New Historical Society Lecture Season To Begin With ‘The End Of The Civil War’

Newtown Historical Society will open the fall season with a closeout: the climactic events of April 1865 and the closing days of the Civil War. The program, to be presented by David Montgomery, will be at 7:30 pm on Monday, September 13, in the community room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

The war had dragged on for four long years by 1865, with casualties unmatched in the nation’s history, violence and destruction wiping out homes and sundering families, and yet still allowing opposing troops to gather at a spring or well in evening hours to swap stories and souvenirs. Mr Montgomery will cover the last days of 1864, beginning with the siege of Petersburg, Va., the evacuation of government and army from Richmond, and other events leading to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. No examination of that fateful April would be complete without including Lincoln’s assassination and the politics surrounding the succession of Vice President Andrew Johnson.

Lee’s surrender left many questions. Lee surrendered his command of the Army of Northern Virginia, but that did not end the war. Fighting went on until June, and the potential for guerilla warfare in the southern mountains remained a threat. Even after final capitulation, what would the bitter legacy mean for the future of the country? What might Lincoln have done to ease the pain of four years of bullets and brutality? Mr Montgomery will try to answer all these and many others in his slide presentation.

David Montgomery is a retired finance executive with General Electric. He is also a former Marine Corps officer and Vietnam veteran. He is a frequent speaker at the Brookfield Historical Society’s monthly American Military Forum (he is, in fact, scheduled to offer the next program in that series on September 15).

A resident of Newtown, in addition to his historical interests, Mr Montgomery enjoys golf and long-distance cycling.

Newtown Historical Society programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

For further information call 203-426-5937.