UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PROFESSOR CAROLINE JANNEY has long been interested in the Army of Northern Virginia. When she began exploring the parole of Lee’s men after the surrender at Appomattox, she discovered a surprising complexity concerning the legal status of Confederate soldiers and the conditions of their return to their home states. She has woven eight years of research into her latest book, The Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army After Appomattox.
CWT: How did you get interested in Confederate paroles?
We have these images, many of them wrapped in myth, of what Confederates looked like going home. We have the version: Ashley Wilkes showing up at home dusty and dirty, and we have the flip side of it, Confederate raiders,
