Lee’s immediate view of the circumstances, that the Confederate armies had done everything possible but were overmatched by Northern numbers, provided a means by which his veterans could feel that they had served honorably, but it was challenged almost immediately by other Confederate military and political leaders who blamed instead such factors as incompetent government, social divisions, and political squabbling for their defeat. Lee wrote a letter to the soldiers of his army that began, “After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been forced to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.” 1 At this moment, the Civil War essentially ended in victory for the Union, and the process of reuniting the United States of America began. General Grant, Lieutenant Colonel Bowers, and General Rawlins at Grant’s headquarters, Cold Harbor, June 1864 (LOC)
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