The price of peace, 1865

[Baggage Handler #2]

The poll thread about "what if Lee didn't get involved" pulled some thoughts up to the front.

Had a history prof once that had been on Eisenhower's staff, landed with Patton in Africa, was given a battlefield commission in Sicily, and later married into the DeMedici family. It was his considered opinion that the Germans didn't consider themselves defeated in 1918 since no foreign armies occupied their territory, thus were ripe for what happened 1937-1945. A large allied army parked on Berlin for most of the roaring 20's would have left a different impression.

Submitted for your consideration: Sherman's March combined with Lincoln's death, made the peace possible even if unpalatable.
Point 1: Everybody knew that Sherman could go wherever he wanted, and the stories of his march had lost nothing in the retelling.
Point 2: On hearing the announcement of Lincoln's death, one soldier of Sherman's Army wrote:

Originally Posted by Francis McAdams

This sad announcement creates a feeling of indescribable gloom in all our hearts, and the feeling is entertained that, if we again move against the enemy, the worst deeds of the past will be humane in comparison with what will follow..."

Those are cold, cold words - and they are chilling precisely because they are not bravado or empty threat. I'm certain that the same thought went through the minds of nearly every man, woman, and child of both north and south that day.

If the the secessionists' lack of restraint destroyed, in the end, her economy, her armies, and her way of life, the exercise of restraint by her veterans prevented the utter destruction of every dwelling, barn, and outhouse between The Potomac and the Rio Grande.