John Dooley, 1st Virginia Infantry, is released after spending 20 months as a POW. Now he struggles to make his way home and to accept the Confederacy being defeated and dissolved. Along the way he encounters all kinds of colorful characters, including Jefferson Davis. (After the war, Dooley studies to become a priest. Months before being ordained he dies of illness in 1873.)
source
Never really thought about the days leading up to and following Lee’s surrender-I bet it was chaotic and scary for everyone in the south.
I'm truly grateful for the sacrifices made by these southern heros fighting for their families and homeland from the Lincolnites invasion and aggressive disregard of the state rights of the South. I'm especially thankful for my gg grandfather, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his family and state, Alabama, in 1862. "Lay Down Your Arms. Close Ranks. Rest in Eternal Peace."
excellent
Thank you,never considered what is was like just after the surrender.My GG Grandpa lost his leg at the Wilderness and walked on one leg and crutches to Americus Ga.
Interesting parallels to todays politics.
weird, some people prefer remembering pain and misery as a badge of honour.
READ UVA professor Dr. Caroline Janney's book, ENDS OF WAR. It's an excellent account of this time period and has NUMEROUS stories similar to this in her book. It is sooo well researched and written.
My 3rd great grandfather limped home from Gettysburg to Smithfield VA. with a mini ball in his leg.
I am usually sympathetic to these diarists, after all they endured. But this guy is a stereotype and a moron. Still it is an amazing story, meeting up with the fleeing Davis.
My g-grandfather was hit in the neck at the right shoulder by a minnie ball ranging downward at the Bloody Angle of Spottsylvania. The ball was removed and they gave him a mule and told him to go home to Louisiana to recuperate. Lee surrendered before he could return to the ranks.
they should have surrendered after Gettysburg. The whole war was never in doubt. They never had a chance.
Great stuff. These accounts are often soul baring accounts of the ways the horrors of war often impact both soldiers and civilians. And it does not matter whether the accounts are two hundred years, or two thousand, the stories are consistent, detailing the same difficulties no matter the date. The only variable is civil wars. They have unique circumstances and consequences that last for centuries. Ask me how I know.
2025.
Here we go again.
More valuable lessons of history.
I'm impressed with the intellect of this man, his command of the english language. He was far more eloquent in his prose and ability to communicate himself in contrast to the average modern person. He speaks of his fellow Virginian soldiers with poetic beauty in the support of their cause. In contrast, refers to the Federals as yankee hirelings. All in the eye of beholder Mr. Dooley.
Thanks
When I was eight years old I spent several months in hospital and in the ward was a copy of Henry Steele Commager's The Blue and the Gray which I read through from cover to cover. Yes it was in the children's ward library cupboard!! Many American's on both sides were very literate.
This soldier has a fluid position on slavery and whether he and the confederate states were part of the US or not.
My g-grandfather was exchanged back into Confederate service in March 1865 after nealy two years as a POW. The last service record we have for him was in a Richmond hospital. Not sure how he got back home to Arkansas.