John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

[311] seemed confident that Grant was the man was E. B. Washburne, Republican member of Congress from the Galena district, but his advocacy was regarded as not entirely disinterested. Dana had corresponded with him in the early days of the antislavery movement, and also from Cairo, and now found himself at the same boarding-house with him. Eliot, of Massachusetts, and Sedgwick, of New York, were also there, and this constituted a coterie with whom Dana was in constant communication. The movement spread from them to others. The Secretary of War himself was won over, and finally the President, but withal it did not spread like wildfire. Many senators and representatives sought out Dana, and plied him with questions about Grant's habits, his character, and his fitness for command. I was present at many of the interviews, and assisted as fully as I could in helping on the measure, which slowly but surely gained headway, and was finally adopted. Washburne's earnestness and force gradually swept aside all opposition in the House, while Dana's advocacy, although less vehement, was regarded not only as far better informed but much more disinterested. It was particularly effective with the cabinet and the Senate. Curiously enough, there is reason to believe that the question of Grant's political ambitions was an important factor in the settlement of the case. It is known that shortly after the Vicksburg campaign Lincoln sent for his old friend Russell Jones, of Galena, then United States marshal at Chicago, afterwards minister at Brussels, and asked him if “that man Grant” wanted to be president. Fortunately Jones was able, from information received in a late personal interview, to give the most positive and satisfactory assurances on that point. But with the Chattanooga campaign added to his credit, the question now came up again, and fortunately Dana felt fully justified in saying that Grant's only ambition was to help put