The Dispute over Slavery, Secession, and the Civil War 153of surrender. Lee’s troops were paroled so they could return home, and
his offi cers were permitted to keep their sidearms. In addition, all the
rebels were allowed to retain their own horses and mules. All other
equipment was surrendered to Union forces. Grant did not ask for or
receive Lee’s sword in surrender.
After four harrowing years of murderous combat the war had ended.
The South was totally defeated in a lost cause. The numbers of dead on
both sides were staggering. The Union suffered 359 , 528 dead and 275 , 175
wounded; the Confederates lost approximately 258 , 000 dead and
100 , 000 wounded.
In the North people shouted their gratitude when they heard the
news of Lee’s surrender. Washington was “delirious with gladness”
when General Grant and his troops came marching through the town.
April 13 was “a day of general rejoicing.... The stars and stripes waved
over the public and many of the private buildings.... As night came
on... bonfires blazed in the streets, and fireworks lit up the sky. In the
forts and camps around the city blazed huge bonfires, while the heavy
siege guns thundered their joyful approval of peace.” It was the same in
many other cities. The horrible war had ended.
Then tragedy struck. Lincoln had visited Richmond, and only upon
his return to Washington did he learn of Lee’s surrender. Once more,
at a cabinet meeting, he reiterated the need for conciliation and a swift
return to a re united country. In his last public address on April 11 , he
spoke from the balcony of the White House to a crowd celebrating the
Union victory. “We meet this eve ning, not in sorrow, but in gladness of
heart. The evacuations of Petersburg and Richmond, and the surrender
of the principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy
peace.... Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to restore the
proper practical relations between these [seceded] states and the
Union.”
On April 14 Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin
in Ford’s Theater, where John Wilkes Booth, a distinguished if crazed
actor, entered the President’s box shortly after ten PM and shot Lin-
coln at point-blank range. The dying man was carried across the street
to a lodging house where he succumbed at seven-thirty the following
morning. He had saved the Union, only to die before completing the
task of reconstruction.