Mark Hounsell: Celebrating April 9

April 9 is memorable for having been the date of one of the most important victories of our illustrious American army. On that date in 1865, the rebellious and misguided forces of the Confederate Army, bent on preserving the God-awful practice of enslaving people of the African race, surrendered to the determined and victorious Union Army led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Va., thus ending the American Civil War. It was a war that claimed the lives of 625,000 men, which is just about equal to ALL Americans lost in all the many other wars the United States of America has ever engaged in. It was a just war that had to be fought. April 9 is a date in American history that should be celebrated by all freedom-loving Americans. Glory, glory hallelujah!

I mention this in response to William Marvel, a native-born Virginian who seems to suggest in his column titled “Dreading April 9” that the Union victory in the Civil War was a dreadful thing. No doubt some people south of the Mason-Dixon line might agree with him. I submit that the vast majority of all Americans do not see the end of aggression by the rebellious slave holders as a dreadful outcome. I celebrate the Confederate Army surrender on April 9, 1865, while William Marvel seems to dread it.