citizens as they were as soldiers, then he will be proud of them. As the generals depart, soldiers and civilians advance, and the McLean household is systematically ravaged by souvenir hunters. Rapacity and greed—harbingers of the future—violently intrude on the heels of a moment of historic reconciliation. The action flashes forward one last time, to the present day. Edgar Ray Killen, a Klan member now in jail for his role in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964, appears. Now an old man who uses a wheelchair, he sings in short, barking phrases of his pride in ordering the death of two Jewish civil rights workers and their black driver, and relives the murder in enthusiastic detail. His horrible recollection over, he disappears. Epilogue Julia Grant sorrowfully realizes that the War was not the last, as she has hoped, and that mankind will forever fight and kill. She leads the Women's Chorus in a wordless lament to the sorrow of war. References External links San Francisco Opera's Appomattox site 2007 operas English-language operas Minimalist operas Operas Operas set in the 19th century Operas by Philip Glass Operas set in the United States Operas about politicians Opera world premieres at San Francisco Opera Operas based on real people Musical compositions about the American Civil War Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Cultural depictions of Robert E. Lee Cultural depictions of Ulysses S. Grant Cultural depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural depictions of Lyndon B. Johnson