When did the War end?

[R. Alex Raines]

Some players argued that since Mallory resigned on May 2, 1865, he should not be considered to have served for the "entire war."

My question is - has there ever been universal agreement on one single specific date that can be considered to mark the end of the Civil War?

Should it be April 9, 1865, the day on which Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia?

Should it be April 26, 1865, the day on which Joseph Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee and all remaining Confederate forces still active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida?

Should it be the day on which Jefferson Davis was captured? (But there seems to be disagreement on exactly what day that event took place - some say he was captured on May 10, 1865, others say it didn't happen until May 11.)

Should it be May 13, 1865, the day on which the Battle of Palmito Ranch, considered to be the last battle of the Civil War, came to its conclusion?

Should it be May 19, 1865, the day on which the unfortunate Cpl. John Skinner became the last man to be killed in a Civil War skirmish (see various posts in the 6-22-15 trivia game thread)?

Should it be June 23, 1865, the day on which Stand Watie became the last Confederate general in the field to surrender?

Should it be November 6, 1865, the day on which the CSS Shenandoah lowered her Confederate flag for the last time?

If anybody wants to debate this issue, please start a thread on the Civil War History forum.

The above was recently raised by @hoosier in the trivia forum. I think this topic would be good for discussion and is likely to be a low-conflict discussion.

Personally, my vote is for May 13, 1865, but my biases are obvious. What do ya'll think? Also, are there other possible answers?

 

[AndyHall]

June 2, 1865, with the surrender of the last major Confederate command, the Trans-Mississippi Department, by Edmund Kirby Smith. My biases are obvious, too.

 

[R. Alex Raines]

June 2, 1865, with the surrender of the last major Confederate command, the Trans-Mississippi Department, by Edmund Kirby Smith. My biases are obvious, too.

This is an awesome post, Andy. Oddly, the great God of Trivia left this out as a possible option.

All biases aside, I think using the last death or the last surrendered ship/command doesn't work. Because, using the last death as a metric, WWI hasn't ended and using the last surrendered command as a metric, wouldn't WWII have ended sometime in the 60s when that last Japanese fellow on that one island surrendered? And didn't some commands just melt away and never surrender in the War?

Another possibility would be - Whatever the date was when the last southern state's acting government disbanded or whatever they chose to do to acknowledge defeat.

 

[AndyHall]

The important takeaway, that many don't realize, is that there is no precise answer -- it just sort of trailed off into collapse, occupation and Reconstruction.

 

[MajGenl.Meade]

OK but if either May 13 or June 2 are true, then no member of the Confederate cabinet served through the entire war. I think the key is less the date that the war ended and rather more to do with when did the Cabinet end?

It seems agreeable that the war did not end with the surrender of either Lee or Johnston. So whether the war itself ended May 13 / June 2 / or some other date later, the Cabinet still came to an end on May 1o or 11. So only three Cabinet members on that date can be said to have served in the Confederate Cabinet for the entire period it existed during the war. Stephen Mallory resigned on May 4 (letter dated May 2) and as far as Jefferson Davis was concerned, Mallory quit the Cabinet before the Cabinet was dissolved and before the war (in Davis' mind for sure) was over.

Myself I believe Andrew Johnson - he declared the war was over as of August 2, 1866 (official act August 20 1866)

... that the insurrection which heretofore existed in the State of Texas is at an end and is to be henceforth so regarded in that State as in the other States before named in which the said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end by the aforesaid proclamation of the 2d day of April, 1866

 

[R. Alex Raines]

As an aside, how does anyone ever think Stephens met the definition of loyal?

 

[NedBaldwin]

We have had this thread before, but I am too lazy to look it up.

Since my personal biases are hyper-Unionism and obsessive legalism, I vote for Johnson's Proclamation as the end date.

 

[R. Alex Raines]

We have had this thread before, but I am too lazy to look it up.

Since my personal biases are hyper-Unionism and obsessive legalism, I vote for Johnson's Proclamation as the end date.

Bah. I too am lazy. Moreover, Lord of Trivia said to start a thread, not to resurrect one. As I somehow dream of winning trivia one month, I live to obey all as written! How does hyper-Unionism jive with supporting Johnson in any way? I'm actually curious, not being snarky. Does it feel dirty?

 

[ForeverFree]

What do you say was the end of the Civil War? (poll)

 

[NedBaldwin]

How does hyper-Unionism jive with supporting Johnson in any way? I'm actually curious, not being snarky. Does it feel dirty?

It jives perfectly. In 1861 when his fellow southern Senators were abandoning the country, he stayed true and gave empassioned Unionism speeches.