The End of the Civil War and Its Aftermath - To Appomattox and Beyond

Explore the final stages of the American Civil War in this 51-minute Yale University lecture. Delve into the devastating campaigns of 1864, including the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, as well as the siege of Petersburg. Examine Ulysses S. Grant's strategic shift from the Western to the Eastern theater and its impact on Union victory. Analyze Robert E. Lee's psyche and his efforts to counter Grant's advances. Discover William Tecumseh Sherman's pivotal Atlanta campaign and subsequent March to the Sea, which undermined Confederate morale. Learn about the origins of Memorial Day, first celebrated by African Americans in Charleston, SC in 1865. Gain insights into the human cost of the war through Herman Melville's poem "On the Slain Collegians" and understand the search for meaning in the aftermath of the conflict.