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation in which he stated that he did "hereby proclaim and declare, unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or rebellion, excepting such person or persons as may be under presentment or indictment in any court of the United States having competent jurisdiction upon a charge of treason or other felony, a full pardon and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and except also as to any property of which any person may have been legally divested under the laws of the United States." Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 170—Granting Pardon to All Persons Participating in the Late Rebellion Except Those Under Indictment for Treason or Other Felony Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [30]

There was "no requirement of a loyalty oath of any kind and only one excluded category – persons presently facing treason or other felony charges such as Jefferson Davis." Neff, p. 225.

December 5, 1868. The Chief Justice of the United States Salmon P. Chase, sitting as circuit justice, could not agree with trial judge John C. Underwood on whether the 14th Amendment precluded the prosecution of Jefferson Davis and the case should be dismissed on the basis that the amendment already inflicted punishment on Davis by depriving him of the right to hold office. They sent a "certificate of division" to the U.S. Supreme Court for decision and adjourned the trial to await action by the Court. Hagen, p. 224; Nichols, p. 284. William C. Davis states that Chase quashed the indictment. As the other cited sources show, Chase merely, and improperly, told Jefferson Davis's attorneys that he accepted their arguments as a basis to do so, virtually assuring them of a favorable hearing in the U.S. Supreme Court.

December 25, 1868. President Johnson issued a universal amnesty proclamation in which he declares that he did: "hereby proclaim and declare unconditionally and without reservation, to all and to every person who, directly or indirectly, participated in the late insurrection or rebellion a full pardon and amnesty for the offense of treason against the United States or of adhering to their enemies during the late civil war, with restoration of all rights, privileges, and immunities under the Constitution and the laws which have been made in pursuance thereof." Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 179—Granting Full Pardon and Amnesty for the Offense of Treason Against the United States During the Late Civil War Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [31]

"This finally put a stop (as noted above) to the Davis treason trial. Practically the only persons outside the circle of mercy were the convicted Lincoln murderers – and even three of them were given individual pardons, in Johnson's final days in office in March 1869, for services performed for their fellow inmates and jailors during an outbreak of disease in their prison." Neff, p. 225.

February 11, 1869. The U.S. Government enters a nolle prosequi in the case of United States v. Jefferson Davis. ("Nolle prosequi ... is legal Latin meaning 'to be unwilling to pursue'. In Commonwealth and US common law, it is used for prosecutors' declarations that they are voluntarily ending a criminal case before trial or before a verdict is rendered.") Hagen, p. 225; Nichols, p. 284. Icenhauer-Ramirez, p. 318.

United States v. Anderson, 76 U.S. 56 (1869) The syllabus of the decision accurately summarizes on page 56 the court's holding as follows: "As respects rights intended to be secured by the above-mentioned Abandoned or Captured Property Act, "the suppression of the rebellion" is to be regarded as having taken place on the 20th of August, 1866, on which day the President by proclamation declared it suppressed in Texas "and throughout the whole of the United States of America," that same date being apparently adopted by Congress in a statute continuing a certain rate of pay to soldiers in the army "for three years after the close of the rebellion, as announced by the President of the United States by proclamation bearing date August 20, 1866."[32]

Per Noah Andre Trudeau, pages 396-397 about the Anderson case: "The U.S. attorneys argued that the Rebellion had been suppressed following the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department, as established in the surrender document negotiated on May 26, 1865. Anderson's lawyer, in turn, argued that the end of the war was a legislative matter, not a military one, and that Congress had previously recognized President Johnson's August 20 proclamation as the first official declaration that the Civil War had ended everywhere. The Supreme Court ruled that Nelson Anderson was entitled to recompense from the United States government for his cotton. The court's key determination was that the legal end of the American Civil War had been decided by Congress to be August 20, 1866 - the date of Andrew Johnson's final proclamation on the conclusion of the Rebellion. For legal purposes at least, the end of the Civil War was a matter of record." Trudeau, pp. 396-397.

Presidential Reconstruction:

In addition to the proclamations with terms for reorganizing the government of Virginia (May 9 above) and North Carolina, (May 29 above), on June 13, 1865. President Johnson declares that Tennessee had reorganized its government, suppressed the rebellion and he restored the State and lifted disqualifications from its inhabitants as part of Proclamation 137. "And I hereby also proclaim and declare that the insurrection, so far as it relates to and within the State of Tennessee and the inhabitants of the said State of Tennessee as reorganized and constituted under their recently adopted constitution and reorganization and accepted by them, is suppressed, and therefore, also, that all the disabilities and disqualifications attaching to said State and the inhabitants thereof consequent upon any proclamation issued by virtue of the fifth section of the act entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports and for other purposes," approved the 13th day of July, 1861, are removed." However this did not include "any of the penalties and forfeitures for treason heretofore incurred under the laws of the United States or any of the provisions, restrictions, or disabilities set forth in my proclamation bearing date the 29th day of May, 1865, or as impairing existing regulations for the suspension of the habeas corpus and the exercise of military law in cases where it shall be necessary for the general public safety and welfare during the existing insurrection ." Long p. 693. Andrew Johnson, Proclamation 137—Removing Trade Restrictions on Confederate States Lying East of the Mississippi River Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [33]

In addition, between June 13, 1865 and July 13, 1865, President Johnson proclaimed terms for reorganizing constitutional governments in other Confederate states and appointed provisional governors in the following proclamations: June 13, 1865: Mississippi, Long, p. 693 [34]; June 17, 1865: Georgia, Long p. 693 [35]; June 17, 1865: Texas, Long p. 693 [36]; June 21, 1865: Alabama, Long, p. 693 [37]; June 30, 1865: South Carolina, p. 694; [38]; July 13, 1865: Florida, Long 694; [39].

In a special message to the U.S. Senate on December 18, 1865, President Johnson advised: "As the result of the measures instituted by the Executive with the view of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee have reorganized their respective State governments, and "are yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United States....The proposed amendment to the Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever within the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one of those States, with the exception of Mississippi..... In Florida and Texas the people are making commendable progress in restoring their State governments...." [40].

References

• Chernow, Ron. Grant. New York: Penguin Press, 2917. ISBN 978-1-59420-487-6.
• Conner, Robert C. General Gordon Granger: The Savior of Chickamauga and the Man Behind "Juneteenth". Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2013. ISBN 978-1-61200-186-9.
• Current, Richard N., ed., The Confederacy. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1993. ISBN 978-0-02-864920-7. Macmillan Compendium. Sections from the four-volume Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Confederacy.
• Denney, Robert E. The Civil War Years: A Day-by-Day Chronicle. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1992. ISBN 978-0-8069-8519-0.
• Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged From Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, The Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources. First published 1908 by Dyer Publishing.
• Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006 (paperback edition). ISBN 978-0-684-84944-7.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Faust, Patricia L., ed. Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6.
• Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 3 (III), Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House, 1974. ISBN 978-0-394-74622-7,
• Hagan, Horace Henry. [41] United States vs. Jefferson Davis. The Sewanee Review. Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1917), pp. 220-225 .Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Open access.
• Henry, Robert Selph. "First with the Most" Forrest. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1987. OCLC 16620013. First Published 1944 by Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis. OCLC 190282.
• Hunt, Jeffrey Wm. The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-292-73461-6.
• Icenhauer-Ramirez, Robert.. PhD Dissertation. [42] “No Traitor has been Hung: The United States of America v. Jefferson Davis 1865-1869." Copyright 2014. The University of Texas at Austin, May 2014 p. 318. Published as Icenhauer-Ramirez, Robert. Treason on trial : the United States v. Jefferson Davis. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2019. ISBN 978-0-8071-7080-9.
• Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. OCLC 68283123.
• McPherson, James M. Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. ISBN 978-0-394-52469-6.
• Neff, Stephen C. Justice in Blue and Gray: A Legal History of the Civil War. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-674-03602-4.
• Nichols, Roy Franklin. [43] United States vs. Jefferson Davis, 1865-1869. The American Historical Review. Vol. 31, No. 2 (Jan., 1926), pp. 266-284. Open access.
• Official Records of War of the Rebellion: Serial 097 Pages 1302-3. Chapter LVIII. [44] ehistory, The Ohio State University, accessed June 8, 2022.
• Official Records of he War of the Rebellion: Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, pp. 1301-1303. [45], accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [46]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [47].
• Official Records: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, Page 1134. [48]. Page 1275. [49]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [50]. Accessed June 8, 2022, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, [51].
• Official Records: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 48, Part 2, Page 530. [52] Hathi Trust Digital Library, accessed June 12, 2022.
• Peters, Gerhard and John T. Woolley, [53] The American Presidency Project, Abraham Lincoln Papers. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
• Peters, Gerhard and John T. Woolley, [54] The American Presidency Project, Andrew Johnson Papers. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
• Rodriguez, Alicia. Andersonville. in Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN 978-0-393-04758-5.
• Thomas, Emory M. The Confederate Nation, 1861–1865. New York: Harper & Row, 1979. ISBN 978-0-06-014252-0.
• Trudeau, Noah Andre. Out of the Storm: The End of the Civil War, April–June 1865. Boston, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN 978-0-316-85328-6.
• Wagner, Margaret E., Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman. The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, Inc., 2009 edition. ISBN 978-1-4391-4884-6. First Published 2002.
• Walmsley, James Elliott.[55] "The Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet." The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Vol. 6, No. 3 (Dec., 1919), pp. 336-349. Open access.
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Footnote: Stephen A. Neff is a professor of law and the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh School of Law in Scotland. A page of the university web site notes: "Stephen Neff's primary research interest is the history of public international law. He is the author of a book on the historical development of international economic law. His current focus is the history of the law of neutrality...." [56] Retrieved June 7, 2022.

Historians on the End of the American Civil War

I post this in a separate thread in order to not unduly lengthen the already long "end of the war" thread and to allow for a more clear end to the thread through opinions, comments or recommendations as to whether the end date in the article should be changed. I may post my final analysis and recommendation there or summarize there and put citations and comments in support in yet another post.

Works of historians searched for this post often end with an event or several events at the end of the war without specifying one of them as "the" end date. I have noted a few of these in summary for noted historians. I do not have access to every possible source for these viewpoints, of course. So I cannot claim this post is all-inclusive or that I did not miss something. I found few references to the May 9 (actually May 10) order at all, much less any that declared it an end date or criminalized future actions; General Grant's May 11, 1865 order, not generally noted in the histories, does appear to do so, thus I include it at the end. I do think is representative of how historians treat the end of the war.

Most likely this will be the complete compilation that I will post in this thread unless I happen to come across something as I write up my final comments. If any editors have any further relevant quotations, I invite them to add them to this list.

Catton, Bruce. The Centennial History of the Civil War. Vol. 3, Never Call Retreat. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965. p. 445. "...and on May 26 he [E. Kirby Smith] surrendered and the war was over."

Catton, Bruce. Grant Takes Command. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1968. ISBN 978-0-316-13210-7. p. 490 "Sheridan and his new army did not have to fight anyone. Smith surrendered on May 26, bringing the last of the Civil War to a close."

Dunkerly, Robert M. To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place and the Surrenders of the Confederacy. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2015. ISBN 978-1-61121-252-5. Page 116: "Buckner arrived first. On May 26, he, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, and Maj. Gen. Joseph L. Brent arrived at Baton Rouge the proceeded on to New Orleans. At the St. Charles Hotel, Buckner met with Union Maj. Gen. Peter Osterhaus, representing Canby." P. 117: "Buckner and Carter proposed to surrender their forces based on the same terms granted at Appomattox and Bennett Place. These were the only terms Union commanders were authorized to accept, so there was little to discuss." "On May 27, Smith reached Houston, only to learn that his war was over. The day before, Buckner had surrendered the Trans-Mississippi Department on his behalf." P. 131: "There Watie surrendered the First Indian Cavalry Brigade, consisting of Cherokee, Creek, Seminole and Osage troops. This was the last Confederate military force to surrender." "Rather than a surrender, this was actually a treaty of peace, ending hostilities and returning the Cherokee to their former relationship with the United States government." P. 139: "On August 20, 1866, President Andrew Johnson declared the War officially over." P. 144: "Long neglected in traditional Civil War studies, the surrender process of the Trans-Mississippi has almost no tangible remains today."

Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 978-0-684-84944-7 Covers events at the end of the Civil war in a chapter "The End of the Civil War", pages 841-851. This is the closest Eicher comes to declaring an end date; no other more specific statement is made in the chapter's recitation of events. P. 842-3: "On the same day as Davis's capture, President Johnson proclaimed armed resistance at an end (though it wasn't quite yet)." P. 843: "On May 12 came the final land battle of the war. Far out in the Trans-Mississippi, to which news traveled slowly, forces clashed near Brownsville, Texas at Palmito Ranch...." (Note that this was a 2-day battle, May 12-13.)

Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 3 (III), Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House, 1974. ISBN 978-0-394-74622-7 p. 1013 cites the May 10, 1865 proclamation that "armed resistance to the authority of this Government in the said insurrectionary States may be regarded as virtually at an end. This was subsequently taken by some, including the nine Supreme Court justices to mark the close of the war..."

(Note: I would like to see the case, which Foote does not cite, to see where an end of the war statement is mentioned in context in an opinion by all nine justices. In United States v. Anderson, 76 U.S. 56 (1869), the Court wrote that the August 20, 1866 date marked the date of the "suppression of the rebellion" throughout the country by Johnson's proclamation and that Congress had accepted the date for "the close of the rebellion." I will spend a little time more looking for the "nine justices" case. So far I have not found it and I think it will be difficult to find in history books and articles, especially without a citation.)

Foote noted at page 1019 that the statement was premature by three days because the Battle of Palmito Ranch was the last sizeable clash of arms in the whole war. At page 1040, Foote expressed the several endings of the war view as follow: "Appomattox was one of several endings; Durham Station, Citronelle, Galveston [presumably the June 2 signing of the May 26 surrender terms by E. Kirby Smith although not definitely distinguished from the lifting of the blockade at Galveston on June 23] were others; as were Johnson's mid-May proclamation and the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which seven months later freed the slaves not freed in the course of the four-year struggle..."

Gallagher, Gary W. The Confederate War. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-674-16056-9. Page 157: "The Confederacy capitulated in the spring of 1865 because the northern armies had demonstrated their ability to crush organized southern military resistance."

Guelzo, Allen C. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War & Reconstruction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-984328-2. I found no statement of an end date for the war. I saw that the book ends with a lengthy analysis of consequences of the war without noting specific dates after Guelzo had written about the April surrenders.

Jamieson, Perry D. Spring 1865: The Closing Campaigns of the Civil War. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8032-2581-7. Page 204: "With the surrender of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, Federal forces extinguished the once-raging bonfire of Confederate military resistance. But some embers remained scattered across the South, and they continued to glow. Each was small but had to be stamped out against the possibility, however slight, that the fire would rekindle." Page 214: "With Watie's capitulation, the last of the scattered embers was extinguished."

Josephy, Jr., Alvin M., The Civil War in the American West. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1991. ISBN 978-0-394-56482-1. p. 385: "On May 26, 1865, more than six weeks after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox in northern Virginia, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, acting for General Kirby Smith, surrendered what was left of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy to Major General Edward R. S. Canby. One month after that, on June 23, 1865, General Stand Watie, the weather-beaten, bowlegged Cherokee guerrilla leader, came into Doaksville, the capital of the Choctaw's country in the Indian Territory, and surrendered his Southern Indian forces to Federal officers. He was the last Confederate general to stop fighting. With his submission, the Civil War in the American West came to an end."

Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. OCLC 68283123. At the end of the items for May 1865, Long uses a section title "Aftermath" for almost six pages of items for the remainder of 1865 and the two proclamations for the end of the war in 1866. The section begins with an introduction on page 691: "The War was over and the Peace had begun. All the major forces of the Confederate States of America had surrendered, and President Davis was in prison." At the end of the day-by-day narrative after the item for August 20, 1866 at page 697, Long wrote "The Civil War was over and the painful days of reconstruction had begun."

Murray, Williamson and Wayne Wei-Siang Hsieh, A Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-691169408 has an extended analysis at the "end of the war" but does not carry on the narrative of events beyond the surrender of Johnston's army.

McPherson, James M. Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. ISBN 978-0-394-52469-6, Written before Battle Cry of Freedom, which states in summary fashion many of the events after the surrenders of Lee and Johnston. He does not mention the May 10 proclamation in either book. In McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0-19-503863-7, McPherson ends the last chapter before the epilogue with Lee's surrender, Lincoln's April 11 address from the White House balcony and John Wilkes Booth's reaction. He starts the epilogue with "The weeks after Booth fulfilled his vow on Good Friday in a dizzying sequence events." One of those listed is "...Confederate armies surrendering one after another as Jefferson Davis fled southward hoping to re-establish his government in Texas and carry on the war to victory...." McPherson, Battle Cry, p. 853.

Neff, Stephen C. Justice in Blue and Gray: A Legal History of the Civil War. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-674-03602-4.

Neff Page 203: "By the spring of 1865, the combined effects of the Union naval blockade and the victories of the federal land forces finally brought the armed struggle to a conclusion." "Because various aspects of the war were terminated at different times, it became difficult to say, with the precision so obsessively demanded by lawyers, exactly when the state of war actually terminated."

Neff Page 204: Section Heading "Ending a War" In certain respects, the end of the Confederate war effort came about in an orderly fashion, with the formal surrender of the various Southern armed forces to their union foes....concluding with the submission of a force of Cherokee Indians allied to the Confederacy on June 25." (June 23, Long. p. 695, Trudeau, p. 360)

Neff..."The question of determining when the Civil War itself came to an end – i.e. when the state of war between the two sides terminated – was distinct from the military surrenders. This was not merely an empty exercise for obscurantists. A number of important practical questions turned on it." (listed)

Neff Page 205: "In practice, the war was brought to an end on a piecemeal basis, by way of a welter of specific measures by the Union government."

Neff Page 205: "In a companion proclamation to the one on port closure ["by exercise of sovereign right, as opposed to the belligerent method of blockade"] on the same day [April 11, 1865], Lincoln made it clear that the neutrality status of foreign countries was now expected to come to an end. Concretely, Lincoln stated that various restrictions on the treatment of Union ships in foreign ports, stemming from the application of foreign neutrality legislation, were expected to be discontinued – that the recognition of the Confederacy as a belligerent power by foreign states would not be tolerated. The United States, it was announced would now claim the full range of traditional peacetime privileges in foreign ports and would retaliate if they were not granted." Neff, page 205. The proclamation can be found at Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation 128—Claiming Equality of Rights with All Maritime Nations Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [57] It is apparently necessary to understand the diplomatic language used at the time for such matters to discern Neff's interpretation. It may appear a little dense and technical to a modern reader without Neff's expert analysis.

Neff Page 207: "This array of different termination measures and policies inevitably made it difficult to say with any confidence when the war itself actually ended in legal terms....In April 2, 1866, President Johnson proclaimed "the insurrection" to be ended in all of the Confederate states except Texas. Finally, on August 20, 1866, he pronounced it to be over in that state as well."

Pollard, Edward A. The Lost Cause; A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates. New York, E. B. Treat & Co., 1867. Reprint by New York: Bonanza Books, 1974. ISBN 978-0-517-16010-7. A Southern view of the end of the war from E. A. Pollard, Editor of the Richmond Examiner during the War in 1866/67 (leaving out any consideration of Stand Watie's force). Page 725-726: "On the 26th of May, and before the arrival of Sheridan's forces, he [Kirby Smith] surrendered what remained of his command to Gen. Canby. The last action of the war had been a skirmish near Brazos in Texas. With the surrender of Gen. Smith, the war ended, and from the Potomac to the Rio Grande there was no longer an armed soldier to resist the authority of the United States."

Starr, Steven. The Union Cavalry in the Civil War 3 volumes, does not specify an end date for the war and does not carry the narratives beyond the Grand Reviews.

Trudeau, Noah Andre. Out of the Storm: The End of the Civil War, April–June 1865. Boston, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994. ISBN 978-0-316-85328-6. In the May 11. 1865 "General Order No. 90 of the War Department stated unequivocally that 'from and after the first date of June, 1865, any and all persons found in arms against the United States, or who may commits acts of hostility against it east of the Mississippi River, will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death.'" cited by Trudeau, p. 353.

Trudeau Pages 396-397: In the case of United States v. Anderson, 76 U.S. 56 (1869) "The U.S. attorneys argued that the Rebellion had been suppressed following the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Department, as established in the surrender document negotiated on May 26, 1865. Anderson's lawyer, in turn, argued that the end of the war was a legislative matter, not a military one, and that Congress had previously recognized President Johnson's August 20 proclamation as the first official declaration that the Civil War had ended everywhere.

Trudeau Page 397: "The Supreme Court ruled that Nelson Anderson was entitled to recompense from the United States government for his cotton. The court's key determination was that the legal end of the American Civil War had been decided by Congress to be August 20, 1866 - the date of Andrew Johnson's final proclamation on the conclusion of the Rebellion. For legal purposes at least, the end of the Civil War was a matter of record."

Wagner, Margaret E., Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman. The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, Inc., 2009 edition. ISBN 978-1-4391-4884-6. First Published 2002. Civil War Time Line at page 51 has this in the entries for May, 10, 1865. "President Andrew Jackson proclaims armed resistance at an end – though one more small land engagement will be fought May 12 at Palmito Ranch, Texas." [In fact the battle was a two day affair on May 12-13 and is sometimes listed just under May 13, as already noted.]

In Wagner, the entry for May 29 on the same page 51 reads: "By proclamation, President Johnson grants amnesty and pardon to all persons who directly or indirectly participated in the 'existing rebellion' – with some exceptions – upon the taking of an oath declaring their allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and laws." It further states that this is an indication Johnson will pursue a moderate Reconstruction policy.

Posting this again here because it seems quite relevant: May 11, 1865. "General Orders No. 90 } War Department, Adjt. General's Office, Washington, May 11, 1865. Punishment of Guerrillas. "All the forces of the enemy east of the Mississippi River having been duly surrendered by their proper commanding officers to the Armies of the United States, under agreements of parole and disbandment, and there being no authorized troops of the enemy east of the Mississippi River, it is - "Ordered', That from and after the first day of June, 1865, any and all persons found in arms against the United States, or who may commit acts of hostility against it east of the Mississippi River, will be regarded as guerrillas and punished with death. The strict enforcement of this order is especially enjoined upon the commanding officers of all U.S. forces with the territorial limits to which it applies. "By command of Lieutenant-General Grant: "E. D. TOWNSEND, "Assistant Adjutant General" The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 46, Part 3, Page 1134. [58] Donner60 (talk) 05:31, 9 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

@Donner60 You've done some really awesome research here, it would make a great addition to Conclusion of the American Civil War, which is kinda skimpy. I just expanded it a bunch, but more work could be done. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 18:27, 12 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Great work. I am sorry to suggest, but perhaps we should also survey how tertiary sources (encyclopedia) deal with it? Alanscottwalker (talk) 10:13, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I had previously searched in:

• Current, Richard N., ed., The Confederacy. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1993. ISBN 978-0-02-864920-7. Macmillan Compendium. Sections from the four-volume Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Confederacy.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Faust, Patricia L., ed. Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6. Articles cited > In Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War, edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6.
• Heidler, David S., and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN 978-0-393-04758-5. Articles cited> In Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN 978-0-393-04758-5. and
• Wagner, Margaret E., Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman. The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, Inc., 2009 edition. ISBN 978-1-4391-4884-6. First Published 2002.

I only quoted Wagner because I could find nothing in the other works that I previously searched on the subject. Then again, there could be an article title that is less obvious than the ones I searched that has something in it that I missed. I'll look at a few other possible headings. I have a few other works that are similar but shorter and I think less likely to have something specific but I will look at them later in the week. As for more general encyclopedias, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, I would be able to look at whatever I can find on line. I won't have time to do this for a few days at least - and I will need to defer all but the most general reply to the following thread as well. Donner60 (talk) 23:05, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

While I am dubious as to the quality of other online encyclopedias, here's what I found:

• Encyclopedia.com: "There Lee surrendered on 9 April. A few days later, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Raleigh, North Carolina. With the surrender of the two major field armies resistance throughout the South ended despite the pleas of President Davis. The war was over."
• Britannica Counts April 26, i.e. Johnston's surrender.
• New World Encyclopedia Doesn't give an exact date, just 1861-1865. Its relevant paragraph mentions April 9, May 13, and the Shenandoah.
• Encyclopedia Virginia April 26.

Of course I think paper encyclopedias probably have more convincing arguments for their dates, but this gives some context. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 17:16, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I am not knowledgeable about this matter and am merely raising it for your consideration. Is the end date of Civil War really disputed, or is it, rather, subject to interpretation? In other words, is the question really, what constitutes the end of the Civil War? If so, then one's answer to that question would determine the end date, and "disputed" should be changed to "subject to interpretation."Maurice Magnus (talk) 14:31, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Disputed and subject to interpretation have a similar meaning in my mind? At any rate, see the above few sections where Donner has done some very extensive research into the end date, with no apparent scholarly consensus. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 16:27, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'm not wedded to "disputed" but I do not like "subject to interpretation" (in part, that phrase strikes me as a tone problem for the encyclopedia), and would prefer a one-word statement, perhaps, but not sure, "unclear" or "debated". Alanscottwalker (talk) 18:06, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I will change it to "debatable"; if either of you disagrees, I'll defer. I prefer "debatable" to "debated" because I don't know whether anyone debates it. The historians Donner lists have various interpretations, but that's because they view different events as constituting the end of the war. None seems to say that another historian is wrong. The date of the end of the war would seem to me a pointless question to debate, because the answer to the question is, "If you consider X the end of the war, then it ended on such-and-such date, but if you consider Y the end of the war, then it ended on a different date." There is no right answer to the question. To quote Donner: "Neff Page 205: "In practice, the war was brought to an end on a piecemeal basis, by way of a welter of specific measures by the Union government." Maurice Magnus (talk) 18:44, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Insofar as historians are concerned, the end date is debatable or debated. However, many appear to either directly or indirectly (by naming several events but not singling out one of them) to favor the piecemeal over a period of time approach, Neff, Foote specifically. Insofar as what Wikipedia shows as an end date in the first sentence and the infobox is concerned, it is disputed. We have one or a few users who have insisted on the May 9 date (which should be May 10) and reverted my previous change. (June 23, 1865, the date of Stand Watie's surrender is accepted by Jamieson in particular as an end date.) So for the time being, unless those users are persuaded or there is a consensus of at least several users, and perhaps dispute resolution, the is disputed here with respect to the end date as placed in the article. The end date for the first sentence and the infobox is the question I think we are trying to answer. May 9/10 is not at all a good date in my opinion. I think I have posted enough information and analysis to show that, including works of historians and Grant's General Orders No. 90 cited above. I plan to have a summary analysis pointing to a few specific sources posted here, including two or three key new ones that I noted above, such as Neff, Grant, but I don't have time for a few days to put it together as properly as I would like. But since I noticed this post is drawing some answers or comments regarding the question now, I thought I should give a conclusion and a short analysis about the end date since it will be some days before I look at it for one last comment. It may be I can keep it about the same length as this post but better organized and to the point.

Most of the specific references that I have discovered, and the almost total lack of support by historians for May 9 or 10 being an exact date, with most not mentioning that date(s) at all, clinch either the date range conclusion or May 26, I think. So I am willing to state my conclusion that the "Spring 1865" or "April-June 1865" (May?) end dates are the best fit with many, though admittedly not quite all, historians and sources that I have found. I think the firm date of May 26, expressed by Bruce Catton, Alvin Josephy, Noah Andre Trudeau, Robert Dunkerly and some others, is the next best, probably the best for a single date, if we must use one. Officially of course the Trans-Mississippi surrender did not occur until June 2, 1865 and the Supreme Court held that the legal date for the end was August 20, 1866. Note the contemporary sources: E.A. Pollard's "Lost Cause..." referenced above concludes that there was no armed resistance left after the Smith surrender, dated to May 26. Also, the US Attorney in the 1867 (1869) Anderson case noted above also cited May 26 as the date of the suppression of the rebellion. So a strong case for May 26, 1865 appears possible. "Debatable" will require an explanation, though in fact some of the text, even in the introduction, also points to various dates. We would need to be sure it explains that debatable or different dates for different purposes is expressed regardless of the term or date is the starting point end date in the first sentence and infobox. Donner60 (talk) 23:52, 13 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I should have looked at the change being made before commenting on what I thought was a substitution rather than an addition. At least the addition is an improvement. However, I think the May 9 is unacceptable as a stated date for the reasons I have given earlier on the page and also summarized in the previous post. I'll add my further analysis and ping users pinged earlier when I post it. I hope that post will be no later than the end of this week. Donner60 (talk) 05:18, 14 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

I'll note my original edit put April 9, but it was changed back to May 9. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 17:04, 14 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

For the 1 million death number in the infobox, I propose adding this NYT source, given below:

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/11/books/sick-from-freedom-by-jim-downs-about-freed-slaves.html

While the current quote text provides information about the origin of the number, I think it would be easier/nicer for readers to directly read the information from a source. 2601:85:C101:C9D0:977:EFAC:754B:F185 (talk) 02:47, 14 June 2022 (UTC) 2601:85:C101:C9D0:977:EFAC:754B:F185 (talk) 02:47, 14 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Well the NYT source doesn't actually mention the one million number, and explicitly says "the statistics offered in “Sick from Freedom” are certainly sobering, if necessarily tentative." I wouldn't call that a rousing endorsement from the Times. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 17:26, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

As historian Neff notes, the Civil War lacks a precise end date: "In practice, the war was brought to an end on a piecemeal basis, by way of a welter of specific measures by the Union government." But since we remain in the business of conveying information, how should we communicate the end date in the infobox? Please peruse the above sections, with excellent research by Donner60 and company. The following dates stand out, but your solution needn't be limited to those listed:

• April 9: Lee surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse, setting in motion a wave of surrenders. The earliest possible date we could claim.
• April 26: Johnston's large force surrenders. John Wilkes Booth killed.
• May 5: Effective dissolution of the Confederate government.
• May 9: The disputed, but status quo ante version. Refers to Johnson's proclamation that belligerent rights are at an end.
• May 10: Confederate President Jeff Davis captured.
• May 13: Battle of Palmetto ranch, last of the war.
• May 26: Edmund Kirby Smith's forces surrender, last large force surrender. Later argued as the end date by the Government.
• June 2: Department of the Trans-Mississippi ordered to stand down.
• June 19: Juneteenth, the slaves of Texas are freed.
• June 22: Shenandoah, unaware of Lee and Johnston's surrender, fires the last shots of the war.
• June 23: Stand Watie is the last Confederate general/land force to surrender.
• November 6: Shenandoah surrenders in the UK, the last naval surrender.
• August 20, 1866: President Johnson declares the insurrection suppressed. The last date we could claim. Supreme Court declares this as the end date for legal purposes.

Other possible approaches include:

• 1865
• Spring 1865
• April-June 1865
• April-May 1865
• May 1865
• [Date] (disputed)
• [Date] (exact end date disputed)
• [Date] (debatable)
• [Date] (exact end date debatable)
• [Date] (effective)

The topic is also covered at Conclusion of the American Civil War, though the above research has exposed the article as rather lacking. Smooth sailing, CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 18:39, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

• support April 9, 1865. I think this option is the best. Sm8900 (talk) 19:35, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• Support May 9, 1865 though I have to admit I don't know the difference between Johnson's executive order on May 9 and proclamation on May 10, and the 'Confederacy surrenders' section only discusses the latter (although there is a reference for the former). –CWenger (^ • @) 20:37, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• support April 9, 1865 per Sm8900.Historyday01 (talk) 21:04, 15 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• Outside of the USA June 2, 1865 is the date in textbooks with a note saying somthing like "the final Confederate armies officially surrendered". That said April 9, 1865 is what you will see in American publications. @Rjensen: our resident American historian ....Rjensen what have you writen about this...what date would you pick? Moxy-  16:35, 16 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• Support April 9, 1865. In my experience, I typically see the Appomattox Courthouse surrender used metonymically to refer to the end of the war. As mentioned in the second half of the proposal, I think it could be useful to include a "(disputed)" note or something similar as well; if such a tag is used, I'd also recommend that the word within the parentheses link to Conclusion of the American Civil War. ModernDayTrilobite (talk • contribs) 18:35, 16 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

• Support somewhere between April 26 to May 9. I live in North Carolina, so in school emphasis was always placed on Johnston's surrender. Whatever the case, I think Lee's surrender is just too early, and doesn't encapsulate the full collapse of the Confederate cause. The engagement at Palmito Ranch is too late, as historian Richard Gardiner says: "There was no Confederacy in existence when the 'battle' occurred." Naturally I agree with the link to the conclusions article, and of course if sources point to a common date we should use that. -Indy beetle (talk) 17:32, 17 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• May-June 1865. The reason I say this is because (based on the list) that is the time when things were dying down. I don't think it's best to put an exact date because it really is debatable. SWinxy (talk) 21:01, 19 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• support spring 1865 even though it is rather non-specific. I think the April date came into common use because of the older focus on the eastern theater of the war (in no small part because of the Lee fixation). As historical coverage broadened to include the western theaters (and the reevaluation of Grant as a commander) the end date started to slip from that focus. June 2 would also be acceptable. Intothatdarkness 19:35, 22 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• Support May 26, Smith's surrender. (June 2, the date Kirby Smith formally signed the surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi is OK too.) This was the date of the last large Confederate force's surrender, and the Confederate government had dissolved earlier in May. Stand Watie's force, from the little information I can find on it, was a cavalry regiment of well-under 250 men. I agree that Lee's surrender on April 9 was the beginning of the end of the war. However, what would have happened if by some miracle Johnson would have had a major victory over Sherman, or Kirby Smith would have had some big victory out west—would the war have continued? Does the count of total casualties for the war stop on April 9? Whatever is decided, all of the significant dates should be discussed in a surrender section. The end date should link to the discussion. TwoScars (talk) 15:37, 23 June 2022 (UTC)Reply
• Support May 9 In all technicality, the actual war, like all wars, ends when the people fighting those wars lose their "beligerant" status. That would be May 9. I'm not sure who would continue to advocate the false notion that the war ended when Lee surrendered. That is one of the biggest falsehoods about the ending of the war that no serious historian would agree with.--JOJ ^Hutton 17:58, 23 June 2022 (UTC)Reply