tv The Civil War CSPAN April 25, 2015 10:00pm-10:56pm EDT
10:00 pm
turn south and turn back the clock. we are going to go back to december of 1864. and we are going to follow this man, general william sherman and his progress in what he believes and hopes will be his final campaign of the war. sherman and grant are pursuing the grand strategy they formulated in march of 1864 in cincinnati ohio. 1864 in cincinnati, ohio. the idea was to keep the armies in the east and in the west -- the confederate armies, so busy they could not reinforce each other. and not have a repeat fiasco of the battle of chickamauga in 1860 three. this strategy is working slowly, but inexorably well grants -- while grant keeps lee's army bottled up, sherman
10:01 pm
captures atlanta. thomas crushes the army of tennessee, the confederacy's second-largest field army, and one week later, general sherman completes his march from atlanta to the sea by presenting the city of savannah georgia to president abraham lincoln as a christmas gift. now, sherman is looking ahead to his next campaign. he is going to make a march through the carolinas, moving his army group northward to richmond, virginia. there he will join forces with general grant, and together, they will crush lee's army and bring the war to a victorious conclusion. sherman plans to launch his campaign and january of 1865. but torrential winter rain prevents that from happening. he is forced to delay his
10:02 pm
campaign to the following month. in the meantime, general grant decides to launch a second expedition to capture fort fisher, and close wilmington north carolina, the last blockade running seaport the confederacy and in effect close the lifeline of the confederacy as it is called. the first expedition went badly. gender -- general benjamin f butler launch that x with rear admiral david d porter. but without even attempting an attack on the fort, butler decided to abandon the campaign and return to virginia. grant probably stacked at and replaced him with brigadier general alfred h 28. and in effect, he gets a better general, and he gets a much easier man to live with. both butler and porter are prima
10:03 pm
donnas. they don't get along well at all. in fact, that bad blood goes back to 1862, but with terry at the helm of the army components, that will be a problem. the two men soon find that work well together. terry will also have a large force at his disposal, close to 10,000 infantry, including a division of black troops. well porter will lead in our model of 58 warships. -- an armada of 58 warships. now, commanding the coastal defenses below wilmington, none other than general braxton bragg. by this late stage in the war there is probably only one person in the south who still believes in bragg. but he happens to be the commander-in-chief, jefferson davis. davis appointed senior military
10:04 pm
advisor is the commander of the defenses around wilmington. in effect, superseding the previous commander, major general william henry chase waiting period -- chase whiting. colonel william lamb is also the four chief architect. lamb is a quick learner he is learning military engineering on the fly in 1852 when the federal's attack and reduce for polaski from atlanta georgia, and reduce that fort to rubble. he decides to build his fort out of sand. also, it's nice the fact that there is plenty of building material there on the beach. by the fall of 1864, fort fisher is the most imposing seacoast fortifications.
10:05 pm
it boasts 47 guns. that may seem like a lot. but the union fleet out guns the fisher defenses on the order of almost 10 to one. in fact, the largest union warship, the colorado, both 55 guns alone. now, the federal seat appears at fort fisher on the afternoon of april 12 and proceed to bombard the fort over two and a half days, they fire more than 19,000 rounds. and knock out all but two guns on the northern land face. in the meantime, general bragg and wilmington has refused to send reinforcements south for the notable attack. -- the inevitable attack. when whiting gets to fort fisher, he says lamb, my boy i've come to share your fate.
10:06 pm
we are to be sacrificed. after that massive bombardment the federal's launched their assault. attacking the northeast bastion marines and sailors armed with cutlasses and pistols, attacking a position defended by artillery. they are easily repulsed however, they give the army in opportunity to gain a foothold inside the fort off to and after desperate hand-to-hand fighting that lasted well into the night, of which both writing and lamb are severely wounded. and now lee's lifeline is cut. but the city of wilmington itself remains in confederate hands, and it will require another campaign to capture it.
10:07 pm
now general sherman decides to begin his campaign on february 1, 1865. he moves his 60,000 man army group into south carolina. the left wing is commanded by henry slocum. the right wing is commanded by the one armed major general oliver o howard, who commands the 15th and 17th court -- core rps. the cavalry division under general kilpatrick, 60,000 men in all. opposing this force our confederates -- general pgt beauregard. beauregard very obligingly calls for something that sherman does regularly, and that is to faint on given locations off to the east or off to the west to keep
10:08 pm
the confederates guessing as to what his objective is. in this case, in entering south carolina and sherman thanks to the northwest towards augusta with his cavalry. charleston is the cradle of secession. wanted for its symbolic value while the city of augusta is also a desirable target. in effect, beauregard opens the road to colombia, the state capital, for sherman. with minimal interference, sherman reaches columbia on february 17, 1865. by this point it is clear to the confederacy's new general in chief, that beauregard is not up to the task of stopping sherman. on february 22, he directs general joseph johnson, who has
10:09 pm
been living in virtual retirement since his removal from the army of tennessee in july of 1864 -- he appoints johnson to command those troops. he says, concentrate all available forces and drive back sherman. at this point, johnson is saying, with what? in the words of the cavalry chief, wade hampton, it would scarcely have been possible to disperse the force more effectually. they are the remnants of the army of tennessee. there is lieutenant general william j. hardy's core. the garrison that defended charleston, they are retreating to sherman's right. third, once the federal's cross into north carolina, the department in north carolina troops under braxton bragg. and finally, the one force that had been opposing sherman's advance, the cavalry under general hampton. hampton arrives from the army of
10:10 pm
northern virginia. he arrives in south carolina his home state just-in-time to see his family home, millwood, burned to the ground, along with a lot of other buildings in columbia, south carolina. no pun intended, hampton is burning for revenge. the opportunity is presented to him a few days after the two armies cross into north carolina. hampton and kilpatrick have been skirmishing almost constantly during their progress. kilpatrick managed to steal a march around hampton's force, and he's gotten between the confederate cavalry and infantry under hardy. kilpatrick sets up a series of roadblocks to prevent hampton from reaching the town of fayetteville and joining forces with party. -- hardy. he presents hampton with an
10:11 pm
ideal opportunity to concentrate on an isolated part of the cavalry at munro's crossroads. it just so happens that kilpatrick's headquarters are located there. it is at dawn on march 10 1865 that hampton launches a surprise attack on kilpatrick's camp, succeeds in sweeping everything before him, writhing the federal's into a swamp. that attack is so successful that the confederates are disorganized, giving the federal's an opportunity to counterattack and drive the confederates out of their camp. kilpatrick manages to avoid being captured. the confederates are now free to march into fayetteville. however, union infantry are endlessly delighted by this embarrassing encounter that kilpatrick has with hampton at munro's crossroad. they nickname this battle kilpatrick shirttail skedaddle.
10:12 pm
sherman reaches fayetteville on the following day, march 11. promptly orders the first michigan engineers and mechanics to burn the former u.s. arsenal there. he will rest his army there until march the 15th, when he will begin the final stage of his progress to his destination. in the meantime, on fairbury 22nd 1865, department of north carolina troops commanded by major general john m. schofield capture wilmington. schofield has been transferred east from nashville, tennessee with the 23rd army corps. they are joining terry's forces. now there is going to be a new objective. sherman is going to be headed towards goldsboro. i will be his first destination where he will refit his army before beginning -- continuing the march into virginia. it's up to the 23rd corps commanded by general jacob d.
10:13 pm
potts to secure goldsboro for sherman. guess who's in his way? general bragg's troops consisting of general robert f. hoax division from the army of northern virginia, and the remnants of the army of tennessee troops, who average north carolina at this point. say what you will about bragg at least he ate timid. -- ain't timid. he launches an attack on forces a few miles east of kinston on march 8 and succeeds in routing a portion of cox's forces, capturing 800 federals and one canon. things look pretty good for the confederates on the first day but then the second day cox brings up reinforcement. the federals dig in. bragg attempts an attack on the tense, but he's repulsed. receiving words that cox is receiving still more
10:14 pm
reinforcements, bragg decides to fall back towards goldsboro ending the battle of lysis forks. in the meantime, sherman plots the course of his army group from fayetteville. goldsboro is his objective, but he wants to keep johnston guessing as to what his objective is. he's going to send the left wing under slocum northward on the old raleigh stage road, as if he's heading towards the north carolina state capital. they will be marching in light marching order, all the unnecessary wagons will be with the right wing under howard. they will be taking direct roads to goldsboro. the idea is to keep johnston up in the air as to where sherman is heading. johnston has a plan of his own. he has told general hardy to make a stand somewhere south of a verse broke to buy time for the concentration of the federal
10:15 pm
-- confedereateate army. it's there that a brigade commander by the name of colonel offered am. -- the colonel accompanied by nothing more than one staff officer -- he is probably captured, taken prisoner of war by kilpatrick's chief of staff. this turns out to be something of a reunion, because it seems the general sherman and several of his subordinates were stationed in charleston before the war. they spend the evening together and have dinner. and then the following morning, sherman's army moves out. sherman has accompanied slocum's wing. they find hardy drawn up in the defense mac apps. for you students of the revolutionary war, this looks
10:16 pm
like the gelber courthouse. sherman is able to drive back the first two lines, but he gets to the third and main line around dusk. he decides to launch a general assault the following morning. however, after dark, hard he falls back towards smithfield. that is were johnson has made his headquarters. he informs johnston that he believes that sherman's destination is goldsboro. now most of the left wing is turning to the right, heading east on the goldsboro road. johnson has made his headquarters at smithfield because it's roughly midway between raleigh and goldsboro. hardy managed to accomplish what he was supposed to do, which was slow sherman's progress. i now johnston has to make a decision.
10:17 pm
where and if he should attack sherman's army. he sends a dispatch to general hampton. hampton has made his headquarters on the evening of march 17 at the willis: plantation -- willis cole plantation on the goldsboro road. hampton -- johnson asks hampton for his assessment. hampton says i found a perfect place to launch a surprise attack on the union left wing. and he recommends that johnson sent his army marching for bentonville. at dawn on march 18, johnston does just that. up to this time, general sherman has expected johnston to try to oppose his entry into goldsboro. but faulty intelligence and poor maps lead him to believe that johnston is falling back towards raleigh, confederates are burning all the bridges that
10:18 pm
will separate them from the union army, and that the road to goldsboro is open. if there's anything in the union army that is dangerous right now, it's overconfidence. in the words of lieutenant john marshall brain them, one of the soldiers in the left-wing. he said, on the morning of march 19 he writes in his diary, we feel in excellent spirits. everything promises for a smooth entry into goldsboro. that will prove to be his last entry. he will be lying dead on the field of battle in just a few hours. sherman prepares to join the right wing under howard. he has a brief conversation with slocum and several other generals including 14th corps commander brigadier general jefferson c. davis. isn't that a great name for a yankee general? precious perfect. davis tells sherman he thinks he's going to run into more than
10:19 pm
the usual confederate cavalry opposition. sherman says, no, there's nothing out there. just a small division of confederate cavalry. he says, brush them out of the way. i will see you at cox's bridge tomorrow. well slocum's wing will not reach cox's bridge for four days. leading the way on the morning of march 19, william p. carlin's division, moving out. then all of a sudden they hit the cole plantation. all hell breaks loose. carlin has run into hokes' infantry. one of the bird rates, north carolina junior reserves consisting almost entirely of teenage boys, are blocking the way. you can see them just yet. off to their left, army of
10:20 pm
tennessee is also going into position. there are fewer than 4000 veterans from the army of tennessee at bentonville. just a shadow of the 70,000 man army that johnston led in the spring of 1864. but the attack plan is developing. slocum is getting impatient. he can't understand why his veteran infantry is allowing his cavalry to stop them. he orders a probing attack to find out what is out there. carlin's division sustains a bloody repulse and they are sent back. and now slocum decides he will send his other division of the 14th corps up to the front, and the 20th corps. then he receives startling intelligence. a union pow who has made his escape during that federal repulse reports to slocum that johnston has arrived with his entire army. -- army at bentonville.
10:21 pm
he has told his men they're going to defeat slocum at bentonville. they're going to fall on the right wing to the south and destroy them in turn. if that's not enough convincing, slocum also hears from a 14th corps staff officer who has been up at the front. that officer says, general, i find more than [indiscernible] cavalry. i find infantry dug in all along our front, and enough of them to give us the amusement we shall want for the rest of the day. now slocum realizes he's in for it. he lives his two a 14th corps divisions at the front to stop the impending assault. he takes the 20th corps and has them entrenched back at the reddick morris farm on more defensible ground about a mile to the rear. now all he can do is just wait. in the meantime he starts sending couriers to general sherman with increasingly urgent messages telling him of his
10:22 pm
peril and begging him for reinforcements. it's going to take them close to 24 hours to reach bentonville. in the meantime, slocum has to hold on. after johnston -- for johnson this has been frustrating. it is not until 2:45 on march 19 that he finally launches his attack. at first everything works perfectly. in the words of a confederate with the junior reserves when the army of tennessee moves out and they begin their assault he said it looked like a picture and was truly beautiful, but it was painful to see just how close the battle flags were together. regiments being scarcely larger than [inaudible] there were enough confederates to drive back carlin's division north of the road, and in turn, push the men of carlin's
10:23 pm
division south of the road back as well. we stood as long as man can stand. when i was no longer a possibility, we run like the deuce. if that did not get the point across, he also wrote, we showed to the reds as well as our own side some of the best running ever did. [laughter] everything looks good for joe johnson's confederates at this point. there's just one problem. south of the road, general bragg, he holds fast. we don't know why exactly. he never wrote a report. we know he did not launch his attack until over an hour after johnston's specified the attack. that gives the men of morgan's division the federal south of the road a precious hour and 15 minutes to dig in and prove
10:24 pm
their entrenchment's. it serves them well. in the course of the fighting side of the road, the turning point of the battle, morgan's men have to fight on both sides of their works because they are attacked from their front left flanks. after they are repulsed, troops of the army of tennessee managed to get in behind. but morgan's men hold on. in the meantime, the momentum is still strong north of the road. the men of culver's division and the army of tennessee. they continue on to the reddick morris farm. here two old adversaries face each other. they first met in 1862. they met for the second time
10:25 pm
just a few days before. now they're meeting again at bentonville. this we the confederate army's high water mark at bentonville. the tennessee veterans will launch at least four desperate assaults across morris's openview straight into the mouths of at least 16 union guns firing spherical case and canister. confederates are unable to break through the union line. at nightfall, johnston calls off all further attacks. slocum managed to hold on in the battle on march 19. ends on a draw. now it's up to the right wing. they come marching to slocum's assistance. they reach bentonville around midday. the first troops to get there are the 15th army corps under the command of major general john a dull logan, former congressman from illinois. probably the best political general in the union army.
10:26 pm
now johnston faces a real dilemma. he has been facing slocum to the west of to this point. now he's got a deal with the might of sherman's entire army. he has to bend back his left flank. in effect, he's going to create a bridge guarding his only route of retreat across a flooded millcreek. by early morning march 21, 1865, johnston will be outnumbered on the order of 3 to 1. the federals will have nearly 60,000 troops at bentonville. johnston will have 20,000 that most. sherman is wondering why johnston decided to stay at bentonville. this is not typical johnston behavior. johnston cites two reasons why he's going to her main at bentonville. one, he wants to evacuate his wounded.
10:27 pm
two, he wants to tap sherman into launching a desperate frontal assault. maybe he can take some heavy yankee casualties before he pulls out. three, he doesn't say this, but i think this is also in the back of his head. it appears to the confederates at bentonville that on the 19th it came this close to defeating slcoum's -- slocum's wing. to retreat at this point is to concede defeat. to bolster the morale of his men , who have not enjoyed success in a very long time, johnston decides to remain at bentonville. he feels it is worth the risk but it nearly results in the loss of his army. on the afternoon of march 21, 1865, sherman's most aggressive general goes into position on the extreme right of the union line. he is facing bentonville. he asks his commander, he says,
10:28 pm
i don't suppose you would have any objection to my making a little reconnaissance, to which blair replies, none whatsoever. there's a little bit of george patton in joe mauer. he sees this as a precursor. when he does for his little reconnaissance is he takes his two available brigades and decides to attack the confederate lines in bentonville. it just so happens that johnston's headquarters is right there. it takes mauer about an hour to get across the swamp, reach the confederate line. the only confederates he is facing -- poor excuse of a skirmish line. general johnston directs hardy to put together a counterattacking force to stop progress. it will take time for them to
10:29 pm
collect strength. and just before hardy can launches counterattack he punches a hole in the confederate line. their 16th shooter henrys, are able to get all the way to bentonville. they come within a few yards of cutting off johnston's only line of retreat. in the process, they send general johnston fleeing to the rear. but then hardy strikes. he succeeds in pushing back more. yes gotten cold feet, because he has decided to deploy closer to the main union line. he has left his skirmishers hanging in the breeze. among the attackers on the confederate side or general hardy's only son, 16-year-old willie hardy. and young willie is mortally wounded when he's charging.
10:30 pm
johnston succeeds in repulsing mauer's attckack. mauer is getting ready to launch another strike. but then the order comes from general sherman to stand fast. mauer is to hold his ground. johnston's army has survived to fight another day. however, unbeknownst to sherman and johnston, they fought their last battle. -- battle at bentonville. now johnston falls back to smithfield, having failed to defeat even slocum's wing. general sherman is more than happy to let johnston escaped his grasp so we can continue on to goldsboro. sherman's army reaches goldsboro on the 23rd. a few days later, sherman makes a trip to city point, virginia to meet with general grant. sherman does not say this in his
10:31 pm
memoirs. it does not turn out too well for him. he has two items on his agenda when he goes up to city point. it's not about peace terms. item number one, he wants grants to postpone his offensive so that sherman will have time to march his army into virginia to join in the grand assault against lee. grant was no part of that. yes decided he wants the army of the potomac and the army of the james to do this on their own. the second item on sherman's agenda, persuade phil sheridan to lead his cavalry into north carolina to assist in running down and bagging johnston. sheridan wants no part of that. he wants to be in on the effort to finish lee's army. he's going nowhere. so now sherman doesn't really have a whole lot left. but it turns out that president
10:32 pm
lincoln is that city point. sherman wasn't aware of that. on the 27th and 28 grant and sherman and admiral porter have sort of an informal conversation with lincoln. it soon becomes apparent to sherman the lincoln wants to offer a lenient piece to the confederates, be conciliatory. with malice towards none charity for all. this deeply impresses sherman. is going to carry back those thoughts with him to north carolina. in his memoirs, sherman has this to say about lincoln. of all the men i've ever met, he possessed more of the elements of greatness combined with goodness than any other. now, sherman is going to march northward from goldsboro toward richmond, but that changes on april the sixth because he received word that grant has
10:33 pm
broken through with petersburg and richmond. the confederates are fleeing towards the west. how sherman directs his army toward raleigh. joe johnston is that smithfield. while the federals are celebrating in their camps it's very quiet at the camps in smithfield. on april the 10th, true to his timetable, sherman begins what he believes will be his final offensive. he's right. he moves out on the 10th, heading towards raleigh. joe johnston falling back a day's march. it is on the 12th of april that sherman receives word from grant of lee's surrender. the men are jubilant. they're marching with light hearts. johnston has already received the news, an unofficial report that he has received from president jefferson davis, whose
10:34 pm
government has fled to danville, virginia. likewise, reporting the surrender of lees's army. now both commanders know the game is up. it's on the afternoon of the 12th that the governor of north carolina since a deputy nation down to sherman's headquarters. it is captured. it turns out the troops who captured the train bearing david l. swain and david a. graham are commanded by swain's future father-in-law. sherman tells [indiscernible] that he's not authorized to negotiate with civilian authorities, but he promises fans -- vance that if he chooses to remain in raleigh, he will let him remain as governor. sherman is already going out on a limb, promising more than he probably should.
10:35 pm
in any event, swain decides to fall back with johnston's army. yes received reports that both swain and graham's train was captured by the federals and they are prisoners. incorrect information, but it's probably just as well. sherman reaches raleigh on april the 13th. after reviewing his troops, he establishes his headquarters at the governor's palace. president davis has continued to fall back. he stops at greensboro where he summons general johnson to meet him. johnston goes to greenberg assuming that davis is soliciting his opinion. asking for a briefing on the military situation. one johnston gets to greensboro, he finds out davis actually has a plan to raise a new army by
10:36 pm
collecting all the men who deserted or evaded inscription. johnston realizes that plan. then davis announces that secretary of war records will arrive that evening with word on the fate of lee's army. breckenridge arrives. he reports yes, lee's army has indeed surrendered. then johnston said he needs an opportunity to tell the president the truth. breckenridge gives and that opportunity the following day on the 13th. johnston tells them there he bluntly that the confederate soldiers in his army have only the close on their backs, the weapons in their hands and that it would be the greatest of
10:37 pm
crimes to continue the war when his small army was outnumbered 10 to 1. davis refuses to believe the game is up. he decides to pull you in a bow regard -- the general into his cabinet. everyone size with johnston. there is nothing left for davis to do now. he dictates a letter to general sherman for the needful arrangements to terminate the existing war. davis does not have his heart in negotiations. he decides to continue falling back and will retreat as far as charlotte. it is up to general johnston to open negotiations with general sherman. calvary commanders exchange messages and it is agreed they
10:38 pm
will meet roughly midway between patrick's headquarters and hamptons headquarters. it is there on the morning of april 17, 1865 that sherman add johnston -- and johnston meet for the first time. they go inside the house of james and nancy bennett and they begin their negotiations. sherman has a fateful telegram when he enters that house. just before he left, he received word that president lincoln had been assassinated on april 14. the first person that sherman revealed this to is general johnston. johnston reads the telegram and beads of sweat formed on his
10:39 pm
forehead. he pronounced it the greatest possible calamity to the south. sherman thinks he has got johnston over a barrel. he then proposes that johnston surrender according to the appomattox terms. but, johnston quickly recovers and he says, the appomattox terms are entirely fair to an army that is surrounded. however, my army is concentrated around greensboro while yours is 75 miles to the east. i can pick up and leave whenever i want. then it johnston says, let's not negotiate or the surrender of just my army but all the confederate armies still on the field and make one job of it. that appeals to sherman's flair for the dramatic.
10:40 pm
he forgets about a strictly military surrender and now it will be a surrender based on political terms. he will be getting a do hot water at this point but -- into hot water at this point. he ignores it. the two men discussed terms and they come to one sticking point and that is offering amnesty to davis and his cabinet. sherman want. it -- won't hear of it. they are eager to get back to their headquarters. sherman wants to try to control his men who he is sure who will be burning with anger over lincoln's assassination. while johnston is eager to get back where hampton has made his headquarters, he immediately summons secretary of war breckenridge and john h reagan
10:41 pm
because he will need davis 'authorization. once the men arrived at the dixon house around midnight on april 18 they begin to discuss terms. then postmaster general reagan decides to write out the terms and as he is scribbling, don steyn announces it is time to return to the bennett plays for the second day of negotiations. reagan says he will send the terms forward. sherman and johnston reached the bennett place around noon. johnston probably tells sherman that he has official authorization for this all-encompassing surrender. he would like to bring breckenridge into the discussion. sherman says he doesn't know about that.
10:42 pm
johnston replies yes but breckenridge is also a major general in its confederate army. sherman says, ok. at that point reagan's basis of pacification arrives and johnston begins to lead it -- read it aloud and sherman looks disapproving and johnson points out the only thing we disagreed on is amnesty for davis and the. otherwise, -- and the cabinet. otherwise, we have a basis of agreement. sherman waves it off. he gets out and and paper and begins to write his memorandum for a basis of agreement. it troops to be twice as long. he ends up giving the confederates more than they asked for. the confederates get to keep
10:43 pm
their arms. they take them back to their respective state capitals to deposit them into their arsenals to maintain law and order. second, they get to keep their governments. even the state of west virginia is open to debate. third, the southerners personal, political, property rights will be respected. sherman knew all too well that property rights include rights to slaves but he said he thought it would be does respectful not -- to include that in the document if johnston and breckenridge and already conceded that slavery was dead. it would be like rubbing it in so he left it out. the lawyers in davis'cabinet will have a field day. sherman offers all confederates
10:44 pm
amnesty without exception. he was probably writing so quickly he hardly realized what he was doing. you can imagine just how quickly johnston wanted to sign that document before sherman can do his senses. sherman was euphoric. he believed this would end the war, reduce -- produce peace. but, when those terms reach washington a few days later grant relies is the growing concern -- realizes the growing concern. he schedules a special meeting with president andrew johnson. they unanimously reject the sherman agreement. keep in mind, lincoln's body is still lying in the capital at
10:45 pm
this point. as sherman finds out, there is not a lot of warm and fuzzy feeling up north about southerners. secretary of war conducts grant to go to north carolina to take over from sherman. grant and sherman being, grant will not subject is friend to that -- his friend to that deletion. he heads south and tells sherman that the deal is alice -- off. in accordance, a he has to give johnston 48 hours notice that hostility will resume unless johnston accepts appomattox terms. sherman decides that is just the way it has to be. he sent a message to johnston. sherman's message arrives at headquarters one hour after
10:46 pm
davis'telegram accepting the terms. now there is nothing left for the men to do. they have to meet again at the bennett house on april 26. now they have to hammer out an agreement based on the appomattox terms. initially, johnston says he does not -- it does not offer his men enough will stop the soldiers are flooding to north carolina robyn, pillaging. they don't have enough to live on. my men have to have more than these terms. sherman brings along his second in command schofield ifa clever fellow. he makes a proposal. he says, for the authorities in washington, we give them the appomattox terms.
10:47 pm
then, we draft a second agreement that we send a few days later, a supplemental agreement, giving general johnston what he wants. that includes 1 in 7 confederates get to keep their weapons. they also get to keep their wagons and horses. and, confederates will also get river and relatives petition wherever possible -- rail transportation wherever possible. sherman also offers a johnston a quarter million russians from his warehouses. johnston replies that his generosity reconciles empty what he considers the great misfortune of his life, that of having to face him in the field. sherman and johnston make their agreement. it results in the largest troop
10:48 pm
surrender of the war. almost 90,000 confederates. in the process, the two generals become good friends. according to sources, sometimes they would meet and a spread out the maps on the floor and start refighting their old battles and campaigns. it was in february of 8091 that your men died and johnston was invited to be an honorary pallbearer. johnston is 84 years old by this time. he removes his act. the person standing next to johnston says, put your hat back on. johnston replies, sherman was standing in my place, he would
10:49 pm
not put his hat back on his head. soon that cold johnston caught developed into pneumonia and johnston passed away on march 21, 1891 the 26th anniversary of bentonville. thank you. [applause] >> we do have time for a few questions. step up to the microphone and let mark know any questions you have. dr. bradley. you had a picture of fort fisher when you started.
10:50 pm
it has been a few years since i have been back. what is the status, the remaining slice? >> that is a good description of what remains. it is just a slice. the sea face has been reclaimed by the ocean and a portion of the land is still intact but there is another of the land space that you can get an idea of the scale of the fort. it is still impressive even in its current form. >> chris victim -- bingham. we heard about the maclean's and how they were affected. can you elaborate on what happened to the bennett family? >> i was reminded by ron wilson's inventory of all of the stolen items from the maclean house that the bennett's underwent a similar pilferage.
10:51 pm
it was so bad that james bennett applied for restitution from the governor of north carolina, william holden. not just once but twice to recover his stone artifacts. that included the table that the surrender documents were written and signed on. james then at and william maclean would have a lot to talk about if they ever got together. >> a question about the supplemental -- the schofield supplement to the surrender terms. how were they received in washington and were they successfully carried out? >> what i think happened is when they reached washington about a week later, they saw it as an accomplished fact. the most controversial provision would have been letting 1 in 7
10:52 pm
confederates keep their weapons. i think they felt that would not be too harmful. i would say that -- and i did not go into this because i did not have time -- there was a great deal of furor up north about the terms because secretary stanton had sent his reasons for his approving them to the newark times -- to the new york times where they become public knowledge. sherman was furious and he found out. amid all of that, the supplemental terms slipped through without much notice. we do know they were approved. >> time for another question if anyone has one. >> thank you.
10:53 pm
>> she was considered modern for her time, was called mrs. president i heard to tractors and was outspoken on slavery and women's rights. she provides a unique window into colonial america and her personal life. abigail adams. on c-span's original series -- first ladies: influence and image. from martha washington to michelle obama. sundays at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. and as a complement to the series, c-span's new book is available. first ladies, providing lively stories of these fascinating women, creating an illuminating, entertaining, and inspiring read. it is available through your
10:54 pm
favorite bookstore or online bookseller. >> up next on american history tv, architects working during what mark twain called the gilded age constructed enormous homes like the gregor's in rhode island that contained over 40 bedrooms. professor richard wilson talks about how architects defined the era. this event from the society of the cincinnati is about an hour. >> today, it serves as the headquarters for the sisson -- the cincinnati institute. before the society took ownership of the house in 1939 it was the winter residents of the andersons. they officially opened their home for entertaining when hundred 10 years ago -- 100
10:55 pm
tenures ago. their home was described as a florentine villa in the midst of american independence with an interior that will be a dream of beauty and good taste. tonight, dr. wilson will investigate the architecture of the anderson house and other extravagance mansions built between the civil war and world war i. he specializes in the architecture, design, and art of the 18th through 20th century both in america and abroad. he has served as an advisor for a number of programs including america's castles and 10 most infl
63 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CSPAN3 Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on