What if Robert E. Lee, the Confederate States' most famous general during the American Civil War, had been shot atop his horse in one of the engagements of the Siege of Petersburg in 1864? If i'm not mistaken, he charged alongside his cavalrymen at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in September, so there's a PoD opportunity there.
Considering how the war was pretty much lost by that point for the Confederate States, who would Jefferson Davis appoint as General in Chief for 1865 instead?
Would a more stubborn set of generals, alongside Lee's martyrdom, encourage CSA troops to continue fighting to the bitter end against Union forces? There was a thread recently dealing with the possibility of a protracted guerrilla war in the Deep South, and from my judgement, such a problem seemed like a possibility in the minds of the Union's generals, until Lee personally surrendered at Appomattox.
 
Would a more stubborn set of generals, alongside Lee's martyrdom, encourage CSA troops to continue fighting to the bitter end against Union forces? There was a thread recently dealing with the possibility of a protracted guerrilla war in the Deep South, and from my judgement, such a problem seemed like a possibility in the minds of the Union's generals, until Lee personally surrendered at Appomattox
To be blunt, the Confederate officers at Appomattox were not discussing guerilla warfare. This is more or less a myth; the officers discussed dispersing Lee's mostly surrounded army and fleeing in small parties to make their way to join up with other Confederates, such as Johnston's army in North Carolina. This is not the same thing as guerrilla warfare.

The interest of anyone in the South in waging insurgent war at the time is questionable as well; in the Trans-Mississippi, the Confederate army effectively disintegrated and the troops just went home before the generals even surrendered, resulting in more than one surreal scene where a Confederate general gave or published a farewell or surrender message where they berated the cowardice of their troops. The will to go on was not there.
 
IIRC Longstreet would be the ranking officer in the AoNV who would take over for Lee. He might lead a breakout from Richmond if the place hadn't held, but overall he'd try and inflict one loss on Grant before his army needed to surrender I think.
 
This is disaster for the south, because Longstreet surrendering the AoNV does not have the same moral "weight" as Lee surrendering, which indeed caused desertions and a realization "it was really over". Yes, Johnston will surrender, but there will indeed be a few more damn fools who will die in the summer of 1865.

But more seriously you might see the trashing of Longstreet, that didn't start until after Lee died otl will start right away. This will discourage other ex Confederates who want to contribute to reconstruction positively to hesitate. Expect to see less cooperation and more resentment between the sections.
 
Top