Negative Reaction to Lee's Surrender

[rbortega]

Does anybody know if any Confederate officer or soldier expressed any anger or resentment towards Robert E. Lee for surrendering at Appomattox?

 

[TallTallMan]

No, but I think in Lee Considered the author addresses the myth of all the soldiers being sad that Lee surrendered.

 

[RedRover]

Lee's men principally cheered on the news of the surrender: From John C. Gorman:

A staff officer with Sheridan:

Longstreet recalled the cheers hushed, but noted the men were crowding around general Lee, with "swimming eyes" and many touching Traveller as they passed. Both Gen. Lee, and the troops had removed their hats.

So there was great rejoicing and great emotion. Heck, even Bedford Forrest noted later he figured the Confederacy was sure to fail after December, '63. Just a matter of time.

It is evident too, that even though Lee surrendered himself and the army of Northern Virginia, in the field, as general in chief of the Confederate armies a large number of Confederate Soldiers, all the way to Texas, considered Lee's surrender a final act as well, to the chagrin of their immediate commanders in many cases.

 

[7thWisconsin]

I believe there´s a vignette in Burke Davis´ ¨Nine April Days¨ where a Confederate soldier is told that he just surrendered. He wouldn´t believe it and said ¨it must have been that d***ed Fitzhugh Lee.¨

 

[nc native]

On the whole, I believe that most of Lee's soldiers were relieved after the surrender and happy that they could go home and begin providing for themselves and their kindred again. The Army of Northern Virginia was mostly an army of small farmers who had homesteads that were probably in need of attention and repair due to their absence and were eager to get home.

I remember reading that one soldier though was still eager to continue the conflict. He was heard telling Robert E. Lee something to the effect that "We should go home, get one good crop in and go back and fight them Yankees again."

 

[Dead Parrott]

On the whole, I believe that most of Lee's soldiers were relieved after the surrender and happy that they could go home and begin providing for themselves and their kindred again. The Army of Northern Virginia was mostly an army of small farmers who had homesteads that were probably in need of attention and repair due to their absence and were eager to get home.

I remember reading that one soldier though was still eager to continue the conflict. He was heard telling Robert E. Lee something to the effect that "We should go home, get one good crop in and go back and fight them Yankees again."

I suspect most knew the war was lost, and only a sense of honor and duty kept them there until the end. An honorable surrender was the best possible end for them, leaving with their honor, duty, and their lives(!) intact, and going back home to help their families.

 

[bankerpapaw]

No, but I think in Lee Considered the author addresses the myth of all the soldiers being sad that Lee surrendered.

The Rebs were heart broken, but I don't think they were angry.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

I can't dig up specific sources for this statement at this moment, but I believe quite a few Southern women were angry about the surrender. There were large swaths of the Confederacy who never saw a Union soldier but the locals still suffered the loss of loved ones.

Many, if not most men on both sides, who were doing the actual fighting, developed a respect for their opponents and knew when the game was over. They had done their best. For some women and other non-combatants however, who had no reason or desire to call it quits until deaths had been avenged and their choices validated, the surrender was a bitter pill. But I've read of no one who blamed Robert E. Lee. He was beyond reproach.

 

[Dead Parrott]

I can't dig up specific sources for this statement at this moment, but I believe quite a few Southern women were angry about the surrender. There were large swaths of the Confederacy who never saw a Union soldier but the locals still suffered the loss of loved ones.

Many, if not most men on both sides, who were doing the actual fighting, developed a respect for their opponents and knew when the game was over. They had done their best. For some women and other non-combatants however, who had no reason or desire to call it quits until deaths had been avenged and their choices validated, the surrender was a bitter pill. But I've read of no one who blamed Robert E. Lee. He was beyond reproach.

I believe this to be true. I imagine the attitude was "well, if Lee finally calls it quits, it really IS over …" no one I think would ever accuse him of being a quitter.

 

[J.H. Moose]

Does anybody know if any Confederate officer or soldier expressed any anger or resentment towards Robert E. Lee for surrendering at Appomattox?

I remember reading about the reaction of men and officers alike from the Army of Tennessee to Lee's surrender. Mostly the expected shocked and devastated response, yet I remember one Tennessee soldier brushing it off as only a minor setback and rejoicing that "our army alone will get all the glory when we march into Washington."
Definitely a glass-half-full kinda guy

 

[Zack]

I remember reading about the reaction of men and officers alike from the Army of Tennessee to Lee's surrender. Mostly the expected shocked and devastated response, yet I remember one Tennessee soldier brushing it off as only a minor setback and rejoicing that "our army alone will get all the glory when we march into Washington."
Definitely a glass-half-full kinda guy

Related - this was roughly April 13 or thereabouts:
We met an old Confederate veteran [who said] our army in Virginia had now surrendered. This statement was disbelieved, and our general commanding ordered his arrest. . . . Other reports . . . seemed to confirm it. He was released in the morning with apology.
- Captain Willam Calhoun, 42nd Georgia, Army of Tennessee

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

one Tennessee soldier brushing it off as only a minor setback

We met an old Confederate veteran [who said] our army in Virginia had now surrendered. This statement was disbelieved,

The five stages of grief after a loss:
denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance

 

[jackt62]

No, but I think in Lee Considered the author addresses the myth of all the soldiers being sad that Lee surrendered.

There must have been a long sigh of relief or resignation that the war was over notwithstanding that it didn't result in the victory that had been hoped for. And what about the roughly 50% of the ANV that had been captured along the final route to Appomattox? Where they despairing of being made POWs at that late stage of the war, or thankful that it was over for them.