Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War (Civil War America)

The American Civil War began with a laying down of arms by Union troops at Fort Sumter, and it ended with a series of surrenders, most famously at Appomattox Courthouse. But in the intervening four years, both Union and Confederate forces surrendered en masse on scores of other occasions. Indeed, roughly one out of every four soldiers surrendered at some point during the conflict. In no other American war did surrender happen so frequently. David Silkenat here provides the first comprehensive study of Civil War surrender, focusing on the conflicting social, political, and cultural meanings of the action. Looking at the conflict from the perspective of men who surrendered, Silkenat creates new avenues to understand prisoners of war, fighting by Confederate guerrillas, the role of southern Unionists, and the experiences of African American soldiers. The experience of surrender also sheds valuable light on the culture of honor, the experience of combat, and the laws of war. Treated with the greatest civility : Winfield Scott, Robert Anderson, and the path to Fort Sumter -- Heroes and cowards : honor and shame in early Civil War surrenders -- Instinctively my hands went up : soldiers, agency, and surrender on the battlefield -- Better to be a prisoner than a corpse : surrender at the Battle of Gettysburg -- Worse than murder : Ulysses S. Grant, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and unconditional surrender -- To the last man : surrender and the hard war -- A convulsion at Appomattox : Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and the uneasy peace -- Dying in the last ditch : Joseph Johnston, Richard Taylor, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and the fall of the Cis-Mississippi Confederacy -- Without a government : Jeff Thompson, Edmund Kirby Smith, and the slow death of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy -- Never surrender : remembering (and forgetting) Civil War surrenders The American Civil War began with a laying down of arms by Union troops at Fort Sumter, and it ended with a series of surrenders, most famously at Appomattox Courthouse. But in the intervening four years, both Union and Confederate forces surrendered en masse on scores of other occasions. Indeed, roughly one out of every four soldiers surrendered at some point during the conflict. In no other American war did surrender happen so frequently. David Silkenat here provides a comprehensive study of Civil War surrender, focusing on the conflicting social, political, and cultural meanings of the action. Looking at the conflict from the perspective of men who surrendered, Silkenat creates new avenues to understand prisoners of war, fighting by Confederate guerillas, the role of southern Unionists, and the experiences of African American soldiers "Built on extensive archival research, Raising the White Flag presents the first comprehensive examination of why surrender featured so prominently in the Civil War. Looking at the Civil War from the perspective of men who surrendered opens new vistas onto familiar topics, providing fresh insights into the plight of prisoners of war, guerrilla warfare, Southern Unionists, and African American soldiers, the culture of honor, the experience of combat, and the laws of war"-- Provided by publisher Provides the first comprehensive study of Civil War surrender, focusing on the conflicting social, political, and cultural meanings of the action. The experience of surrender sheds valuable light on the culture of honour, the experience of combat, and the laws of war.