Adam Badeau, Grant in peace: from Appomattox to Mount McGregor, a personal memoir

[330] Grant, and finally requested the President to withdraw my nomination as Charge to Copenhagen. This he did, but offered me no other appointment, and he did not recall that of Merritt, so that if Merritt should be confirmed I would be out of office altogether. I remained a few weeks in Washington, consulting not only with Senators Conkling and Logan, but constantly with Vice-President Arthur, and once returning to New York to take the advice of General Grant. I saw the President several times and he sent his secretary to me more than once to urge me to accept the appointment to Copenhagen, as that would relieve him from the appearance of disregarding General Grant's personal wish; but I could not disobey the injunction of my own chief.

General Grant's urgency in the matter was by no means solely on my account, although he admitted in letters that were published at the time his interest for me and for his brother-in-law; but the instinct of fight was aroused in the soldier. He thought too that he had deserved different treatment at Garfield's hands, and he felt the nomination of Robertson more keenly than the removal of Cramer, or Fish, or my own.

Garfield, however, remained firm, but as the nominations were all opposed in the Senate, I returned to my post in England to await the result, while General Grant went to Mexico on business. From there he wrote to me: ‘I will never again lend my aid to the support of a Presidential candidate who has not strength enough to appear before a convention as a candidate, but gets in simply by the adherents of prominent candidates preferring any outsider to either of the candidates before the convention save their own.’

In June, however, he sent me word that he thought after all I might as well accept the Copenhagen mission, and I replied that if I had his full sanction I should like to do so rather than leave the public service. Accordingly the matter