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OK, when somebody asks you when the Civil War ended, what do you say?
- Alan
- Alan
From what I remember reading the action took place off Java in the East Indies. After Nautilus struck Warrington was given documents confirming the end of the war. He immediately released the Nautilus and set sail for home.Any word on when Warrington actually accepted the news and turned for home?
Waddell's situation was complicated by the fact that he had seen in newspapers of vessels he stopped the declarations of Davis, et. al., that the struggle would continue. The significance of his speaking Barracouta about the end of the war was because she was a neutral (and could therefore be trusted, at least theoretically).
Mark,Probably the question needs to be very specific to elicit a particular answer. As we've seen in this thread, there are a range of interpretations of the question-- is the end of the war when the issue is decided? is it when the frontiers can no longer be defended? is it when the capital falls? is it when the principal armed forces surrender? is it when the last armed forces surrender? is it when there's a legal statement of the end? is it when the last of the wounded die? is it when the last of the veterans die? is it when the issues the war was fought over are resolved?
This is my preferred answer as well.I'll throw a "fly in the ointment" as everyone else is speaking militarily.....I'll offer this food for thought: I'll say the war ended with the capture of the Confederate government.
While I don't disagree with those who speak of armies surrendering or last shots fired.....I will say that, without a government (in the case of the Civil War), there's nothing left to fight for....no "cause" anymore...the idea of "self-rule" has been "captured" with nothing to replace it....The main reason hostilities continued is because news travelled slow, not because they expected a "new" government to take the place of the old.......Just my two cents.....Thanks!!
Who said it was over? Its just dormant.OK, when somebody asks you when the Civil War ended, what do you say?
- Alan
That's good, that's very good.Actually, the August 20, 1866 date is the strongest because the rebellion was officially defined in Lincoln's proclamation as the laws of the United States being opposed and their execution obstructed by forces too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings. It wasn't until August 20, 1866 that the president could say the laws of the United States were no longer being obstructed because there was a legitimate government now in place in the final state, Texas. As a presidential proclamation marked the beginning of the war, a presidential proclamation must mark the end of the war.
IMO the end should date from May 10, 1865, with the capture of Jefferson Davis and the end of the Confederate Government. This would be consistent with the end of WWII. VE Day and VJ Day mark the official end of the war in the European and Pacific Theaters respectively though it some weeks later until isolated commands were surrendered.