To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy

Across the Confederacy, determination remained high through the winter of 1864 into the new year—yet ominous signs were everywhere. The peace conference had failed. Large areas were overrun, the armies could not stop Union advances, the economy was in shambles, and industry and infrastructure were crumbling. The Confederacy could not make, move, or maintain anything. No one knew what the future held but uncertainty.

Civilians and soldiers, generals and governors, resolved to fight to the bit...