"Yes, Gen. Richard Taylor surrendered the 12,000
troops of the Confederate Department of Alabama,
Mississippi, & East Louisiana-ending all organized
resistance east of the Mississippi.." (May 4, 1865.)
See below. Stan
"On a visit home, Gen. W.T. WOFFORD, seeing the condition of this section, begged authorities to allow him to bring his brigade here but at first was refused. On January 23, 1865, by request of his own people, Gov. BROWN, and by his own desires, Gen. WOFFORD was appointed Department Commander for north Georgia.
...Colonel Isaac W. AVERY, in his "History of Georgia", gives an eye-witness acount of the devastations left by SHERMAN in this once favored section. 'Left for months outside the protecting aegis of both governments, the hiding place of guerillas in both armies, the theater of that worst of all strifes that exist between hostile factions, it realized in all its dread malignancy what is meant by a state of anarchy...Strolling bands of deserters and robbers, herded in the mountain caves, made predatory excursions from their fastnesses and in their inhuman collisions and murderous orgies kept up a reign of terror...
...It was a labor of love for General WOFFORD, and he entered upon his difficult duty with zeal. He called in and organized 7,000 men, large numbers of them deserters and stragglers. He exhibited decided executive ability in his work...He obtained corn, which he distributed among the starving people. His cool and resolute tact was the very quality needed for handling the turbulent lawlessness of his section. He sent a flag of truce to General JUDAH, the Federal commander in north Georgia, and obtained a personal conference in which he induced General JUDAH to do the noble act of distributing corn to the starving people whose names were furnished by General WOFFORD.'
...Gen. WOFFORD's headquarters were at Kingston and this station served as the distributing point. He asked for 30,000 bushels of corn, and permission to use government stock scattered over the country. General JUDAH granted all of this.
...On the 12th of May, 1865, Gen. WOFFORD made the last surrender this side of the Mississippi river."
This was eight days after Taylor's surrrender.