As he did so successfully in Witness to Gettysburg (1987), Wheeler links together the words of participants and eyewitnesses in a moving chronological narrative, this time covering the final three months of the Civil War. The accounts of fighting at Five Forks, the breakthrough at Petersburg, the evacuation of Richmond and the final skirmish at Sayler's Creek all point with solemn inexorability to the haunting surrender ceremony at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. Wheeler does not confine hismelf to military operations, but provides a rich continuum of anecdotes conveying the growing sense of victory or defeat on the part of soldiers and civilians, along with homely details of daily life as the war winds down: a Confederate officer arguing with a woman who insists that her husband should desert the Stonewall Brigade; General Grant, trying to open negotiations with General Lee while at the same time trying to rid himself of a sick-headache; President Lincoln, walking the streets of the captured Confederate capital, delivers ``a mortal blow to caste,'' by returning the bow of an elderly black man. Illustrations. (Apr.)
Noted Civil War historian Richard Wheeler brings this narrative to life with haunting images of the final days of the Civil War: President Lincoln walking through the streets of Richmond, drawing an admiring crowd of blacks; Confederate and Union troops gathering in the fields around Appomattox Court House, mingling with former foes, experiencing disbelief, bitterness, relief.
Drawing from numerous eyewitness descriptions, Wheeler effectively recreates a moment of the Civil War that is perhaps unequalled in sheer emotion. This account is as much a tribute to Confederate courage as it is a record of the final triumph of the Union cause.
Noted Civil War historian Richard Wheeler brings this narrative to life with haunting images of the final days of the Civil War: President Lincoln walking through the streets of Richmond, drawing an admiring crowd of blacks; Confederate and Union troops gathering in the fields around Appomattox Court House, mingling with former foes, experiencing disbelief, bitterness, relief.
Drawing from numerous eyewitness descriptions, Wheeler effectively recreates a moment of the Civil War that is perhaps unequalled in sheer emotion. This account is as much a tribute to Confederate courage as it is a record of the final triumph of the Union cause.
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Witness to Appomattox
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Witness to Appomattox
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169574142 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 11/07/2011 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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