Maine Memory Network

After the war, commemorating the deaths, injuries, bravery, and traumas of the four-years became an important part of Northern and Southern society.

It was not long after the war's end that Shepley received an announcement from The Army of the Tennessee for a reunion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. for June 1, 1865 -- the anniversary of the fall of Vicksburg. Confederate troops surrendered on July 4, 1863, after a siege that began May 22 of that year.

The invitation appears to have been sent shortly after the fall of Richmond, the Confederate capital, and the surrender of Robert E. Lee in April 1865.