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After Appomattox: What Became of “Billy Yank” and “Johnny Reb”?

© Melanie Storie

The Civil War is a very popular subject among Americans. In fact it could almost be called an obsession. Walk into any bookstore and more than likely you will find an entire section devoted to those four bloody years in our history. Not only are there books dealing with the military aspects but also with everything from the types of food soldiers consumed to the role of sex in the war. Most Americans have at least heard of Gettysburg, "Pickett's Charge," Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman, and Ulysses S. Grant. Indeed the war is a personal war for us; it is an American tragedy that claimed the lives of over 600,000. But have you ever wondered what happened to those men who survived and returned home after the war? Did they fade into the background only to be dragged out each year for the Civil War veterans' reunions and parades? Did they relive all those victorious moments or sink into despair in the memory of lost opportunities?

Most of us know that Abraham Lincoln suffered an untimely death at the hands of assassin John Wilkes Booth. However what fate did Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, face? Davis, was captured on May 10, 1865, by Union cavalrymen in Georgia. He was charged with treason and imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia. He served two years behind bars but was never tried for treason. Nor could he ever bring himself to ask for a pardon. He was finally released on bond and spent his last years living with his family and working on his memoirs at his at Beauvoir estate in Mississippi. He died in New Orleans in 1889 at the age of 81, still persuaded of his political convictions.

Post-war life for the supreme commanders of the Union and Confederate armies was very different. U.S. Grant was able to ride his military triumph right into the White House and served two terms as President of the United States. He pledged to restore peace, honesty, and civil rights, but corruption tainted his administration. Grant left office in 1877, took a trip around the world, and then settled in Manhattan. He lent his name to a Wall Street brokerage firm; however another partner stole millions from the shareholders in 1884, leaving Grant almost bankrupt. For the remainder of his life he worked on his memoirs before succumbing to throat cancer in 1885. For Robert E. Lee post-war life was relatively quite. After the surrender, Lee returned to Richmond as a paroled prisoner of war. He had served almost thirty-six years as a professional soldier, but now his future was uncertain. Additionally his Arlington home had been seized by the federal government and turned into a military cemetery. In August 1865, the tiny Washington College in Lexington, Virginia offered Lee a position as President. Lee accepted and during his five years as President the small college grew in size and stability. Nevertheless, Congress refused to pardon him or to restore his citizenship, but he did not complain. He died peacefully in Lexington after suffering a heart attack in 1870.

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