(a) Abraham Lincoln tells his generals about his desire for an easy reunion with the secessionists,
(b) Robert E Lee's lines finally crumble around Petersburg,
(c) the Confederate capitol of Richmond is abandoned,
(d) Lee surrenders to US Grant at Appomattox,
(e) Lincoln is fatally shot at Ford's Theater,
(f) Joseph Johnston surrenders to William Tecumseh Sherman outside of Durham, and
(g) John Wilkes Booth is killed inside the Garrett barn in Virginia.
Shortly thereafter, Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders and Jefferson Davis is captured. If the Confederate generals had been different (or if Davis had had his way), the south would have been torn apart with guerilla fighting that could have gone on for years. If not for Lincoln, the peace that resulted could have been a cold, vindictive peace like that after World War I. Present at the reception were Winik, Brent Glass (National Museum of American History director), Daniel E Davids (The History Channel's Executive Vice President and General Manager), Sandra Day O'Connor (Supreme Court justice), and Tom Ridge (Homeland Security Secretary),
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