Even after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, the Civil War continued to be fought, and surrenders negotiated, on different fronts. The most notable of these occurred at Bennett Place, near Durham, North Carolina, when Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Union General William T. Sherman. In this first full-length examination of the end of the war in North Carolina, Mark Bradley traces the campaign leading up to Bennett Place. Alternating between Union and Confederate points of view and drawing on his readings of primary sources, including numerous eyewitness accounts and the final muster rolls of the Army of Tennessee, Bradley depicts the action as it was experienced by the troops and the civilians in their path. He offers new information about the morale of the Army of Tennessee during its final confrontation with Sherman’s much larger Union army. And he advances a fresh interpretation of Sherman’s and Johnston’s roles in the final negotiations for the surrender. “One of those truly outstanding works that no casual reader will fail to enjoy or serious student of the Civil War want to miss.” — Civil War News “Bradley’s book is readable, interesting, and informative.” — Journal of American History “A remarkable book which shows years of painstaking research and a talent to weave the essence of the situation into an easily read and followed story. . . . Serious scholars of the Civil War will find This Astounding Close a valuable study.” — On Point “Belongs on the shelf of every Civil War buff.” — Blue & Gray Magazine “A well-documented and careful analysis of the political and military situation within which Sherman and Johnston maneuvered and negotiated in the six weeks after Bentonville. It is an interesting story, told with considerable skill. . . . Bradley is to be commended for a well-written and impressively researched monograph on a long ignored subject.” — Civil War History “A superb study that incorporates the best of new military history.” — Civil War Book Review “Well-written, and covering a significant but neglected topic, this book is a worthy sequel to Bradley’s earlier study of Bentonville.” — North & South “This volume sweeps aside a shelf of studies previously done on the end of hostilities in North Carolina. It is going to be a basic reference on the subject longer than the works it replaces. In addition, the book is a fascinating read.” — Richmond Times Dispatch “By casting his lens on the final days of the Army of Tennessee, [Bradley] sheds light on a neglected chapter of the Civil War story. . . . Thoroughly researched.” — Our State “[Bradley] paints a very different picture of the soldier known to his men as 'Uncle Billy.' . . . Even though we know the outcome of the story, Bradley manages to imbue his tale with moments of high drama. . . . Fascinating.” — Durham Herald-Sun “[Bradley] paints a very different picture of the soldier known to his men as 'Uncle Billy.' . . . Even though we know the outcome of the story, Bradley manages to imbue his tale with moments of high drama. . . . Fascinating.” — Durham Herald-Sun The last days of the Civil War in the East Drawing from a number of sources that reveal both Northern and Southern points of view, Bradley details of one of the last campaigns of the Civil War, in which the Army of Tennessee surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place in North Carolina, weeks after the official surrender of Lee at Appomattox. Mark L. Bradley is author of Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville . He lives in Graham, North Carolina. Preface Once before in my life the accomplishment of hopes long and anxiously dwelt on, ever present, and which entered into all my thoughts, left me without even the power to express or give utterance to the joy & thankfulness which filled my heart. Something similar is the effect upon me of this astounding close of the most terrible contest of modern times. At last, Peace, blessed God-given Peace, is so near that we can hear her gracious voice and her gentle foot-fall over fields too long drenched with fraternal blood. . . . God be praised! God help us all, "loyal" and "rebel" alike, to take to heart the terrible lessons of the last five years, and alike to shun the errors, the follies and the crimes, which brought upon us all such discipline. --Maj. Henry Hitchcock to his wife, Mary, April 16, 1865 When I began this project ten years ago, I knew the road would lead to Bennett Place, but I assumed little else. I intended to tell the story of Sherman's campaigns in North Carolina, bearing in mind that as the year 1865 opened, Northern victory and Southern defeat appeared imminent, but none of the participants could predict when and how the end would come, or how much death and destruction would occur in the meantime. My first objective was to convey that sense of foreboding and uncertainty in describing the final month of the