GREENSBORO -- A lot of people think the Civil War ended at Appomattox, but historians say the decision to end the war came after a series of meetings in Greensboro 150 years ago.
General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.
"The scene at Appomattox, that's just stamped on the American imagination, so while there were tens of thousands more troops here, it just doesn't measure up in terms of what folks are interested in hearing and the drama of the scene,’’ said Linda Evans, a community historian with the Greensboro Historical Museum.
After reaching Danville, the remains of the Confederate government rolled into Guilford County by train, on April 11, 1865.
"The reason they came here is because the railroad brought them here. That was the main reason for coming to Greensboro,” said Michael Briggs
After 35 years of study Briggs authored a book, "Guilford Under the Stars and Bars."
He says the real end to the war came along tracks now crossed by South Elm Street on the outskirts of downtown Greensboro.
"I've always been shocked that so little of what happened here has been remembered here,’’ said Briggs.
With the fall of the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet fled south, stopping in Greensboro to debate their next move.
"Davis still wanted to continue to fight the war. His generals believed the war was all but over, and that they, he needed to surrender,’’ said Briggs.
After Sherman's March to the Sea, the war had moved into the state at Fort Fisher, then at Bentonville.
"At the meeting, Davis gave a long speech on how the war could still be won and then finally he asked General (Joseph) Johnson his thoughts. And Johnson said it would be the greatest of human crimes to fight a war when you had no chance to win," said Briggs.
The Army was melting away at night through desertions.
Rebel soldiers were being treated in a converted church in Greensboro. Hundreds of unknown Confederates were dead after buried in Green Hills Cemetery.
"There were tens of thousands of soldiers camped in and around Greensboro. The writer O'Henry was a little toddler back then and one of his earlier childhood memories was seeing those soldiers in the streets," said Evans.
The meetings continued over two days in a railway car.
"They held a voice vote, and by a tally of 5 to 2, voted to seek an end to the Civil War," said Griggs.
After a letter was drafted seeking an end to hostilities, Davis left Greensboro for Charlotte, leaving Johnston in North Carolina to work out details of the surrender.
"When the terms, though were forwarded up to Washington, D.C., for U.S. government approval. They were rejected as being too lenient,’’ said Briggs.
In fact, the secretary of war called Sherman "a traitor"
President Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated on April 15.
Johnston was negotiating with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. The two generals finally reached terms near the end of the month in Durham.
"Both men were of a mindset to get this over, to get the war ended,’’ said Briggs.
There are historical markers erected near where the meetings took place
"The whole effort of this is to teach people what did happen here, how important this area was,’’ said Briggs.
President Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10.
Confederate forces and states continued surrendering to the Union through the end of the summer.