ForeverFree
Major
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2010
- Location
- District of Columbia
OK, when somebody asks you when the Civil War ended, what do you say?
- Alan
- Alan
With all due respect I will stick with my original point. For all practical purposes once Lee and Johnston surrendered the Confederacy died with it. Their simply would not be an independent slave republic on the North American continent. Yes the Union commander at the Palamito Ranch caused an unnecessary very minor battle. Yes their was post Civil War violence and I have a thread on it. Yes Brigader General Stan Waite surrendered last but a few hundred Indians does not a national security threat make.
Leftyhunter
I never said all was peaceful after the Civil War. Far from it. On the other hand the Confederacy was dead. Has you know while it was clear to all that after Lee and Johnston surrendered the Confederacy was dead the Federal government failed to protect Southern blacks and white Unionists.So then why did the United States continue to exercise its war powers well after those surrenders?
I never said all was peaceful after the Civil War. Far from it. On the other hand the Confederacy was dead. Has you know while it was clear to all that after Lee and Johnston surrendered the Confederacy was dead the Federal government failed to protect Southern blacks and white Unionists.
Leftyhunter
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It's a bit to complex to compare modern Iraq and Afghanistan to our Civil War although Iraq and Afghanistan are currently in a civil war.Loaded question!
Palmetto Ranch is widely accepted as the last battle, and killed that day was John Williams, who is considered the last man to die in the ACW.
The Civil War Campaign Medal was awarded for service between 15 April 1861 - 9 April 1865. It was later extended to 20 August, 1866.
In between Palmetto Ranch and Proclamation, there were a lot of things going on.
If you count stabilization operations and political unrest, you will probably always be able to drag a war out for another decade.
Some may think the 'actual dates' don't matter - but that demeans those who fought just as hard or died after some proclamation or date on a calender. In the more modern era, tell that to someone who was wounded outside of the 'war dates' and is trying to get VA assistance, retroactive awards, etc.
To best honor those who fought for what they believe in, i don't consider a war over until that last man comes home. Every man who served, was wounded, or killed after Appomattox counts the same as those prior.
Do you guys consider us as no longer at war in Iraq & Afghanistan?
We know what Capitol Hill has said about it, but keep in mind that SSG Matt McClintock of the 19th Special Forces Group was just killed in action near Marjah, Afghanistan on January 5th.
That war has been 'over' since December 2014.
It's over?
From a military point of view, I'll take August 2, 1865, when CSS Shenandoah received confirmation from the British bark Barracouta that the war was over; she struck her battery below and ceased offensive operations. Although it was in large part due to the slow speed of communications, it was a long-standing principle that wars ended when the news of the end reached the fighting units (the classic example being the Battle of New Orleans in 1815), and up to that moment, the Shenandoah was still an active fighting unit operating under orders.