The Day of Reckoning (4)
"...What? Robert E. Lee has expressed an intention to surrender?"
Ulysses S. Grant, the General-in-Chief of the Union Army, who had been busy preparing to strike the flank of the Confederate forces in Virginia, let out a sigh of relief at the unexpected news.
To be honest, he even felt a sense of gratitude.
He had been deeply troubled by how to deal with the Confederates if those lunatics decided to massacre the Black population, but since they had stopped of their own accord, how could he not be thankful?
"Deliver my letter to General Lee immediately. And don't forget to add that I express my respect for the courage he has shown."
"Understood."
Grant proposed what he considered to be the most reasonable and generous terms, and as expected, Lee expressed his willingness to accept them and sign the surrender document immediately.
And so, before the year 1761 had even come to a close.
The Civil War between the North and the South, which had begun at the end of 1760, was now just one step away from its conclusion after only a year.
In the parlor of the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
Grant waited for his guests to arrive, accompanied by his aide, Ely Parker, and Colonel Philip Sheridan.
Finally, just as Robert E. Lee had indicated in his reply, he entered the parlor, guided by soldiers and accompanied by only one deputy commander.
"Thank you for coming."
"Not at all. I am simply grateful that you offered such favorable terms first."
"Haha, don't mention it. The heroic decision General Lee has shown this time will be talked about for a long time to come."
"No. If it had been up to me alone, I would not have been able to make a proper decision and would have continued to be dragged along. It is all thanks to this deputy commander here who pushed me from behind."
"A deputy commander, you say..."
Grant glanced at the young man standing at attention beside Lee.
James Seuret.
According to what he had heard from Lincoln, the building of the rehabilitation center and the brainwashing of the slaves were desperate decisions made to prevent the situation from spiraling into the worst possible outcome.
Considering that he had cooperated when Sherman attacked the rehabilitation center, there was no reason to doubt the character of this young man.
No, perhaps he was a true patriot who, disregarding public criticism, was doing the necessary work from behind the scenes.
Was it not because such patriots were putting in so much effort in the shadows that this war was nearing its end in just one year?
"Now, shall we review the terms of surrender?"
As the aide spread out the documents, Lee began to read the contents slowly.
Although most of the terms had already been agreed upon, the conditions initially proposed by the North were so generous and unconventional that there was no need to add anything separately.
For one, the return of weapons was standard.
All public property, including artillery, rifles, and military supplies, had to be turned over to the Union Army. Soldiers also had to return the rifles they had been issued.
But what followed was surprising.
Officers could return home with their personal sidearms—pistols and swords—and their privately owned horses.
'So they intend to protect the honor of the officers until the very end.'
Reading the document, Lee was certain that Grant was a wise commander.
Furthermore, he had readily accepted the additional conditions requested by Seuret.
He allowed cavalry and artillery soldiers who had brought their own horses or mules to take them home as well.
"I am grateful for your generous measures, which even take the farming needs of the soldiers into consideration."
"It is nothing. Once the war is over, won't we all return to being citizens of the same United States?"
Even if they were defeated soldiers, they needed to be able to enjoy a normal life once they returned to their hometowns.
After all, they were not enemies, but people who would become citizens of the United States.
Lee continued to read the following clauses.
As long as they kept their parole, Confederate soldiers were guaranteed not to be prosecuted or harassed by the federal government for treason or other charges upon returning home.
It meant that if they swore to follow the laws of the Union and be loyal to the nation, no past wrongs would be questioned, and they would be allowed to live their lives as before.
Grant even added a condition that sufficient food would be provided so that the soldiers and officers following Lee could return home without worrying about hunger.
"With terms like these, it is I who should be grateful as I sign."
Lee picked up his pen without delay and moved his wrist.
The sound of the scratching pen nib echoed in the room for a moment.
As he finished signing and set the pen down, Grant smiled with satisfaction and reached out his hand.
"The war has ended, but the United States may face even greater pains in the future."
"...I suppose so. Even if it wasn't for very long, we pointed guns at each other, and there are those whose livelihoods have been destroyed."
"As you say. Therefore, it will take tremendous effort for the North and South, which have been completely severed, to fill this chasm again."
No matter how hard they tried, could this country ever return to being a perfect, single nation as it was in the past?
He did not know. That was why the North was offering such generous terms to embrace the South once more.
This was a matter the President and Congress in Washington had emphasized repeatedly, and since Grant agreed, he had even issued an order that anyone who mocked or insulted the surrendered Confederate soldiers would be punished by military law.
"I hope that men like General Lee and young men like Seuret will play a major role. Because to make this country one again, we need everyone's strength."
Lee was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"I will do my best, General."
With a pledge full of sincerity, they shared a firm handshake.
The negotiations ended on a warm note, and Lee left the parlor first.
Just as Grant was about to stand up with a satisfied smile, Seuret, who had been quiet until now, approached him silently.
"General, may I have a word with you?"
He had been wanting to talk to this assassin of the North whom Lincoln had been grooming anyway.
Grant signaled his aides to leave first and sat back down.
"What is it?"
"Once the results of this negotiation are announced, General Johnston of Georgia will surrender as well."
Grant nodded calmly.
With supply lines completely severed and food and materials exhausted, what else could Johnston do?
It was an obvious prediction.
"Then the Confederate Army will effectively be extinct. The capital will be wide open, and the Union Army will be able to push in and occupy it immediately, won't they?"
"That would be the case. Although Washington will likely send a recommendation to surrender before that."
"But Breckinridge and Davis will not surrender."
The South had no means of resistance, and they were in a situation where they had to fear being beaten to death by the Black people who had risen up everywhere if the Union Army did not advance. Yet, at Seuret's assertion that they would not surrender, Grant narrowed his brows.
"It is the President's will to restore all authority if they only swear an oath of loyalty to the Union. They would refuse such terms?"
"If they were the type of people to be satisfied with such terms, they wouldn't have started the war in the first place."
Now that he thought about it... that made sense.
They must have been out of their minds to call for Southern independence and start a rebellion in the first place.
Hadn't that man Breckinridge committed such acts while serving as the incumbent President?
Seuret continued with a bitter sneer.
"The two of them will definitely flee. Anywhere—Mexico, Europe. And they will establish a government-in-exile, clinging to the justification of being the 'legitimate leaders of the South'."
"Then we must pursue and arrest them. Should I form a separate detachment..."
"They are quick-witted, so they will prepare to flee as soon as General Johnston surrenders. Therefore..."
Seuret leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice even further.
"How about doing it this way?"
"......?"
"......"
After hearing the story, Grant stared at Seuret for a moment.
Then, his eyes widened, and he let out a dry laugh.
"Haha... indeed. Do as you say. I saw nothing, and I heard nothing."
"Thank you, General."
Seuret saluted sharply and left the parlor.
Had Davis or Jefferson stolen Seuret's property without him knowing?
He had been curious about what kind of young man he was, but seeing him in person, there was truly something different about him.
"Or perhaps... is there a Black person among the ancestors of the Seuret family?"
Only his muttering remained in the parlor, left all alone.
Even if a building or a levee is chipped away little by little, it maintains its original form and holds out until a decisive blow is struck.
However, once a hole is punched through, it collapses uncontrollably from that point on, and the South at this moment was exactly like that.
Upon hearing the news that Robert E. Lee had surrendered, General Johnston informed Sherman without a moment's hesitation that he, too, would surrender under the same conditions.
The North, having no reason to refuse, welcomed them with open arms, and Sherman and the Confederate Army, guaranteed unconditional personal safety, pressed the escape button and exited the hellish war.
And Montgomery, the capital of the Confederate States of America, fell into a panic upon hearing this news.
"That traitorous bastard Robert E. Lee!"
"General Johnston surrendered too?"
"Who was it! Who was the one who said we should entrust the suppression force to Robert E. Lee!"
Cries of despair and blame echoed throughout the capital.
Even those who had been desperately engaging in mental gymnastics had no choice but to accept reality now.
"What on earth are we going to do when the Northern bastards push into the capital?"
"Before that, the niggers who heard this news might swarm us! The North would be better; if the rebels attack, they might kill us all!"
"Th-then... wouldn't it be better to just accept the North's recommendation?"
If it were a simple demand for surrender, they would have told them to go to hell, but behind the Southern legislators stood a Black army, armed and rising up with murderous intent.
The fear that they might be stabbed in the back and killed by those niggers who had approached from behind while they were only looking North choked them.
And.
"Ugh... Aaaaaah! It's a disaster! The niggers, the niggers are attacking!"
"Armed Black people have been spotted on the outskirts of Alabama, and their numbers are well over a thousand, and everyone is armed with firearms!"
The rebel armies that had risen up in various parts of the South were called rebel armies, but their state of armament could hardly be called excellent, even as a polite exaggeration.
It was fortunate if they were even carrying hunting shotguns, but those recently spotted in Alabama were said to be holding weapons that could be called regular military grade.
Moreover, their path of movement was clearly toward Montgomery, the capital.
That meant.
"Th-the rebels are going to kill us all."
"Mr. President! Let's surrender! At least Lincoln will guarantee our safety, just as he did for Robert E. Lee or Sherman!"
"Su-surrender, surrender!"
"Everyone, calm down! We still have defense forces in the capital, and we have enough weapons. If we decide to defend this place, a mere thousand niggers won't be able to break through..."
"Nooooo! There are Black rebel armies everywhere outside right now, do you really think only a thousand will come!"
"That's right! If we hold out here, those thousand will become 5,000, 10,000, 100,000, and it will be too late by then. We have to surrender while the North can still handle it!"
Davis felt like he was going crazy.
No, if you think about it with common sense, isn't something strange?
As soon as Robert E. Lee surrendered and Sherman disbanded his army, Black people armed to the level of regular troops were loitering near the capital as if they had been waiting?
Anyone could see that this was an artificial situation.
Looking back, that wasn't all.
When Sherman was trying to capture Atlanta, a massive uprising of an unbelievable scale occurred in Georgia, where Atlanta was located.
And when they attempted to recapture Georgia, the flames of that uprising spread across the entire South as if to show off.
Was all of this really a coincidence?
If he were a moron who could be deceived like that, he wouldn't even be in this position right now.
Assuming there was some mastermind behind all these situations and investigating every event thoroughly, it seemed like something might come to light.
But to do that...
"Mr. President! Let's surrender right now!"
"Goddamn it, what's the reason for hesitating! Are you going to surrender after we're killed by the niggers?"
The clamor of the ministers and legislators, who wouldn't let him go and were running wild like madmen, was too fierce.
"If we surrender here, slavery in this country..."
"Slavery or whatever, we have to save ourselves first!"
"That's right! President, you dragged us into this, so you have to take responsibility!"
They had been screaming about how he was the only hope to protect slavery, and now they were telling him to take all the responsibility and climb onto the guillotine.
At this moment, the sense of duty within Davis to uncover the true mastermind behind this situation vanished completely.
...Why on earth should I?
For whose benefit should I do such a thing? For these idiots?
Feeling a disillusionment even greater than the emptiness, Jefferson Davis finally sent a reply to Lincoln that he would surrender before the capital was devastated by Black people.
The fact that he chuckled at the actions of Breckinridge, who had secretly left the capital in the middle of the night while claiming he would never recognize this surrender, was a bonus.
Was he running away for the second time in a row, following the White House?
At this point, he might have to admit that his fleeing skills were superior to his own.
In the end, the first and last President of the South decided to accept all of this chaotic situation.
"Yeah... I don't know who you are, but you won. You terrible bastard."
Calmly acknowledging his defeat, he finished signing the surrender document.
Toward the true mastermind behind all these events, who was neither Lincoln nor John Brown.