Sunset of the Confederacy

This outstanding account, written by a sympathetic Union officer and witness to the Civil War's denouement, covers the last days and downfall of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia (led by the indomitable Robert E. Lee), from the fall of Richmond to Appomattox. Morris Schaff focuses largely on the Confederate Army's dramatic retreat and surrender in March and April, 1865, when Lee himself was compelled to admit defeat. Written in the form of letters, Schaff writes a first hand account of the people, places, and events that changed the course of history.

This outstanding account covers the last days and downfall of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from the fall of Richmond to Appomattox.

Booknews

In his introduction to this reprint of a 1912 memoir, Gallagher (history, U. of Virginia) suggests that this work is "a classic of the reconciliation genre" of the American Civil War. In the memoir, Union officer Schaff recalls the final campaigns of the end of the war, including the Battle of Appomattox, and heaps praise on his Union compatriots, his enemy's commander, General Robert E. Lee, and the soldiers he faced on the other side of the battlefield. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Captain Morris Schaff (1840-1929) was an author and officer in the Army of the Potomac. Gary W. Gallagher, editor of The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History, lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.