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    General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs
    General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs
    General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs
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    General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs

    By Edward Porter Alexander

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    About this ebook

    In the narrative of the Civil War, Edward Porter Alexander has loomed larger in death than in life. Just 25 years old when the war broke out, Porter Alexander had already served as an engineer and officer in the U.S. Army, but the native Georgian resigned his commission in May 1861 and joined the Confederacy after his home state seceded. 


    Porter Alexander would continue to serve under Longstreet's corps for most of the rest of the war, and he famously suggested to Lee at Appomattox that the Confederate army should disband and melt away instead of surrender. Porter Alexander would later regret the suggestion, and Lee scolded him for it anyway. 


    Though he had served with distinction during the Civil War, it was Porter Alexander's memoirs that have kept his name alive today. While many prominent officers on both sides wrote memoirs, Porter Alexander's were among the most insightful and often considered by historians as the most evenhanded. With a sense of humor and a good narrative, Porter Alexander skillfully narrated the war, his service, and what he considered the successes and faults of others, including Lee, when he thought they had made good decisions or mistakes. As a result, historians continue to rely heavily on his memoirs as a source for Civil War history. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKrill Press
    Release dateNov 28, 2015
    ISBN9781518318726
    General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs
    Author

    Edward Porter Alexander

    General Edward Porter Alexander (1835-1910) was Robert E. Lee’s artillery commander for most of the Civil War. After the Confederate surrender, he served as an executive at various railroad companies and became a respected author. He died in Savannah, Georgia.

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      Book preview

      General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign - Edward Porter Alexander

      GENERAL EDWARD PORTER ALEXANDER AND THE APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN: ACCOUNT OF THE SURRENDER FROM HIS MEMOIRS

      ..................

      Edward Porter Alexander

      FIREWORK PRESS

      Thank you for reading. In the event that you appreciate this book, please consider sharing the good word(s) by leaving a review, or connect with the author.

      This book is a work of nonfiction and is intended to be factually accurate.

      All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

      Copyright © 2015 by Edward Porter Alexander

      Interior design by Pronoun

      Distribution by Pronoun

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      Chapter 23: the Fall of 1864

      General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs

      By

      Edward Porter Alexander

      General Edward Porter Alexander and the Appomattox Campaign: Account of the Surrender from His Memoirs

      Published by Firework Press

      New York City, NY

      First published 1904

      Copyright © Firework Press, 2015

      All rights reserved

      Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      About Firework Press

      Firework Press prints and publishes the greatest books about American history ever written, including seminal works written by our nation’s most influential figures.

      INTRODUCTION

      ..................

      IN THE NARRATIVE OF THE Civil War, Edward Porter Alexander has loomed larger in death than in life. Just 25 years old when the war broke out, Porter Alexander had already served as an engineer and officer in the U.S. Army, but the native Georgian resigned his commission in May 1861 and joined the Confederacy after his home state seceded.

      Porter Alexander spent 1861 as an intelligence officer, and he served as part of a signal guard, but he soon became chief of ordnance for Joseph Johnston’s army near Richmond. Half a year later, Johnston would be injured during the Peninsula Campaign at the Battle of Seven Pines, after which he was replaced by Robert E. Lee. Over the course of 1862, Porter Alexander took on more roles in the Army of Northern Virginia’s artillery branch, particularly under Longstreet’s 1st Corps.

      Though he had served with distinction during the Civil War, it was Porter Alexander’s memoirs that have kept his name alive today. Though many prominent officers on both sides wrote memoirs, Porter Alexander’s were among the most insightful and often considered by historians as the most evenhanded. With a sense of humor and a good narrative, Porter Alexander skillfully narrates the war, his service, and he isn’t afraid to criticize officers, including Lee, when he thought they had made mistakes. As a result, historians continue to rely heavily on his memoirs as a source for Civil War history.

      This account of the Appomattox Campaign comes from Alexander’s memoirs, Military Memoirs of a Confederate: A Critical Narrative. In addition to discussing his participation during that campaign, Porter Alexander also discusses the battles and campaigns out west in the Fall of 1864, including Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.

      CHAPTER 23: THE FALL OF 1864

      ..................

      The situation in August.

      — HOOD APPOINTED TO SUCCEED Johnston. — evacuation of Atlanta. — capture of Mobile. — reflection of Lincoln. — battle of Franklin. — Sherman’s march. — Fort Fisher. — conference at Fortress Monroe. — Fort Stedman. — movements of Grant. — five Forks. — Fort Whitworth and Fort Gregg. — evacuation of Petersburg. — Appomattox. — correspondence between Lee and Grant. — conversations with Lee. — the meeting at Appomattox. — the surrender. — visit to Washington. — conversations with Mr. — Washburne. — return home. — record of the army of Northern Virginia.

      Gen. Humphreys writes of the situation in Aug., soon after the fiasco of the Mine, as follows: ¹—

      ‘Between this time and the month of March, 1865, several movements of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James were made to the right and to the left, which resulted in the extension of our line of intrenchments in both directions, and caused a corresponding extension of the Confederate intrenchments on our left, and their occupation in stronger force of their intrenchments on the north bank of the James. By this process their lines finally became so thinly manned, when the last movement to our left was made in March, 1865, as to be vulnerable at one or two points, where some of the obstructions in their front had been in a great measure destroyed by the exigencies of the winter.’

      In other words, attacks upon our lines were now abandoned for a succession of feints, first upon one flank and then upon the other, by which our lines were extended at both ends to the point of breaking. This point was reached in eight months at one or two places, where the Confederates had been tempted by the severity of the winter to burn the abattis in front of their breastworks. We will not attempt to follow either these efforts of the enemy, or Lee’s aggressive counter-movements, of which there was no lack, though all were attended with much hard fighting.

      Besides the heavy casualties of these

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