Chapter 21: administration of War Department
- Services in Washington -- Spencer carbines -- Sheridan's Valley campaign -- Dana visits Sheridan -- defensive attitude of army in Virginia -- Sherman's march to the sea -- Nashville campaign -- dispersion of Hood's army -- letters to Wilson -- cavalry campaign in Alabama and Georgia -- Grant's final campaign -- collapse of Confederacy -- Dana goes to the front -- assassination of Lincoln -- arrest and trial of conspirators -- capture and confinement of Jefferson Davis -- visits Fort Monroe -- events and great review at Washington -- returns to civil life
Immediately after Early had withdrawn to the south side of the Potomac, and left Washington to comparative quiet and safety, Dana resumed his routine duties as Assistant Secretary of War, and soon became as completely absorbed in them as he had been in those of the army in the field. While he and Watson divided the work between them according to their own convenience, Dana gave special attention and much of his time to the investigation of frauds against the government on the part of contractors, and in the supervision of the operations of the Secret Service agents, who were employed in learning what was going on within the enemy's lines. But with all his cares he still found time for correspondence with his friends. On August 4, 1864, he wrote me from the War Department as follows:
I saw Rawlins on Sunday, and am sorry to notice the signs of increasing disease. I fear there is no hope for him. To-day we got the news of Stoneman's reverse. It is
