The end of the civil war. Their april 1865 meeting happened two days after president lincolns assassination and a week after robert e lee surrendered at appomattox. This is part of the annually conform symposium and is just under an hour. Welcome to session one of the 21st annual lincoln for him symposiumincoln forum. Professor craig simons is Professor Emeritus of the United States Naval Academy and a member of the executive committee of the board of advisors of the lincoln forum. Newlythe author or editor 2000 two dozen books, including neptune, the allied invasion of europe and the dday andings that book won the Samuel Eliot Morrison award for literature. The author of lincoln and his admirals, which won the lincoln prize in 2009. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions, the noble the Naval Historical Foundation awarded him the navalore deadly w knox history award for a lifetime achievement. John marszalak came out of retirement in 2008 and accepted the executiveing director of the ulysses s. Grant library. His honors include an excellence in writing award from the u. S. Army Historical Foundation for his work, the best writings of ulysses s. Grant, which was published in 2015. As testament to the high regard in which john is held, several of his students contributed to an edited volume titled of times and race, essays inspired marscalek. They are now infer married well. [laughter] something they share with lincoln. Their better halves are two women that i admire deeply and that im sure all of you will join me in that same sentiments. Their husbands will discuss johnston and sherman, the two surrenders. [laughter] [applause] craig what a perfect introduction. Thank you. We had a chance to come together tonight and consume someone. And part of the conversation fueled by wine, we talked about terribly jealous of john chernow, whose biography of hamilton inspired a very lucrative musical on broadway. We thought how appropriate it would be to have joseph a johnston, the musical. [laughter] or William T Sherman the musical. The one that really inspired us was well until how it, the musical. [laughter] you would be delighted to hear that this is not going to be a musical presentation today. Instead, it is a tragedy in three. Act one. 17, 1865, a full week after lee surrendered in appomattox. Johnston and William T Sherman met in the front yard of a small farm owned by james and near durhamt station in North Carolina. Heres what that farmhouse looks like today. And here is the newspaper engraving of the imagined meeting between these two moderns and here is a painting by dan nansen how he imagined that. However it looked, let us imagine the moment. It had been four years and five. Ays since the war began since then, these two men had spent a lot of that time, each of them taking about the other. Lurk insideat plans the active brain of his opponent. For two and a half months in the , they and summer of 1864 had dueled one another in north georgia, in what shall be foot called a red clay minuit, each striving to gain an advantage, each failing to do so until a frustrated and impatient Jefferson Davis replaced a johnston with John Bell Hood. They fought again all need two weeks before this meeting near bentonville North Carolina in another strategically indecisive engagement. Now with lees army already having surrendered in virginia, they met facetoface for the first time ever, with an opportunity to end the war. As important, to establish a foundation for the peace that would follow. Their conversation could well have much to do with what reconstruction would look like and how or even if the country recovered from its wounds. What is not evident in this painting is the amount of baggage that each man brought with him to the meeting. Not literal baggage, but metaphorical baggage. My job in the first segment of this tagteam presentation is to detail some of the personal, professional and political baggage the johnston brought to this meeting. Davis dismissed joe johnston from his command in july, 1864, the old general went into what amounted to retirement in Columbia South carolina, where the diarist mary chestnut was living. She noticed the johnston and his friends were bitter, it are about his dismissal, bitter at davis, bitter at John Bell Hood, whose subsequent defense of atlanta was a disastrous failure , add whose Chaotic Campaign into tennessee would even more thestrophic, resulting in virtual destruction of the army of tennessee outside nashville. If johnston supporters blame that catastrophe on james on davis and unheard, those two men, and many others as well, blame johnston, whose constant withdrawals in georgia had, in their view, taken the fighting spirit out of the army of tennessee before John Bell Hood ever got a hold of it. The error, as assad, was not that johnston was dismissed, but that he had been kept too long in command. The mutual bitterness was palpable. The observant mary chestnut wrote in her diary we thought this was a struggle for independence. Now it seems it is only a fight between joe johnston and geoff davis. Of course, Columbia South carolina was no safe haven. First sherman, advancing north from savanna, had it squarely in his sights. North, theyeaded rebelled against administration by passing a law that appointed robert e. Lee by name as commander in chief of all unfettered armies, nevermind the fact that the confederate constitution gave that title to the president. Calledr, that same act upon the president to appoint joseph e johnston, again, by name, to command what was left of the army of tennessee. It was a deliberate slap in the face to Jefferson Davis. While davis happily appointed lead to the top command, he refused to appoint joe johnston to anything, instead writing the johnston was, in his words, deficient in enterprise, tardy in movement, defective in preparation, and singularly neglectful of the duty of protective preserving our means and supplying transportation. But then he did it anyway. This was legal convinced hand that, if nothing else, the popular johnston, who was very much loved by the soldiers, my friend in some of those who had deserted to return to the colors. Johnstons first instinct was to refuse the appointment. Another ofd this was daviss tricks, putting him back in command, just so he would be the one to bear the historical burden of making the final surrender. By just as lee had taught davis to making the appointment, he also convinced johnson to accept it. That leeld johnston now hated davis as much as he did, which was not true, and at least i had confidence in his old friend add west point classmate, which was true. Job, johnston fought only one battle, the one of bentonville. It was indecisive. The view, iton proved that the men of the army of tennessee can still fight. And that disproved all the things that could had been saying about how the men of the army of tennessee had forgotten how to be soldiers. Nevertheless, it was obvious to johnson that any further fighting now im after appomattox, was useless. Bentonville, and least surrender at appomattox, he had most of the men in his army they leave the war was over. Of april, he week traveled to see davis, who is now heading southward from richmond, having evacuated the confederate capital in a train, to tell him so. Railroad car near greensboro, North Carolina on april 12. Davis sitting at a small does surrounded by what was left of his cabinet. I dont really have an image of that, but heres davis sitting at a desk. So that will have to do. [laughter] president ourthe people are tired of the war. They feel themselves whipped and will not fight. Davis was fiddling with a piece of paper he was holding in his hand, turning it over, folding it, unfolding it. He did not even look up to look at johnston in the face. But after a brief positive and he said, general johnston, what you propose . That was the opening johnston needed. He asked permission to send a note through the lines to sherman requesting a conference thatrange an armistice would now this is now quoted material permit the authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to terminate the exist in war. Davis hesitated. And he said, well, sir, you can adopt that course, though i confess i am not send one asked to ultimate results. Ascent,hat grudging johnston then invited sherman to the meeting at the Bennett House five days later. Now lets hear what may have been on shermans mind when he greeted johnston at the Bennett House. John i think you have all seen this picture before. [laughter] its the worst picture of sherman and he hated it. He didnt want his picture taken, but it is a picture of that particular period. Lets back up in regard to sherman. Sherman took alaniz september of 1854. But at that time, he showed no interest in crushing the army of confederate general john bell Joe Johnstons replacement. I do not wish to waste lives by an assault. He quickly sent word to henry w howlett who was chief of staff in washington. Ours and fairly won. Know was war as we bitterly far, but shermans decision not to destroy heard and his army in atlanta was a clear indication of something. This mans attitude was toward the confederacy and its people. Sherman simply did not want to war of into fighting a the and blood. But he couldnt remain in atlanta. He had to do something. Took anned and then and this took place over a period of time to institute a new form of warfare, to institute destructive war against the confederacy. And how was he going to do that . By marching to the sea. Not in and grant or favor of this. But sherman quickly wore them down, began his march from on novemberhe sea 14, 1864. One of the things i want to point out, if you remember, nothing else about my part of it , i know youll remember everything craig said. But my part of it, i want you to remember that this is not an example of shermans work. He did not burn atlanta down. We can talk it in about it afterwards, if youd like. But the lost cause wouldve happened. Johnas actually created by bell hood when he set fire to atlanta. He set fire to ammunition of atlanta and explosions happened and all the rest. Anyway, he didnt destroy everything despite what gone with the wind has to say. [laughter] there you have gone with the wind. Nor, as legend would have it, sherman did not burn every home between atlanta and the ocean. In we happen. He did, however, march march through georgia, and he arrived at savannah on december 21. From there, he sent a message to present to beg to you as a Christmas Gift of the city of savannah. Oh kinds of newspapers talked about our union santa claus. Hood inhe case with atlanta, sherman now had to deal with confederate general william hardy. But, again, he refused to cut off his escape. Rather, he consciously, specifically, left open and exit so hard he could get away and sherman would not have to fight him in the trenches. And when shermans army entered savannah, the soldiers, and soldiers, sherman soldiers were on their best behavior. Previously, they had taken or destroyed anything they wanted. Now they pay for everything they took. Well, what happened . Held out, hed fight them without mercy. As soon as southerners quit the war, he would as he phrased it become the souths best friend. Is not going to try to destroy hood or hardy or atlanta or savannah and is going to institute what comes to be known as a soft piece for the hard war hes been demonstrating in georgia. Well, lets face it. The war is hardly over at this particular point when sherman gets to savannah. Grant now want sherman to come to virginia. Sends him a letter. There is a letter waiting for sherman. Come to virginia and help me finish off robert e lee. Well, sherman fought against that idea because he didnt want to critique it to participate in such killing again. Thisad, and they worked out, he headed north into the carolinas and another example of destructive, psychological this time, he particularly punished South Carolina because he and his soldiers blame south rwanda for starting the war. Laying but interestingly, he was less harsh on North Carolina, which, as you know, was very slow in seceding and had been much less enthusiastic about secession. About secession and battle and war. So sherman and his troops are now marching through the johnston and what joe says is one of the most impressive military feats since julius caesar. In fact, what happens is a figure from shermans past reappears. Guess who that is . But interestingly, he was less harsh on guess who that is . That is craigs hero, joe johnston. [laughter] now craig pointed out that Jefferson Davis had fired johnston just before the fall of atlanta, and he also pointed out that now davis has to swallow his pride and bring johnston back. Why would he do that . Well, he had no choice. After George H Thomas destroyed John Bell Hood and his army of tennis c at nashville in december 1860 or, there is no confederate general left a battle sherman, except for joseph e johnston. So johnston takes over what is left of the Confederate Army in the carolinas. And he gives sherman, as we heard, a momentary scare at bentonville. Then he had to fall back before the surging yankees. Well, sherman felt that he had done the right thing. He believed that his destructive war was a more direct way to get to the desired end of ending this civil war, defeating the confederacy, restoring the union. He certainly did not want to get back into the meat grinder of war. The whats going to happen now . Hes in carolina. Joe johnston is back again. Us. , craigs already told sherman receives a letter from Joe Johnston Rick busting a meeting between the two of them. Just before he leaves for that, getting ready to leave for that sherman, a subordinate hands him a telegraph that is just arrived from washington. And of act one. [laughter] craig act two. The two men arrived at the designated meeting place. They dismounted. Shook hands. And leaving their respective entourages outside, they went together into the bennett small farmhouse. And theikely and grant mclean house, we saw several images. Thatave all seen images of , noere were no andriy anza staff members. Just the two of them together in the small, rustic cabin. Inside, sherman took out of his pocket the telegram that he had handed just as he was leaving for the meeting and showed it to joe johnston. So far he had shown it to no one else. It stated two days before Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated in washington, d. C. Johnston looked up at sherman with horror and declared it was the greatest possible calamity for the south. He said he hoped that sherman did not think the south had an act. To do with such sherman replied he was confident that the rebel army had nothing to do with it, that he would not say the same about Jefferson Davis and his government. To which johnson made no reply. With that cloud hanging over to business. T down sherman offered johnston and the same terms they grant had offered to lee at appomattox. Johnston acknowledged that the terms were, in fact im a generous. But he suggested that perhaps they could go further and arrange the terms of a permanent peace. Byrman replied to that asking if johnston had the authority to make such an such an agreement. To make such an agreement. It was a good question. Davis had told johnston that he could enter into discussions to permit the civil authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to terminate the. Isting war in fact, davis had dictated that phrase himself, but what davis had meant, and johnson knew this, was that johnston had permission to convince the union to agree to southern independence. Which was why he had express so little optimism about the outcome. What johnston now tried to do instead was concluded peace that would reunite the country. Of course, as a general commanding an army in the field, johnston did not and could not represent the civil authorities. Sherman pointed that out to him. But johnston noted that John C Breckenridge was scheduled to recordthat afternoon and ridge was both a former Vice President of the United States and currently the secretary of war in the confederate government and he, johnston said, could represent the civil authorities. I had to put this up because of the mustache. [laughter] that posed a problem for sherman because he was prescribed from negotiation with a representative of what lincoln was always careful to describe as the socalled confederate government. Andointed out to Johnston Johnston replied, well, yes, ists true, but breckenridge also a Major General in the Confederate Army, as we see him here in his debtor in uniform. With himn would treat in that capacity. If breckenridge was merely a general in the Confederate Army, it was not fair how he was of host to represent the civil authorities. Anxious for the bloodletting to stop, sherman agreed to meet with both men the next day. Its hard to tell who was being more duplicitous year, johnston for implying that the confederate government was willing to end the war, when he knew that davis wanted to fight on to the bitter end, or sherman for using the figure lee the breckenridges commission as a Major General to enter into negotiations with a member of the better a government. The both men wanted peace. And they calculated that stretching the letter of their instructions was worth it. So there so the three men now met in the Bennett House the next day. April 18. And it started out splendidly. Sherman had brought with them a bottle of kentucky bourbon. [laughter] i felt obligated to include this slide because i know that no one is no one in the audience knows what a bottle of kentucky bourbon looks like. Youll note an apparently you have already noted this one. Erhaps to be from trader joes i doubt this is the brand that sherman had with him. If any in any case, sherman offered a glass of it to each of the confederate generals. Was abreckenridge, who native kentuckian, and who had been exiled from his home state for years, set up eagerly. Plug of tobacco, rinsed out his mouth with water from his canteen to prepare an, and then toss back his drink with evident satisfaction. Toer that, they got down work. Sherman had prepared for the meeting by drawing up a memorandum to use as a racist for an agreement. Bit over men quibbled some of the language, but there were no major disagreements. Obviouslynt, sherman, deep in thought, got up from the table, absentmindedly walked up ross room to his saddleback, got out the bottle of whiskey, a drain, then put the bottle back. [laughter] breckenridge fell silent. To afterward complained johnston in outrage that sherman was no gentleman. [laughter] did you see him take that drink by himself . The agreement they produced was pretty straightforward. In addition to the terms grant had laid out at a pet at appomattox concerning johnston soldiers, it called for the dissolution of all southern armies of ross the nation. So far so good. But there was more. Foragreement also called the restoration in recognition of existing state governments. And that was a problem. Because it intruded into the political realm. Nevertheless, all three men and all three men signed it, even the touting breckenridge. And johnston left the meeting in the belief that he had ended the war. He was wrong. Why was that, john . [laughter] john well, the socalled treaty had been signed, as craig said, both sherman and johnston were pleased because they really thought the war was now over. Story ally show the traditionally, as the story goes , that sherman immediately sent to the terms to washington, d c for new Andrew Johnson administration to accept. However, received in email from r who you may know is the author of a recent book on William Henry stewart and presently he is working on a book on edwin stanton. Well, he insists that its much more complicated than that. Sherman also took and sent some of the surrender terms to some southern newspapers. , example, the columbia of aprilolina phoenix 20 4, 1865, and that newspaper quoted as quoted it as saying wouldhis peace treaty bring peace to all the United States and the confederate states. Sherman believe that he was exactly doing what should have been done. So its possible that he may or plantednformation information in a newspaper to put pressure on the administration to accept the terms very the probably miss, however, that he never said anything about it, nor did anyone else say anything about such plans until walter star found his information. I think you have to say its just difficult to know for sure, but we wanted you to be aware of that. We do know, however, without any fear of contradiction, that sherman thought he had done the right thing. He told his quartermaster for example, i have today made terms of johnston that will close the war and leave us only to march home. Now he had been presented this information to his generals. Several of his generals thought it was a big, big mistake. They were too liberal. Everal believed but in fact, as weve already mentioned, sherman had always promised the south a hard war as long as it kept going, and that it would be a software want to quit. Well, johnston and the confederates promised to surrender. Promised they would quit. So sherman in his heart of hearts believed he had no choice but he had to fulfill the promise he had been making over and over again during the war. So sherman had no doubt that his plans were ending the war were good plans. And after all, they were simply lincolns plans. We remember the picture we saw earlier of lincoln and grant and others in shermans sitting there, and porter . So what sherman did do, he did send the plans forward to washington. Well, shermans aid that sherman sent delivered the plans to grant. Grants looked at them and immediately called for an emergency meeting of Andrew Johnston and his cabinet. Andrew johnson and his cabinet. Keep in mind as craig pointed out, that lincoln was assassinated. The nation is in shock over this. The nation, including the administration, is war weary over all of the death and destruction. So the cabinet, like the american people, was in no mood for a soft case. A soft peace. The north had the upper hand after all. So why should the union side reward the south for losing the war . He thinks he is on the verge of becoming a national hero. All of a sudden, ulysses s. Grant shows up, his friend. He says nothing about firing sherman and taking his place, as stanton would have liked. But he calmly tells his friend that the terms are not acceptable. I think what you need to do was call joe johnston, get with him, and just renegotiate things. Well, shermans response to this is quite positive. He reacted calmly. He wrote stanton and note expressing his willingness to change the treaty quote this is sherman writing to stanton i admit my follies and embracing in a military convention, any civil manners. I am ready to work with the johnston administration, and we will all Work Together to come up with an appropriate end to the war. He said, i still think i am right, but im willing to compromise. But he said, we better do it fast because if we dont do it fast, the Confederate Army is going to break up into guerilla bands, and then we will really have problems. And then sherman received some northern newspapers coming he could not believe what he was reading. The papers actually charged him william comes to sherman, charging him with being a trader. Being a traitor. He worried again about the south continuing the gorilla war. If his treaty, which he knew was right, quote he said we should not drive a people into anarchy. Well, as he had done previously in california, louisiana, kentucky, memphis, sherman worried about anarchy. He had fought this war to prevent anarchy from triumphing, and now he is trying to institute a peace that others are going to initiate a new anarchy. He failed to understand the key point. Most northerners did not see southerners as fallen away friends. They saw them as recalcitrant traitors that needed punishment to prevent any future civil war. When stanton called sherman a traitor to the future of the union, this slur found northerners ready to believe that this was true of one of the generals who adjust won the civil war for them. End of act two. Act three. Craig johnson also felt betrayed. A few days after he thought he had end of the war, he got a note from sherman informing him their agreement had been rejected. That hostilities would resume in 48 hours. By then, most of johnstons army had marched away home. An johnstons view, a rate resumption of hostilities now would be nothing short of murder. In the same note, sherman also invited johnston to meet with him a third time, this time without any reference to civil issues. Johnston checked with breckenridge for orders. Perhaps still resenting being denied that second drink of whiskey, breckenridge told johnston that even if he had to surrender but was left of his infantry, he should try to bring off the cavalry in order to prolong the war. Johnston was appalled. He was in no mood to ask any of his men to lay down their lives solely for the purpose of keeping Jefferson Davis in office for another day or two. He met with his own generals, his subordinate generals, who told him there was no fight left in the army. The men were leaving in groups of 10 and 20 or more stealing the draft horses in the cavalry mounts to make their trip home. If you try to bring off the calvary, as breckenridge suggested, the men were unlikely to do it. Johnston wired breckenridge, we have to save the people and spare the blood of the army. And he met with sherman for a third time in the Bennett House on april 26. This time, they limited themselves to military issues. Johnston formally surrendered his army, that in no more. For the rest of his life, Jefferson Davis consider johnstons decision to surrender an act of treachery and cowardice. Lee had been surrounded and went as far as he could go and had no choice. But johnston, davis believed and wrote, just quit. There was no victory parade or a parade of any kind for the betterment of the army of tennessee. They just went home. Most of them did with the surrender terms required. Mighty their own business, not bearing arms against the government. Johnston remained embittered not sherman for whom he always expressed admiration, but at Jefferson Davis and ed daviss military advisor, and John Bell Hood. Johnston devoted the rest of his life to writing a book and a whole handful of articles in which he tried to prove that davis had conspired against him. It was clearly the least admirable episode of his life as he grew old, picking apart old feuds and resentments. Where were sherman and for the surrender . Lets find out. John the tension in the room is just [laughter] well, we talked about this final surrender at the Bennett House, and we know that after that took place, sherborn marched northward. Elements of the press wanted to know publicly if he planned to use his army against civilian authority because he was furious by this time. Those absurd accusations just infuriated him. But sherman took no action. He wrote no letters. Instead, he got his own unusual kind of revenge. The grand review of armies was held in washington on may 23 and may 24. There you have a picture. Well, in this particular case, even before they got to washington, they had to march through richmond. Guess who was in command in richmond . Henry 2 halleck. Shermans in a letter to halleck saying, you are not going to get any salutes from my army, so you better not show up. Then when he himself was involved in this particular grand review, he led his army passed the reviewing stand, and here you have a picture of the reviewing stand. I dont of how well you can see it, but you see some of the people there. Sherman is there and stanton is there an grant is there and johnston is there. In any case, when he marched past with his army, massed march past the reviewing stand and he passed stanton. Stanton offered his hand to shake hands. Sherman snubbed him. That was shermans revenge. So you see him there to the right in this photo next to montgomery meagues apparently whispering something to the guy next to him. And you know to stanton is standing behind grant and the president is about 10 feet away. By the end of the parade, sherman had cooled off, but he remained disillusioned. He wrote a public letter about his refusal to shake hands. He said quote i cannot recall the act, but shakespeare records how poor falls staff, the prince falstaff, the prince of cowards and wits, rising from the figured death, stabbed again, and carried the carcass aloft in triumph to prove his valor. So now, when the rebellion in our land is dead, many fall staffs appear. And you know who he is talking about. So, by the end of 1865, both sherman and johnston felt betrayed by their superiors. In the initial agreement, he had made with joe johnston, sherman had demonstrated yet again, but i like to call his passion for orders, passion for piece. For peace. During the war, and certainly at its end, he wanted to let the south go in peace once it stops fighting. He saw himself as a hero of the norths victory, and believed that northerners shared his belief in soft peace as they supported him in hard war. That was not the case. The interesting fact is that he and joe johnston remained friends. Later, the two of them, one of them was the commanding general of the army, and the other one, being a member of the United States house of representatives, could be found on the floor of shermans home with all kinds of maps on the floor, and they are on their hands and knees studying the atlantic campaign. [laughter] campaign. Anta well, you know sherman dies in 1891. And johnston traveled to new york to act as an honorary pallbearer. This contemporary drawing is supposed to be johnston walking immediately behind the casket. Well, many of you know the story. It turns out that, before be reached this point, sherman was laid out, whatever the proper term is, in the casket, in his home in new york city. And as the casket is closed and brought out of the home and to the street in manhattan, joe johnston, honorary pallbearer, is standing there to help, he has that his hat off, and has his hat over his heart. And it is very cold, it is february, after all. Another mourner leaned forward to urge the old general to put on his hat because he said, general, you will catch a cold. Johnston replied quote if i were in his place and he were standing here in mine, he certainly would not put on his hat. So, he did not. And as you may know, the story ends that johnson catches a cold and he dies from that cold soon after. So, in the end, it is fair to say, and craig and i agree on this, these two delman served as these two men served as a metaphor of what might have been. No matter what sherman believed or tried to implement, or no matter what johnston tried to do for his part, the south has preferred to remember sherman as a vandal and avillain, and the north to remember johnston as a failed general. It was considered old at that time, but in any case, our union army veteran named Ethan Allen Hitchcock may have expressed the situation best by quoting from the 25th sonnet of william shakespeare. And shakespeare was one of shermans favorite authors. Remember, i quoted that earlier, but here is the four lines that maybe expresses it all, quote the painful warrior, famous for the fight, after 1000 victories once boiled, is from the book of honor vanished quite, and all the rest forgotten for which he toiled. Thank you. [applause] we are told that we have time for two quick questions, and that is all, so rush the microphones. For mr. Marszalek, were there any thought that sherman had as he moved from georgia, did he know what was going on there . The question was determined think about andersonville . Yes he did. He sent a unit of Union Calvary to try to free the people at andersonville, but they failed. And they were imprisoned. So nothing came of it. Very good question. I know this isnt the question, um, that will result in an easy answer, but suppose Andrew Johnston had gotten along sherman . How would reconstruction have differed . Craig the question is what would have been different if Andrew Johnson got along with sherman . That is too difficult for me to answer. That is something i should let craig answer. [laughter] craig we can say anything, and who would know otherwise. There are two what if possibilities. What would lincoln have accepted in the kind of arrangement he made if he had not been assassinated . My guess is lincoln would have done a workaround, he would accept it the idea that the army surrendered and there is a temporary restoration of existing state government, but that is subject for further consideration, but the anger that was so possible in the north following the assassination made it impossible, i think, to accept terms other than surrender and he will tell you what will happen to you. There are two the tragedy implied in the title of our presentation, the tragedy in three acts is partly the what might have been . We dont know what might have been, but want the assassination but once the assassination took place, it is clear that it was going to be harder to bring about the kind of peace that sherman and johnston envisioned when they met at the Bennett House. Thank you very much. [applause] join us this evening at 6 00 p. M. Eastern for live coverage from the Smithsonian National museum of African American history and culture. We recently talked with members of congress about its significance. Can you tell us what it means, the significance of the new African American museum to the country . It is significant. All i keep thinking about in my own mind is drawing up, myself, and going to school and no one knowing the contributions that africanamericans have played in our society. It wasnt taught in schools. What i learned i learned from my parents. Now there is a museum
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