What was the fate of the Confederate leaders after 1865?

Most of the Confederate veterans returned home. Some moved west and some of the disgruntled veterans turned to crime. Perhaps one of the most famous of these criminals is Jesse James. He and his brother Frank joined forces with Cole Younger and his brothers to form the outlaw gang known as the James-Younger Gang. They robbed banks and trains throughout much of the Midwest.

On Christmas Day 1868, President Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all Civil War participants except high-ranking military and civil officials. In May 1872 the Congressional Amnesty Act gave the right to hold office again to almost all Southern leaders who had been excluded from public office by the 14th Amendment.