General Edmund Kirby Smith (5-16-1824 – 3-28-1893)

In an event that is generally regarded as marking the end of
the Civil War on this day in 1865, Confederate General
Edmund Kirby Smith (above), commander of Confederate
forces west of the Mississippi, signed the surrender terms
offered by Union negotiators and Major General Canby. With
Smith’s surrender, the last Confederate army ceased to exist,
bringing a formal end to the bloodiest four years in U.S.
history. The war began on April 12, 1861.