Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army After Appomattox

In this latest work, Janney (history, Univ. of Virginia; Remembering the Civil War) examines the military and legal ambiguities faced by the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. Grant paroled Lee’s army, guaranteeing that rebel soldiers would not be interfered with by federal authorities, so long as they held to the conditions of their parole (to obey local laws and not pick up arms until properly exchanged). Two factors complicated the application of these terms, Janney argues: first, it was unclear what soldiers were covered by the surrender terms; second, Grant, as general, was only authorized to handle military matters, not civil matters. Further complicating the situation, Janney writes, was that Grant’s subordinates applied Grant’s orders in different ways in their various departments, and that local and state governments passed their own ordinances regarding rebel soldiers. Janney expertly explains the complications of these ambiguous terms and their inconsistent application. The author also makes an excellent case that Grant should have specified terms more clearly, although she also acknowledges that he had to act quickly as circumstances on the ground shifted from day to day.