Reviewed by Douglas W. Cupples (Memphis State University)
Published on H-CivWar (December, 1995) The end of hostilities
between Confederate and Union armies in 1865 marked the
beginning of a new struggle for many southerners. Returning from
military defeat on the battlefield most Confederate soldiers
found financial poverty, devastated homelands, and political
disenfranchisement waiting for them. For many the future was
bleak, at best, and emigration offered the most practicable
opportunity for restoring their shattered lives. As many as
three million left for the American west and north, and a lesser
number to other countries. A significant amount, perhaps as many
as twenty thousand, chose to begin their lives anew in Brazil.
The South's Defeat in war had been followed by the policy of
congressional radicals labeled Reconstruction. Military
occupation coupled with social upheaval and political
restructuring acted as a catalyst for many Confederates' desire
to escape their devastated region. For most, however