Winning and recently published neptune the allied invasion of europe and dday landings, published in 2015. Hes also the winner, that particular book won the Samuel Elliott morrison award for naval literature. And he is the author of lincoln and his admirals, which won the lincoln prize in 2009. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the study of naval history, the Naval Historical Foundation in 2014 awarded him the w. Knox naval history award for lifetime achievement. Professor John Marszalek is distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mississippi State university. He came out of retirement in 2008 and accepted the task of serving as executive director of the ulysses s. Grant president ial library and managing editor of the papers of ulysses s grant. Hes author of shermans other war. His honors include an excellence in writing water from the u. S. Army Historical Foundation for his work. The best writings of ulysses s. Grant which was published in 2015. As testament to the high regard in which john is held, several of his students contributed to an edited volume titled of times and race essays inspired by John Marszalek. In addition to the great scholarship of these two men, they are known for having married well. [ laughter ] something they shared with lincoln. Their better halves are two women that i admire deeply, and that im sure that all of you will join me in that same sentiment. Their husbands will discuss johnston and sherman, the two surrenders. [ applause ] what a perfect introduction. Thank you. Thats great. John and i are delighted to be back here at the Lincoln Forum. Those of you who know us even a little bit wont be surprised to hear that last night we got together to consume some wine. In the midst of that conversation fueled by wine, we were talking about how we were both terribly jealous of ron chernow, whose biography of hamilton inspired a very lucrative musical on broadway. We thought how appropriate it would be to have Josephine Johnston, the musical, or william t. Sherman, the musical. Or the one that really inspired us was henry wager halleck, the musical. As youll see on the screen and youll be delighted to hear, this is not going to be a musical presentation today. Instead, alas, it is a tragedy in three acts. Act one. On april 17th, 1865, which is a full week after lee surrendered to grant at appomattox as we heard a few moments ago, jo Josephine Johnston and here is the newspaper engraving the imagined meeting between these two generals. And here is a modern painting by dan nance and how he imagined that. Now, however it looked, let us imagine the moment. It had been four years and five days since the war began. And since then, these two men had spent a lot of that time, each of them thinking about the other, wondering what plans lurked inside the active brain of his opponent. For 2 1 2 months in the spring and summer of 1864, they had duelled one another in north georgia in what shall be called a red clay minuet, each striving to gain an advantage, each failing to do so, until a frustrated and impatient Jefferson Davis replaced johnston with John Bell Hood. They had fought again only two weeks before this meeting near bentonville, north carolina, in another strategically decisive engagement. Now, with lees army already having surrendered in virginia, they met facetoface for the First Time Ever with an opportunity to end the war. And at least as important, to establish a foundation for the peace that would follow. Their conversation could well have much to do with what reconstruction would look like and how or even if the country recovered from its wounds. What is not evident in this painting is the amount of baggage that each man brought with him to the meeting. Not literal baggage, but metaphorical baggage. My job in this first segment of this tag Team Presentation is to detail some of the personal, professional, and political baggage that johnston brought to this meeting. After Jefferson Davis dismissed joe johnston from his command in july of 1864, the old general went into what amounted into retirement in columbia, South Carolina, where the diarist mary chestnut was living. She noted that johnston and his friends were bitter. Bitter about his dismissal, bitter at davis, bitter at John Bell Hood, whose defense of atlanta was a failure and Whose Mission into tennessee was even more catastrophic, resulting in the virtual destruction of the army in tennessee outside of nashville. Of course if johnstons supporters blamed that catastrophe on davis and on hood, athose two men and many others as well blamed johnston, whose constant withdrawals in georgia had in their view taken the fighting spirit out of the army in tennessee before John Bell Hood ever got ahold of it. The error as they saw it was not that johnson was dismissed but that he had been kept too long in command. The mutual bitterness was palpable. The observant, mary chestnut, wrote in her diary, we thought this was a struggle for independence. Now it seems it is only a fight between joe johnston and jeff davis. Of course columbia, South Carolina was no safe haven. For sherman, advancing north from savannah, had it squarely in his sights. As sherman headed north, a Confederate Congress in richmond, the members of which were as disgusted with davis as johnston was, passed a law that appointed robert e. Lee by name as commander in chief of all confederate armies, never mind the fact that the confederate constitution gave that title to the president. Moreover, that same act called upon the president to appoint joseph e. Johnston, again by name, to command what was left of the army of tennessee. It was a deliberate slap in the face to Jefferson Davis. And while davis happily appointed lee to the top command, he refused to appoint joe johnston to anything. Instead writing that johnston was, in his words, deficient in enterprise, tardy in movement, defective in preparation, and singularly neglectful of the duty of preserving our means of supply and transportation. But then he did it anyway. It was lee who convinced him that if nothing else, the popular johnston, who was very much beloved by the soldiers, might convince some of those that had deserted to return to the colors. Johnstons first instinct was to refuse the appointment. He suspected this was another of davis tricks, putting him back in command just so he would be the one to bear the historical purr burden of making the final surrender. But just as lee talked davis into making the appointment, he convinced johnston to accept it. He said that lee still had confidence in his old friend and west point classmate, which was true. So in that new job, johnston fought only one battle, the one at bentonville. It was indecisive. But in johnstons view, it proved that the men of the army of tennessee could still fight. And that disproved all the things that hood had been saying about how the men of the army of tennessee had forgotten how to be soldiers. Nevertheless, it was obvious to johnston that any further fighting now, after appomattox, was useless. A week after bentonville, and lees surrender at appomattox, he and modified men in his Army Believed the war was over. In the second week of april, he traveled to see davis, who was now heading southward from richmond, having evacuated the confederate capital, in a train to tell him so. They met in a railroad car near greensboro, north carolina, on april 12th. Davis sitting at a small desk surrounded by what was left of his cabinet. I dont really have an image of that, but here is davis sitting at a desk, so this will have to do. Johnston told the president , our people are tired of the war, they feel themselves whipped and will not fight. Davis was fiddling with a piece of paper he was holding in his hand, turning it over, folding it, unfolding it, did not even look up to look at johnston in the face. But after a brief pause he said, well, general johnston, what do you propose . That was the opening johnston needed. He asked permission to send a note through the lines to sherman requesting a conference to arrange an armistice that would, this is now quoted material, permit the civil authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to terminate the existing war. Davis hesitated. And he said, well, sir, you can adopt that course, though i confess i am not sanguine as to ultimate results. With that grudging assent, johnston then invited sherman to the meeting at the Bennett House five days later. Now, lets hear what may have been on shermans mind when he greeted johnston at the Bennett House. I think youve all seen this picture before. Its the worst picture ever taken of sherman and he hated it. And he didnt want to have his picture taken. But its a picture of that particular period. Well, lets back up a little bit in regard to sherman. Sherman, as you know, took atlanta in september of 1864. But at that time he showed no interest in crushing the army of confederate general John Bell Hood, as craig pointed out, was Joe Johnstons replacement. Quote, i do not wish to waste lives by an assault, close quote. He quickly sent word to henry w. Hallock, who was chief of staff in washington, quote, atlanta is ours and fairly won. The civil war as we know it was bitterly fought, but shermans decision not to destroy hood and his army in atlanta was a clear indication of something. Just what this mans attitude was toward the confederacy and its people. Sherman simply did not want to go into go back into fighting a war of maim and blood. But he couldnt remain in atlanta. He had to do something. So he planned and this took place over a period of time to institute a new form of warfare, to institute destructive war against the confederacy. And how was he going to do that . By marching to the sea. Lincoln and grant were not in favor of this but sherman quickly wore them down, began his march from atlanta to the sea on november 14th, 1864. One of the things i wanted to point out, if you remember nothing else about my part of it, i know youre going to remember anything craig said, but my part of it, i want you to remember that this is not an example of shermans work. He did not burn atlanta down. Didnt do it. We can talk about it afterwards, if you like. But the lost cause would have us believe thats what happened. This was actually created by John Bell Hood when he set fire to atlanta, he set fire to the ammunition of atlanta and explosions happened and all the rest. But anyway, he didnt destroy everything, despite what gone with the wind has to say. There you have gone with the wind. Nor, as legend would have it, sherman did not burn every home between atlanta and the ocean. It simply didnt happen. He did, however, march through georgia. And he arrived at savannah on december 21st. And from there, he sent a message to lincoln. Quote, i beg to present to you as a Christmas Gift the city of savannah. All kinds of newspapers talked about our union santa claus. So as was the case with hood in atlanta, sherman now had to deal with confederate general william hardee. But again, he refused to cut off his escape. Rather, he consciously specifically left open an exit so hardee could get away and sherman would not have to fight him in the trenches. When shermans army entered savannah, shermans soldiers were on their best behavior. Where previously they had taken or destroyed anything they wanted, now they paid for everything they took. Well, what happened . Well, sherman had long been promising the south that as long as they held out, he would fight them without mercy. But as soon as southerners quit the war, he would, and as he phrased it, become the souths best friend. Thus hes not going to try to destroy hood or hardee or atlanta or savannah. He is going to institute what comes to be known as a soft piece f peace for the hard war hes been demonstrating in georgia. But lets face it. The war is hardly over at this particular point when sherman gets to savannah. Grant now wants sherman to come to virginia, sends him a letter, theres a letter waiting for sherman. Come to virginia and help me finish off robert e. Lee. Well, sherman fought against that idea because he did not want to participate in such killing again. Instead, and they worked this out, he headed north, into the carolinas, in another example of destructive psychological warfare. This time he particularly punished South Carolina because he and his soldiers blamed South Carolina for starting the war. But interestingly, he was less harsh on north carolina, which as you know, was very slow in seceding, and had been much less enthusiastic about secession and battle and war. So sherman and his troops are now marching through the carolinas in what joe johnston says is one of the most impresses military feats since julius caesar. In fact what happens is, a figure from shermans past reappears. And guess who that is. That is craigs hero, joe johnston. [ laughter ] craig pointed out that Jefferson Davis had fired johnston just before the fall of atlanta. And he also pointed out that davis now had to swallow his pride and bring johnston back. Why would he do that . Well, he had no choice. After george h. Thomas destroyed John Bell Hood and his army of tennessee at nashville in december 1864, theres no confederate general left to battle sherman, except for joseph e. Johnston. So johnston takes over what is left of the Confederate Army in the carolinas, and he gives sherman, as we heard, a momentary scare at bentonville. But then he had to fall back before the surging yankees. Well, sherman felt that he had done the right thing. He believed that his destructive war was a more direct way to get to the desired end of ending this civil war, defeating the confederacy, restoring the union. He certainly did not want to get back into the meat brightengrin war. But whats going to happen now . Hes in carolina, joe johnston is back again. Well, craigs already told us. Sherman receives a letter from joe johnston requesting a meeting between the two of them. And just before he leaves, getting ready to leave for that meeting with sherman, a subordinate hands him a telegraph that has just arrived from washington. End of act one. Act two. The two men arrived at the designated meeting place. They dismounted, shook hands, and leaving their respective entourages outside, they went together into the bennett small farmhouse. Unlike lee and grant at the mclean house, we saw several images, you have all seen images of that, there were no aides, no staff members. Just the two of them together in this small rustic cabin. Once they were inside, sherman took out of his pocket the telegram that he had been handed just as he was leaving for the meeting and showed it to joe johnston. So far he had shown it to no one else. It stated that two days before, Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated in washington, dc. Johnston looked up at sherman with horror and declared it was the greatest possible calamity for the south. He said he hoped that sherman did not think the south had any hand in such an act. And sherman replied he was confident that the rebel army had nothing to do with it, but he would not say the same about Jefferson Davis and his government. To which johnston made no reply. With that cloud hanging over their heads, they got down to business. Sherman offered johnston the same terms that grant had offered to lee at appomattox. Johnston acknowledged that the terms were in fact generous, but he suggested that perhaps they could go further and arrange the terms of a permanent peace. Sherman replied to that by asking if johnston had the authority to make such an agreement. It wasn it s it was a good question. Davis had told johnston could enter into arrangements to terminate the end of the existing war. Davis had dictated that himself. But what davis had meant, and johnston knew this, was that johnston had permission to convince the union to agree to southern independence, which was why he had expressed so little optimism about the outcome. What johnston tried to do instead was conclude a peace that would reunite the country. Of course as a general commanding an army in the field, johnston did not and could not represent the civil authorities. Sherman pointed that out to him. But johnston noted that john c. Breckenridge was scheduled to arrive that very afternoon, and before he creckenridge was curr secretary of war in the c confederate government, and he, johnston said, could represent the civil authorities. I had to put this up because of the mustache. That posed a problem for sherman, because he was proscribed from entering into a negotiation with a representative of what lincoln was always careful to describe as the socalled confederate government. He pointed this out to johnston and johnston replied, well, yes, thats true, but breckenridge is also a Major General in the Confederate Army as we see him here in his confederate uniform. So sherman could treat with him in that capacity. Of course if breckenridge was merely a where then in the Confederate Army, it was not clear how he was supposed to represent the civil authorities. Still, anxious for the bloodletting to stop, sherman agreed to meet with both men the next day. Its hard to tell who was being more duplicitous here. Johnston for implying that the confederate government was willing to end the war and when he knew that davis wanted to fight on to the bitter end, or sherman for using the fig leaf of breckenridges commission as a Major General to enter into negotiations with a member of the confederate government. But both men