On Sunday, April 30, 1865 near Mobile, Alabama Union General E.R.S. Canby and Confederate General Richard Taylor declared a truce and agreed to discuss the surrender of all Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi. Canby essentially offered the same terms of surrender which Grant had proposed to Lee at Appomattox. On Tuesday, May 2, Canby telegraphed Ulysses Grant, confirming that Taylor was willing to surrender on such similar terms. On May 4, after a brief conference at Citronelle, Alabama, some forty miles north of Mobile, Taylor formally signed a surrender document, bringing peace to Alabama, Mississippi, and also East Louisiana. By the terms of surrender, Taylor specifically was allowed to retain control of all railways and steamers so as to efficiently return his troops to their homes.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.