An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate GovernmentIn February 1865, the end was clearly in sight for the Confederate government. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg had dashed the hopes of the Confederate army, and Grant's victory at Vicksburg had cut the South in two. An Honorable Defeat is the story of the four months that saw the surrender of the South and the assassination of Lincoln by Southern partisans. It is also the story of two men, antagonists yet political partners, who struggled during this time to achieve their own differing visions for the South: Jefferson Davis, the autocratic president of the Confederate States, who vowed never to surrender whatever the cost; and the practical and warm General John C. Breckinridge, Secretary of War, who hoped pragmatism would save the shattered remnants of the land he loved so dearly. Pulitzer Prize nominee William C. Davis traces the astounding flight of these men, and the entire Confederate cabinet, as they flee south from Richmond by train, then by mule, then on foot. Using original research, he narrates, with dramatic style and clear historical accuracy, the futile quarrels of Davis and Breckinridge as they try to evade bands of Northern pursuers and describes their eventual--and separate--captures. The result is a rich canvas of a time of despair and defeat that is exciting and highly readable, a charged tale full of physical adventure and political battle that sweeps from the marble halls of Richmond to a dingy room in a Havana hotel. |
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AN HONORABLE DEFEAT: The Last Days of the Confederate Government
User Review - Jane Doe - KirkusA skillfully rendered account of the closing hours of the Civil War.Long before Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox, writes historian Davis (The Union That Shaped the Confederacy, p. 229 ... Read full review
An honorable defeat: the last days of the Confederate government
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictDavis's work opens during the last four months of the Civil War, which saw Lee's retreat from Petersburg, his stinging defeat at Sayler's Creek, his surrender at Appomattox, the fall of Richmond, and ... Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
Abbeville April April 12 Beauregard Benjamin boat Breck Breckin Breckinridge brigade cabinet cal Collection Campbell capture cavalry Clark Colonel command Confederacy Confederate Armies Confederate Government Constitutionalist Danville Davis's Department Diary Dibrell Duke Dunbar Rowland enemy escape escort Fairfax Harrison Fall of Richmond Federal Ferguson fight Florida gave George Davis Greensboro Harrisons of Skimino Histori hope horses inridge Irwinville Jefferson Davis John Taylor Wood Kentuckian knew leave Lee's Library of Congress Lincoln Mallory Papers Mallory Recollections meeting Micajah miles military morning night North Carolina Official Records Parker paroled party president president's Reagan remaining ride road Robert Toombs rode secretary sent Sherman simply soldiers soon South Southern Historical Collection Stephen surrender Sutherlin told took town train Treasury Trenholm troopers Tulane University Union and Confederate Vance Varina Davis Virginia W. H. Swallow wagon train wagons Walthall Washington William Preston Johnston Yankees
Bibliographic information
| Title | An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government |
| Author | William C. Davis |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Harcourt, 2001 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | Sep 18, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0151005648, 9780151005642 |
| Length | 496 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877) |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |