APRIL
22, 1865:
“I prefer peace to
war” --- General William Tecumseh Sherman
I
In
the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) Pro-Union “Free Riders” clash with
Confederate bushwhackers under the command of William Quantrill.
In
Kansas, bushwhackers fight jayhawkers at Fort Zarah.
In
western North Carolina, Stoneman’s Raid reaches Howard’s Gap after the burning
of Rutherfordtown on the 21st.
In
Alabama, the Union occupies Talladega.
Brigadier
General James Dearing C.S.A. and Colonel Francis Washburn U.S.A. both die of
the wounds they inflicted on each other at the Battle of High Bridge. They are
the last senior Commissioned Officers to die in the Civil War.
 |
| Dearing (top) and Washburn |
II
General
William Tecumseh Sherman, once Provost (President-in-fact) of what would become
Louisiana State University writes to an old friend, D.L. Swain, President of
the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill:
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY
DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, IN THE FIELD, RALEIGH, N. C., April 22, 1865.
Hon. D. L. Swain, Chapel
Hill, N. C.:
MY DEAR SIR:
Yours of April
nineteenth was laid before me yesterday, and I am pleased that you recognize in
General Atkins a fair representative of our army.
The moment war ceases,
and I think that time is at hand, all seizures of horses and private property
will cease on our part. And it may be that we will be able to spare some
animals for the use of the farmers of your neighborhood. There now exists a
species of truce, but we must stand prepared for action; but I believe that in
a very few days a definitive and general peace will be arranged, when I will
make orders that will be in accordance with the new state of affairs.
I do believe that I
fairly represent the feelings of my countrymen—that we prefer peace to war; but
if war is forced upon us, we must meet it; but if peace be possible, we will
accept it, and be the friends of the farmers and working classes of
North-Carolina, as well as actual patrons of churches, colleges, asylums, and
all institutions of learning and charity. Accept the assurances of my respect
and high esteem.
I am, truly yours, W. T.
SHERMAN,
Major-General
Commanding.
III
President
Lincoln’s funeral train leaves Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 9:00 A.M. and
arrives at Philadelphia at 4:50 P.M. The
President’s body is moved to Independence Hall, where he is laid out in the
same room where the Declaration of Independence was signed. A two day public
viewing commences. 300,000 mourners pass by the catafalque.
The
stop is not without incident. A specially-arranged “private viewing” for
Philadelphia’s civil leaders and Main Liners causes tremendous resentment among
the crowds of ordinary people. Given the vastness of the throngs, people begin
to fear that they will not get to see the President. Emotions run high, and
street fights erupt. The Philadelphia papers are critical of the City Fathers,
blaming them for the unrest, stating that Lincoln “the Champion of the People”
would not have given preference to the rich and powerful; most likely, they are
right. The lesson is learned. All subsequent “private viewings” are cancelled
for the remainder of the journey.
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