FROM THE 1865 DIARY OF JAMES ALLEN DAVIS, SPECIAL ARTIST CORRESPONDENT, HARPER’S WEEKLY: A JOURNAL OF CIVILIZATION.

April 17, 1865

Appomattox Court House, Virginia

The events of the past week seem almost too incredible to record.  I have been witness to more momentous events in one week than many men can describe in one lifetime.  On the 9^th inst., General Lee at last surrendered what was left of the Rebel Army of Northern Virginia.  It was a solemn and, dare I say, surreal moment, almost too transcendent to be believed – the august Confederate commander, clad in a magnificent gray dress uniform, a gilded sword at his side; General Grant arriving late, in field dress, yet noble in his bearing and gracious in his demeanor toward his vanquished foe.  Our men maintained a certain reverential silence during the formal surrender on the 12^th, saluting the conquered, tattered legions of the South with a “shoulder arms” as they filed past, gaunt and threadbare but still proud and defiant.  There was none of the customary celebration at the downfall of a determined adversary, all the more surprising, given the length of the contest.  Once the Rebel arms and colors were stacked and the formal presentation completed, the men of both armies fell into a fraternization uncommonly familiar and cordial, and it would have been incomprehensible to an outside observer that the two had, in fact, been such bitter antagonists. 

All was not peace and harmony, to be sure, as I overheard more than one veteran, clad in blue and in gray, muttering recalcitrant oaths which betrayed a rancor undiminished by the cessation of hostilities.  The work of rebuilding our bruised and shattered nation will not be an easy one, particularly in the wake of President Lincoln’s murder, which occurred at Ford’s Theatre in Washington two nights ago.  This intelligence was nearly impossible to bear, after the sacrifice of so much blood and treasure to accomplish his fondest dreams, viz., the restoration of the Union and freedom for the slave.  I was afraid for the welfare of the surrendered Rebels when the army telegraph office communicated the news, for the shock and rage of our troops had no parallel in the annals of modern war.  The fact that the foul deed was perpetrated by such a prominent figure of the stage made the act all the more insidious, as Booth’s familiar face had endeared him to the trust and confidence of many in the Federal City, and ensured his unlimited access to the surrounding theatres.  When I think of how Mr. Lincoln had seen his assassin on the stage less than a year prior, and had so vigorously complimented the wretched scoundrel on his performance, my blood runs cold!  What is our nation coming to, when an actor can murder the President of the United States? 

Booth and his accomplices remain at large, and Johnston has not yet surrendered to Sherman in North Carolina.  General Grant has ordered the army to remain in camp until the Rebels are completely paroled and disbanded, before returning to Washington.  The Rebellion is not yet entirely extinguished, as active Rebel units remain in the field in Texas, Alabama, and Indian Territory, as well as innumerable bands of guerrillas and bushwhackers scattered throughout the seceded states, including the notorious Quantrill.  Federal forces are rapidly assuming the role of constables on a grand scale,  policing the vast reaches of the South which have descended into lawlessness and desolation as the result of the War. 

Then there is the all-encompassing “Negro Question,” still unresolved in the wake of a Confederate defeat.  The scores of noble black legions who have served ably in the Union armies will expect rewards commensurate with their service, and President Lincoln had endorsed the notion of full citizenship for them, but extreme prejudice against the colored man remains strident in the North, not to mention the ages-old enmity toward him in the South, where the conquered yet defiant Secessionist population would rather be dead than place their Negro neighbors on equal footing.  Volatile feeling remains strong in the land, and a harmonious resolution of all those myriad of issues raised by this national trauma seems far off indeed. 

I have been instructed by Campbell via army telegraph to remain with the army until further notice, which I would assume entails following the army to Washington after complete cessation of hostilities.  I should very much like to return to Cincinnati to see Cliff, Emma, and father, but I fear I shall be recalled to New York when the War is over.  I will go where duty calls, and follow my countrymen to the final consummation of our late, dear President’s dream of a reunited, renewed nation.  Fiat Pax!  JAD

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