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251 lee’s surrender at appomattox, followed by Johnston’s in North Carolina, effectively ended the Civil War. Parades joyously celebrated the victory . Even many Southerners welcomed the restoration of peace, although they resented Unionist jubilation.1 Yet perplexing problems remained. The end of slavery left a labor market in need of radical as well as racial adjustment . Farmers struggled to survive. The devastation of property and loss of livestock, crops, and capital resources posed staggering difficulties. A London Times correspondent, observing the region between Martinsburg and Winchester, found that “the once fertile fields are lying barren, for their owners have lost all their means, their negroes having fled and their horses and money having been carried off. There is not a fence along the whole distance and graves are scattered by the roadside. Far and wide the fields look like a black and barren common.”2 When Robert Barton returned to his farm, Springdale, he found it devastated. Woods and fences had been destroyed, farm implements were gone, many of his buildings had been demolished or badly damaged, and his fields were without crops.3 Psychologically , assimilation against a background of wartime memories, economic devastation, and the emergence of the Lost Cause mythology would haunt the South, Winchester, and Frederick County well into the twentieth century. In the war’s aftermath a policy of conciliation had to replace the “hard war” policy the Federal government had implemented in the latter years of the conflict. Two days after Lincoln’s assassination General Hancock informed citizens that he regarded Lee’s surrender “as the first great step to peace.” In adapting to the new conditions he believed that it was “practicable for him to exhibit toward [Southerners] every leniency the situation will admit of.” He lifted those restrains that were “not absolutely essential,” and Southern families’ “sons, . . . husbands, and . . . brothers” who had fought in the war could “remain with [them] unmolested.”4 Epilogue beleaguered winchester 252 Martial law continued but was more lenient. A small garrison remained to enforce Federal authority. Streets were patrolled day and night, and the 7:00 P.M. curfew continued. In General Orders No. 28, issued by headquarters of the Military District at Harper’s Ferry on April 26, 1865, Confederate veterans were permitted to return “unmolested, unless guilty of acts of hostility to the United States.” They were cautioned not to wear “‘the uniform of officers and soldiers of the Confederate Army;’ or . . . use menacing language or offer violence to the persons, or seize or destroy the property of loyal citizens.” Any such behavior would be a violation of their parole.5 Posters urged those in hiding to secure a parole. Remnants of the 18th Virginia Cavalry accepted the offer and went to Winchester for that purpose. Reaching a guard post, they were escorted into town. After writing their names they received their “free papers.”6 Soon roads were full of discharged veterans heading home. During April about a hundred soldiers a day came to Winchester for parole. On his arrival Isaac Russell, a hospital steward, was taken to the provost’s office. Warned to remove his brass buttons or suffer arrest, he covered them with black cloth and was not bothered. Henry Kyd Douglas, returning to nearby Shepherdstown , unwisely posed for a photograph in his uniform. Military authorities arrested him for violating his parole and military orders and committing treason. Occasionally on information from neighbors, homes were searched for concealed weapons, but as Russell observed, citizens “were generally treated with kindness and consideration.”7 Mosby communicated with a receptive Hancock about details of yielding his command. Except for Mosby himself, the rangers were offered the same terms that Lee received, and surgeon Arstides Monteiro and three others proceeded to Winchester to discuss details. As rumor circulated that Mosby was with them, soldiers flocked along the road hoping to see the legendary figure. When the four reached the picket line, they were amazed at their reception, with “no bombastic spirit of insult to our misfortunes, but with a cordial and friendly grasp of the hand.” Two were then escorted to the general’s office. Symbolically, a Union flag hung over the gate leading to the house. Monteiro saw it “as a kind of compulsory test of our loyalty.” In attempting to avoid entering underneath it, his actions created a smile. One officer quipped that “the rebellion was dying hard.” The men’s apprehension quickly dissipated with Hancock’s respectful...

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