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SURRENDER OF GEN. TAYLOR.

"off raiment would have scorned to bargain for our rusty suits "of Confederate gray. Gen. Canby met me with much In a few moments we agreed upon a

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urbanity.

** * *

* * *

"truce terminable after forty-eight hours notice by either party. Then rejoining the throng of officers, introductions "and many civilities passed. The party separated, Canby for Mobile, I for Meridian, where within two days "came news of Johnston's surrender, the capture of President "Davis, and a notice from Canby that the truce must termin"ate as his Government disavowed the Johnston-Sherman "convention. I thereupon informed Gen. Canby that I desired "to meet him, for the purpose of negotiating a surrender of "my forces. The military and civil authorities of the Confederacy had fallen, and I was called to administer on the "ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for the few "there present to continue the struggle. We could only secure. honorable interment for the remains of our cause. 66 * * * At the time no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind, but such has since crept in. Many "Southern warriors, from the hustings and in print, have "declared that they were anxious to die in the last ditch,

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and, by implication, were restrained from so doing by the "readiness of their generals to surrender. One is not per"mitted to question the sincerity of these declarations, which "have received the approval of public opinion by the eleva"tion of the heroes uttering them to such offices as the people "of the South have to bestow, and popular opinion in our "land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on "this side of the grave."

SURRENDER OF GEN. TAYLOR-RETURN TO MOBILE. 201

After notice had been sent to Gen. Taylor that the truce must end, as the Government did not approve of the Sherman-Johnston armistice, we prepared to resume field operations. On the morning of May 2d I was ordered out with the Seventh and Fiftieth Indiana on a scout. We had not proceeded far when we encountered a flag of truce from the enemy, informing us that negotiations for a surrender on the part of Gen. Taylor had been resumed, and shortly afterwards we were overtaken by a courier from Gen. Benton's headquarters confirming this intelligence, with an order for our return. A few days later the capitulation took place, and is thus described by Gen. Taylor:

"On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north "of Mobile, I delivered the epilogue of the great drama "in which I had played a humble part. The terms of sur"render demanded and granted were consistent with the "honor of our armies, and it is due to the memory of Gen. Canby to add that he was ready with suggestions to soothe "our military pride."

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This surrender included all troops east of the Mississippi River.

The next day (the 9th) our entire Division returned to Mobile, our regiment going down the Tombigbee river on a transport. On our arrival at Mobile we went into camp a short distance outside the city limits.

It was now rumored we were to form part of an expedition to Texas under Gen. Sheridan, to operate against Gen. Kirby Smith's army and the other Confederate forces west of the Mississippi, and for a few days we indulged in the hope that we

202

SURRENDER OF GEN. KIRBY SMITH.

were to see a little field service under that dashing and brilliant officer. But that was not to be. On the 11th of May, Gen. Jeff Thompson, commanding the rebel troops in Arkansas, surrendered on substantially the same terms as those granted to Lee, Johnston and Taylor. This left only the forces under Gen. Kirby Smith commanding the trans-Mississippi Department. It would have been utterly impossible for him to have successfully resisted the army then at Gen. Sheridan's disposal, and so on the 26th of May he too surrendered to Gen. Canby.

With the capitulation of Gen. Kirby Smith as Pollard says: "the war ended, and from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, "there was no longer an armed soldier to resist the authority of the United States."

The following extract from Gen. Taylor's book, "Destruction and Re-construction," shows the demoralization then existing in the trans-Mississippi Department, and the circumstances attending this last surrender. "I was at New "Orleans," * * *(after his surrender) "when Generals Price, Buckner and Brent came from Shreveport (Gen.

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Kirby Smith's Headquarters) under flag of truce and sent "for me. They reported a deplorable condition of affairs in "that region. Many of the troops had taken up the idea "that it was designed to inveigle them into Mexico, and were "greatly incensed. Some Generals of the highest rank had "found it convenient to fold their tents and quietly leave for "the Rio Grande; others who remained were obliged to keep "their horses in their quarters and guard them in person, "and numbers of men had disbanded and gone off. By a

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COLLAPSE OF THE REBELLION.

203

meeting of officers, the gentlemen present were deputed to "make a surrender and ask for Federal troops to restore "order. The officers in question requested me to be present "at their interview with Gen. Canby, who also invited me, " and I witnessed the conclusion. So, from the Charleston "Convention to this point, I shared the fortunes of the Con"federacy, and can say, as Grattan did of Irish freedom, "that I sat by its cradle and followed its hearse.'

On the surrender of the last Confederate Army, and peace having been practically declared, I resolved to resign, I had been in the service since September, 1861, and had received but one furlough, to wit: when I returned to Vermont with the Seventh on veteran furlough. I accordingly tendered my resignation, which was accepted by Gen. Canby, June 2d, 1865.

CHAPTER IX.

DEPARTURE FOR TEXAS-EXPERIENCE ON THE RIO GRANDE

MUSTER OUT-DISBANDMENT OF THE REGIMENT.

1866-1866.

T this time Maximilian was in Mexico, and for some reasons, best known to the government, it was decided to maintain a large Army of Observation on the Rio Grande, and for nearly a year after the close of the war a force of from ten to twenty thousand men under the immediate command of Gen. Weitzel was kept in Texas to observe and wait the development of the operations of Maximilian and his French allies.

The Seventh was one of the regiments designated for this service, and on the 30th of May, under Lieut. Col. Peck (who subsequently was commissioned Colonel, Major Porter at the same time being commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel and Capt. Edgar M. Bullard Major), marched to Mobile and embarked on the steamer "Starlight," and proceeded down to the lower bay, where they were transferred to the ocean steamship "Gen. Sedgwick." On June 2d they sailed for Brazos, and arrived there June 5th. The next day they dis