Adam Badeau, Military history of Ulysses S. Grant from April 1861 to April 1865. Volume 3

General Johnston to General Sherman.—(dictated by Jefferson Davis.)

The results of the recent campaign in Virginia have changed the relative military condition of the belligerents. I am, therefore, induced to address you in this form the enquiry whether, to stop the further effusion of blood and devastation of property, you are willing to make a temporary suspension of active operations, and to communicate to Lieutenant-General Grant, commanding the armies of the United States, the request that he will take like action in regard to other armies, the object being to permit the civil authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to terminate the existing war.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

General Sherman to General Johnston.

General: I have this moment received your communication of this date. I am fully empowered to arrange with you any terms for the suspension of further hostilities between the armies commanded by you and those commanded by myself, and will be willing to confer with you to that end. I will limit the advance of my main column, to-morrow, to Morrisville, and the cavalry to the university, and expect that you will also maintain the present position of your forces until each has notice of a failure to agree. [695]

That a basis of action may be had, I undertake to abide by the same terms and conditions as were made by Generals Grant and Lee at Appomattox court-house, on the 9th instant, relative to our two armies; and furthermore, to obtain from General Grant an order to suspend the movements of any troops from the direction of Virginia. General Stoneman is under my command, and my order will suspend any devastation or destruction contemplated by him. I will add that I really desire to save the people of North Carolina the damage they would sustain by the march of this army through the central or western parts of the state.

I am, with respect, your obedient servant,

General Sherman to General Grant.

General: I enclose herewith a copy of an agreement made this day between General Joseph E. Johnston and myself, which, if approved by the President of the United States, will produce peace from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. Mr. Breckenridge was present at our conference, in the capacity of major-general, and satisfied me of the ability of General Johnston to carry out to their full extent the terms of this agreement; and if you will get the President to simply endorse the copy, and commission me to carry out the terms, I will follow them to the conclusion.

You will observe that it is an absolute submission of the enemy to the lawful authority of the United States, and disperses his armies absolutely; and the point to which I attach most importance is that the dispersion and disbandment of these armies is done in such a manner as to prevent their breaking up into guerilla bands. On the other hand, we can retain just as much of an army as we please. I agreed to the mode and manner of the surrender of arms set forth, as it gives the states the means of suppressing guerillas, which we could not expect them to do if we stripped them of all arms.

Both Generals Johnston and Breckenridge admitted that slavery was dead, and I could not insist on embracing it in such a paper, because it can be made with the states in detail. I know that all the men of substance South sincerely want peace, and I do not believe [696] they will resort to war again during this century. I have no doubt that they will in future be perfectly subordinate to the laws of the United States. The moment my action in this matter is approved, I can spare five corps, and will ask for orders to leave General Schofield here with the Tenth corps, and to march myself with the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-third corps via Burkesville and Gordonsville to Frederick or Hagerstown, Maryland, there to be paid and mustered out.

The question of finance is now the chief one, and every soldier and officer not needed should be got home at work. I would like to be able to begin the march north by May 1st.

I urge, on the part of the President, speedy action, as it is important to get the Confederate armies to their homes as well as our own.

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,

Memorandum, or basis of agreement, made this 18th day of April, A. D. , 1865, near Durham's station, in the state of North Carolina, by and between General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate army, and Major-General William T. Sherman, commanding the army of the United States in North Carolina, both present:

1. The contending armies now in the field to maintain the statu quo until notice is given by the commanding general of any one to its opponent, and reasonable time, say forty-eight hours, allowed.

2. The Confederate armies now in existence to be disbanded and conducted to their several state capitals, there to deposit their arms and public property in the state arsenal; and each officer and man to execute and file an agreement to cease from acts of war, and to abide the action of the state and federal authority; the number of arms and munitions of war to be reported to the chief of ordnance at Washington city, subject to the future action of the Congress of the United States, and, in the meantime, to be used solely to maintain peace and order within the borders of the states respectively.

3. The recognition, by the Executive of the United States, of the several state governments, on their officers and legislatures taking the oaths prescribed by the constitution of the United States, and, where conflicting state governments have resulted from the war, the legitimacy of all shall be submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States.

4. The re-establishment of all the Federal courts in the several [697] states, with powers as defined by the Constitution of the United States and of the states respectively.

5. The people and inhabitants of all the states to be guaranteed, so far as the Executive can, their political rights and franchises, as well as their rights of person and property, as defined by the Constitution of the United States and of the states respectively.

6. The executive authority of the government of the United States not to disturb any of the people by reason of the late war, so long as they live in peace and quiet, and obey the laws in existence at the place of their residence.

7. In general terms, the war to cease; a general amnesty, so far as the Executive of the United States can command, on condition of the disbandment of the Confederate armies, the distribution of the arms, and the resumption of peaceful pursuits by the officers and men hitherto composing said armies. Not being fully empowered by our respective principals to fulfil these terms, we individually and officially pledge ourselves to promptly obtain the necessary authority, and to carry out the above programme.

General: The memorandum or basis agreed upon between General Sherman and General Johnston having been submitted to the President, they are disapproved. You will give notice of the disapproval to General Sherman, and direct him to resume hostilities at the earliest moment.

The instructions given to you by the late President, Abraham Lincoln, on the 3rd of March, by my telegraph of that date, addressed to you, express substantially the views of President Andrew Johnson, and will be observed by General Sherman. A copy is herewith appended.

The President desires that you proceed immediately to the headquarters of Major-General Sherman, and direct operations against the enemy.

Yours truly,

General Grant to General Sherman.

General: The basis of agreement entered into between yourself and General J. E. Johnston, for the disbandment of the Southern army, and the extension of the authority of the general government over all the territory belonging to it, is received.

I read it carefully myself before submitting it to the President and Secretary of War, and felt satisfied that it could not possibly be approved. My reason for these views I will give you at another time, in a more extended letter.

Your agreement touches upon questions of such vital importance that, as soon as read, I addressed a note to the Secretary of War, notifying him of their receipt, and the importance of immediate action by the President; and suggested, in view of their importance, that the entire cabinet be called together, that all might give an expression of their opinions upon the matter. The result was a disapproval by the President of the basis laid down; a disapproval of the negotiations altogether—except for the surrender of the army commanded by General Johnston, and directions to me to notify you of this decision. I cannot do so better than by sending you the enclosed copy of a dispatch (penned by the late President, though signed by the Secretary of War) in answer to me, on sending a letter received from General Lee, proposing to meet me for the purpose of submitting the question of peace to a convention of officers.

Please notify General Johnston immediately on receipt of this, and resume hostilities against his army at the earliest moment you can, acting in good faith.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

First Bulletin.

Yesterday evening a bearer of dispatches arrived from General Sherman. An agreement for the suspension of hostilities, and a memorandum of what is called a basis for peace, had been entered into on the 18th inst, by General Sherman, with the rebel General Johnston. Brigadier-General Breckenridge was present at the conference. [699]

A cabinet meeting was held at eight o'clock in the evening, at which the action of General Sherman was disapproved by the President, by the Secretary of War, by General Grant, and by every member of the cabinet. General Sherman was ordered to resume hostilities immediately, and was directed that the instructions given by the late President, in the following telegram which was penned by Mr. Lincoln himself at the Capitol, on the night of the 3rd of March, were approved by President Andrew Johnson, and were reiterated to govern the action of military commanders.

On the night of the 3rd of March, while President Lincoln and his cabinet were at the Capitol, a telegram from General Grant was brought to the Secretary of War, informing him that General Lee had requested an interview or conference, to make an arrangement for terms of peace. The letter of General Lee was published in a letter to Davis and to the rebel congress. General Grant's telegram was submitted to Mr. Lincoln, who, after pondering a few minutes, took up his pen and wrote with his own hand the following reply, which he submitted to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of War. It was then dated, addressed, and signed by the Secretary of War, and telegraphed to General Grant:

The orders of General Sherman to General Stoneman to withdraw from Salisbury and join him will probably open the way for Davis to escape to Mexico or Europe with his plunder, which is reported to be very large, including not only the plunder of the Richmond banks, but previous accumulations.

A dispatch received by this department from Richmond says: ‘It is stated here, by respectable parties, that the amount of specie taken [700] south by Jeff Davis and his partisans is very large, including not only the plunder of the Richmond banks, but previous accumulations. They hope, it is said, to make terms with General Sherman, or some other commander, by which they will be permitted, with their effects, including this gold plunder, to go to Mexico or Europe. Johnston's negotiations look to this end.’

After the cabinet meeting last night, General Grant started for North Carolina, to direct operations against Johnston's army.

General Sherman to General Grant.

General: I had the honor to receive your letter of April 21st, with enclosures yesterday, and was well pleased that you came along, as you must have observed that I held the military control so as to adapt it to any phase the case might assume.

It is but just I should record the fact, that I made my terms with General Johnston under the influence of the liberal terms you extended to the army of General Lee, at Appomattox court-house, on the 9th, and the seeming policy of our government, as evinced by the call of the Virginia legislature and governor back to Richmond, under yours and President Lincoln's very eyes.

It now appears this last act was done without any consultation with you or any knowledge of Mr. Lincoln, but rather in opposition to a previous policy, well considered.

I have not the least desire to interfere in the civil policy of our government, but would shun it as something not to my liking; but occasions do arise when a prompt seizure of results is forced on military commanders not in immediate communication with the proper authority. It is probable that the terms signed by General Johnston and myself were not clear enough on the point, well understood between us, that our negotiations did not apply to any parties outside the officers and men of the Confederate armies, which could easily have been remedied.

No surrender of any army not actually at the mercy of an antagonist was ever made without ‘terms,’ and these always define the military status of the surrendered. Thus you stipulated that the officers and men of Lee's army should not be molested at their homes so long as they obeyed the laws at the place of their residence.

I do not wish to discuss these points involved in our recognition of the state governments in actual existence, but will merely state my conclusions, to await the solution of the future. [702]

Such action on our part in no manner recognizes for a moment the so-called Confederate government, or makes us liable for its debts or acts.

The laws and acts done by the several states during the period are void, because done without the oath prescribed by our Constitution of the United States, which is a ‘condition precedent.’

We have a right to use any sort of machinery to produce military results; and it is the commonest thing for military commanders to use the civil governments in actual existence as a means to an end. I do believe we could and can use the present state governments lawfully, constitutionally, and as the very best possible means to produce the object desired, viz., entire and complete submission to the lawful authority of the United States.

As to punishment for past crimes, that is for the judiciary, and can in no manner of way be disturbed by our acts; and, so far as I can, I will use my influence that rebels shall suffer all the personal punishment prescribed by the law, as also the civil liabilities arising from their past acts.

What we now want is the new form of law by which common men may regain the positions of industry, so long disturbed by the war.

I now apprehend that the rebel armies will disperse, and, instead of dealing with six or seven states, we will have to deal with numberless bands of desperadoes, headed by such men as Mosby, Forrest, Red Jackson, and others, who know not and care not for danger and its consequences.

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,

General Sherman to Secretary Stanton.

dear sir: I have been furnished a copy of your letter of April 21st to General Grant, signifying your disapproval of the terms on which General Johnston proposed to disarm and disperse the insurgents, on condition of amnesty, etc. I admit my folly in embracing in a military convention any civil matters; but, unfortunately, such is the nature of our situation that they seem inextricably united, and I understood from you, at Savannah, that the financial state of the country demanded military success, and would warrant a little bending to policy. [703]

When I had my conference with General Johnston, I had the public examples before me of General Grant's terms to Lee's army, and General Weitzel's invitation to the Virginia legislature to assemble at Richmond.

I still believe the general government of the United States has made a mistake; but that is none of my business-mine is a different task; and I had flattered myself that, by four years of patient, unremitting, and successful labor, I deserved no reminder such as is contained in the last paragraph of your letter to General Grant. You may assure the President that I heed his suggestion.

I am, truly, etc.,

Terms of a military convention, entered into this 26th day of April, 1865, at Bennetts House, near Durham's station, North Carolina, between General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate army, and Major-General W. T. Sherman, commanding the United States army, in North Carolina.

1. All acts of war on the part of the troops under General Johnston's command shall cease.

2. All arms and public property to be deposited at Greensboroa and delivered to an ordnance officer of the United States army.

3. Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate; one copy to be retained by the commander of the troops, and the other to be given to an officer to be designated by General Sherman. Each officer and man to give his individual obligation in writing not to take up arms against the government of the United States, until properly released from this obligation.

4. The side-arms of officers, and their private horses and baggage, to be retained by them.

5. This being done, all the officers and men will be permitted to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by the United States authorities so long as they observe their obligation and the laws in force where they may reside.

Second Bulletin.

The department has received the following dispatch from Major-General Halleck, commanding the Military Division of the James. Generals Canby and Thomas were instructed some days ago that Sherman's arrangements with Johnston were disapproved by the President, and they were ordered to disregard it, and push the enemy in every direction.

General Halleck to Secretary Stanton.

Generals Meade, Sheridan, and Wright are acting under orders to pay no regard to any truce or orders of General Sherman respecting hostilities, on the ground that Sherman's agreement could bind his command only, and no other.

They are directed to push forward, regardless of orders from any one, except from General Grant, and cut off Johnston's retreat.

Beauregard has telegraphed to Danville that a new arrangement has been made with Sherman, and that the advance of the Sixth corps was to be suspended until further orders.

I have telegraphed back to obey no orders of Sherman, but to push forward as rapidly as possible.

The bankers here have information to-day that Jeff Davis's specie is moving south from Goldsboroa, in wagons, as fast as possible.

I suggest that orders be telegraphed, through General Thomas, that Wilson obey no orders from Sherman, and notifying him and Canby, and all commanders on the Mississippi, to take measures to intercept the rebel chiefs and their plunder.

The specie taken with them is estimated here at from six to thirteen million dollars.

General Sherman to General Grant.

General: Since you left me yesterday, I have seen the New York Times of the 24th, containing a budget of military news, authenticated [705] by the signature of the Secretary of War, Hon. E. M. Stanton, which is grouped in such a way as to give the public very erroneous impressions. It embraces a copy of the basis of agreement between myself and General Johnston, of April 18th, with comments, which it will be time enough to discuss two or three years hence, after the government has experimented a little more in the machinery by which power reaches the scattered people of the vast country known as the ‘South.’ In the meantime, however, I did think that my rank (if not past services) entitled me at least to trust that the Secretary of War would keep secret what was communicated for the use of none but the cabinet, until further enquiry could be made, instead of giving publicity to it along with documents which I never saw, and drawing there from inferences wide of the truth. I never saw or had furnished me a copy of President Lincoln's dispatch to you of the 3rd of March, nor did Mr. Stanton or any human being ever convey to me its substance, or anything like it. On the contrary, I had seen General Weitzel's invitation to the Virginia legislature, made in Mr. Lincoln's very presence, and failed to discover any other official hint of a plan of reconstruction, or any ideas calculated to allay the fears of the people of the South, after the destruction of their armies and civil authorities would leave them without any government whatever.

We should not drive a people into anarchy, and it is simply impossible for our military power to reach all the masses of their unhappy country.

I confess I did not desire to drive General Johnston's army into bands of armed men, going about without purpose, and capable only of infinite mischief. But you saw, on your arrival here, that I had my army so disposed that his escape was only possible in a disorganized shape; and as you did not choose to ‘direct military operations in this quarter,’ I inferred that you were satisfied with the military situation; at all events, the instant I learned what was proper enough, the disapproval of the President, I acted in such a manner as to compel the surrender of General Johnston's whole army on the same terms which you had prescribed to General Lee's army, when you had it surrounded, and in your absolute power.

Mr. Stanton, in stating that my orders to General Stoneman were likely to result in the escape of ‘Mr. Davis to Mexico or Europe,’ is in deep error. General Stoneman was not at ‘Salisbury,’ but had gone back to ‘Statesville.’ Davis was between us, and therefore Stoneman [706] was beyond him. By turning toward me he was approaching Davis, and, had he joined me as ordered, I would have had a mounted force greatly needed for Davis's capture, and for other purposes. Even now I don't know that Mr. Stanton wants Davis caught, and as my official papers, deemed sacred, are hastily published to the world, it will be imprudent for me to state what has been done in that regard.

As the editor of the ‘Times’ has (it may be) logically and fairly drawn from this singular document the conclusion that I am insubordinate, I can only deny the intention.

I have never in my life questioned or disobeyed an order, though many and many a time have I risked my life, health, and reputation in obeying orders, or even hints, to execute plans and purposes, not to my liking. It is not fair to hold from me the plans and policy of government (if any there be), and expect me to guess at them; for facts and events appear quite different from different standpoints. For four years I have been in camp dealing with soldiers, and I can assure you that the conclusion at which the cabinet arrived with such singular unanimity differs from mine. I conferred freely with the best officers in this army as to the points involved in this controversy, and, strange to say, they were singularly unanimous in the other conclusion. They will learn with pain and amazement that I am deemed insubordinate, and wanting in common-sense; that I, who for four years have labored day and night, winter and summer; who have brought an army of seventy thousand men in magnificent condition across a country hitherto deemed impassable, and placed it just where it was wanted, on the day appointed, have brought discredit on our government! I do not wish to boast of this, but I do say that it entitled me to the courtesy of being consulted before publishing to the world a proposition rightfully submitted to higher authority for adjudication, and then accompanied by statements which invited the dogs of the press to be let loose upon me. It is true that noncombatants, men who sleep in comfort and security while we watch on the distant lines, are better able to judge than we poor soldiers, who rarely see a newspaper, hardly hear from our families, or stop long enough to draw our pay. I envy not the task of ‘reconstruction,’ and am delighted that the Secretary of War has relieved me of it.

As you did not undertake to assume the management of the affairs of this army, I infer that, on personal inspection, your mind arrived at a different conclusion from that of the Secretary of War. I will therefore go on to execute your orders to the conclusion, and, when [707] done, will with intense satisfaction leave to the civil authorities the execution of the task of which they seem so jealous. But, as an honest man and a soldier, I invite them to go back to Nashville, for they will see some things and hear some things that may disturb their philosophy. With sincere respect,

P. S. As Mr. Stanton's most singular paper has been published, I demand that this also be made public, though I am in no manner responsible to the press, but to the law and my proper superiors.

General Sherman to Author.

dear Badeau: Yours of February 28th is received; but I think you intended to enclose a copy of a letter from me to General Grant of May 10, 1864. . . . I kept no copy; indeed I wrote hundreds of letters familiarly and privately, just as I do this, without thinking of their ever turning up. The one of May 28, 1864, was official, and is copied in my letter-book.

Now I freely concede to you the right to use anything I ever wrote, private or public, to give the world a picture of the feelings, even passions, of the time. I did contend then, it may be savagely and unwisely, that no man in authority could be justified in stamping the act of a general at the head of an army in the field in the manner that Stanton did me. I give to Stanton every possible credit for his patriotism, for his talents—yea, genius; but he sometimes forgot that other men had strong natures and feelings that could be wounded to [708] the quick. I then thought him malicious, desirous to ruin me because I was one of the successful, likely to stand in his way politically. But now, with all the lights before me, I am convinced that he was stampeded by Mr. Lincoln's assassination, and that his usually good judgment was swerved by that cause. I am glad you were a personal witness to General Grant's exhibition of feeling on seeing Stanton's published orders, which he characterized as ‘infamous.’

At this moment I received your second letter of March 1, with the copies. I have endorsed each fully and frankly, and you are at full liberty to treat them according to your judgment.

I propose now to be a peacemaker, and do not want to re-create any of the old feeling; but no picture is perfect without an atmosphere, and the atmosphere is the feeling of the moment—afterwards comes out the sunshine, dissipating the clouds and mists that give beauty and variety to the picture.

To paint the war, you must recognize the truth. In 1864, if we saw horsemen in our road, we unlimbered a battery and fired case-shot without stopping to inquire who they were. Now the case is entirely different. To describe that war, you must re-create the feelings and ideas of the day, which were as much a part of the war as the dead and wounded which encumbered the ground after the battle. . . .

As ever, your friend,

General Sherman to General Grant.

dear General: I march to-morrow at the head of my army through Richmond for Alexandria, in pursuance of the orders this day received by telegraph from you. I have received no other telegram or letter from you since you left me at Raleigh. I send by General Howard, who goes to Washington in pursuance of a telegram dated 7th instant, received only to-day, my official report of events from my last official report up to this date.

I do think a great outrage has been enacted against me by Mr. Stanton and General Halleck. I care naught for public opinion; that will regulate itself; but to maintain my own self-respect, and to command men, I must resent a public insult. [709]

On arriving at Old Point, I met a dispatch from General Halleck, inviting me to his house in Richmond. I declined most positively, and assigned as a reason the insult to me in his telegram to Secretary Stanton of April 26th. I came here via Petersburg, and have gone under canvas. Halleck had arranged to review my army in passing through Richmond. I forbade it. Yesterday I received a letter, of which a copy is enclosed. I answered that I could not reconcile its friendly substance with the public insult contained in his dispatch, and notified him that I should march through Richmond, and asked him to keep out of sight, lest he should be insulted by the men. My officers and men feel his insult as keenly as I do. I was in hopes to have something from you before I got here to guide me, and telegraphed you with that view from Morehead city, but I have not received a word from you, and have acted thus far on my own responsibility. I will treat Mr. Stanton with like scorn and contempt unless you have reasons otherwise; for I regard my military career as ended, save and except so far as necessary to put my army into your hands. Mr. Stanton can give me no orders of himself. He may, in the name of the President, and those shall be obeyed to the letter, but I deny his right to command an army. Your orders and wishes shall be to me the law, but I ask you to vindicate my name from the insult conveyed in Mr. Stanton's dispatch to General Dix of April 27th, published in all the newspapers of the land. If you do not, I will. No man shall insult me with impunity as long as I am an officer of the army. Subordination to authority is one thing —submission to insult is another. No amount of retraction or pusillanimous excusing will do. Mr. Stanton must publicly confess himself a common libeller, or—But I won't threaten. I will not enter Washington except on your or the President's emphatic orders; but I do wish to remain with my army till it ceases to exist, or till it is broken up and scattered to other duty. Then I wish to go for a time to my family, and make arrangements for the future. Your private and official wishes, when conveyed to me, shall be sacred, but there can be no relations between Mr. Stanton and me. He seeks your life and reputation as well as mine. Beware! But you are cool, and have been most skilful in managing such kind of people, and I have faith that you will have penetrated his designs. He wants the vast patronage of the military governorships of the South, and the votes of the negroes, now loyal citizens, for political capital, and whoever stands in his way must die. Keep above such influences, or you [710] will also be a victim. See in my case how soon all past services are ignored or forgotten.

Excuse this letter. Burn it, but heed my friendly counsel. The lust for power in political minds is the strongest passion of life, and impels ambitious men ( Richard III. ) to deeds of infamy.

Ever your friend,

Endorsement by General Sherman on above.

I recall from the within letter the feelings of bitterness that filled my soul at that dread epoch of time. The letter must have been written hastily and in absolute confidence — a confidence in General Grant that I then felt and still feel. Because I sent to Washington terms that recognized the war as over, and promising the subjugated enemy a treatment that would have been the extreme of generosity and wisdom, I was denounced by the Secretary of War as a traitor, and my own soldiers commanded to disobey my orders; and this denunciation was spread broadcast over the world.

Now, after twelve long eventful years of political acrimony, we find ourselves compelled to return to the same point of history, or else permit the enemy of that day to become the absolute masters of the country.

To-day I might act with more silence, with more caution and prudence, because I am twelve years older. But these things did occur, these feelings were felt, and inspired acts which go to make up history; and the question now is not, was I right or wrong? but, did it happen? and is the record of it worth anything as an historic example?

General Sherman to General Grant.

dear General: As I am to-day making my arrangements to go West, preparatory to resuming my proper duties, I think it proper to [711] state a few points on which there is misapprehension in the minds of strangers.

I am not a politician, never voted but once in my life, and never read a political platform. If spared, I never will read a political platform, or hold any civil office whatsoever. I venerate the Constitution of the United States, think it as near perfection as possible, and recent events have demonstrated that it vests the general government with all the power necessary for self-vindication, and for the protection to life and property of the inhabitants. To accuse me of giving aid and comfort to copperheads is an insult. I do not believe in the sincerity of any able-bodied man who has not fought in this war, much less in the copperheads who opposed the war itself, or threw obstacles in the way of its successful prosecution.

My opinions on all matters are very strong; but if I am possessed properly of the views and orders of my superiors, I make them my study, and conform my conduct to them as if they were my own. The President has only to tell me what he wants done, and I will do it.

I was hurt, outraged, and insulted at Mr. Stanton's public arraignment of my motives and actions, at his endorsing General Halleck's insulting and offensive dispatch, and his studied silence, when the press accused me of all sorts of base motives, even of selling myself to Jeff. Davis for gold, of sheltering criminals, and entertaining ambitious views at the expense of my country. I respect his office, but cannot him personally, till he undoes the injustice of the past. I think I have soldierly instincts and feelings; but if this action of mine at all incommodes the President or endangers public harmony, all you have to do is to say so, and leave me time to seek civil employment, and I will make room for some one else. I will serve the President of the United States not only with fidelity but with zeal. The government of the United States and its constituted authorities must be sustained and perpetuated, not for our good alone, but for that of coming generations.

I would like Mr. Johnson to read this letter, and to believe me that the newspaper gossip of my having presidential aspirations is absurd and offensive to me, and I would check it if I knew how.

As ever, your ardent friend and servant,

Endorsement by General Sherman on above.

This letter also was private, and not copied into my usual letter-book. I had forgotten it, but to-day it expresses my feelings and opinion, and must have been penned hastily, but as the result of long conviction.

I think my life up to this minute has been consistent therewith. Now it sounds somewhat absurd, but at that day I was accused of everything bad, because I had consented to submit to the President and his cabinet for their consideration certain general propositions looking to reconstruction after a great civil war. I hereby authorize General Badeau to make whatever use he pleases of it in his biography of General Grant, to whom I then looked as my superior officer, and as the personal embodiment of the results of the war. I was as loyal to him as man could be, and I take pride in the belief that he wanted just such following; and had he, when President, confided in men whose attachment had been tried in the days of adversity and battle, I believe his civil administration would have been, if not more successful, at least more comfortable. In any event and always, I shall hope for his ultimate reward in the consciousness of deeds well done.

General Townsend to General Rawlins.

General: In compliance with your request of the 22d ult., I have to transmit herewith statements from the regimental records on file in this office, showing the losses sustained by the army of the Potomac in killed, wounded, and missing, from May 5, 1864, to April 9, 1865; also statements from the regimental records on file, showing the losses sustained by the army of the James, in killed, wounded, and missing, from May 5, 1864, to April 9, 1865; together with the recapitulation, showing a total of losses sustained by both armies during the period above named.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

General Breck to Author.

General: In reply to your communication, of the 24th instant, I have to furnish you the following information, from the ‘Records of Prisoners of War,’ filed in this office: [715]

The number of rebel prisoners captured by the United States forces in the War of the Rebellion, subsequent to March 17, 1864, amount to 92,405. The number of rebel prisoners surrendered to the United States forces, subsequent to March 17, 1864, amount to 176,384, making a total of captures and surrenders for that period of 268,789.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Memoranda relative to General Lee's application for pardon and proposed trial for treason, with General Grant's Endorsements. From ‘records of Headquarters, armies of United States.’

Brief.

Application for benefits and full restoration of rights and privileges extended to those included in Amnesty Proclamation of the President, of May 29, 1865.

Endorsement on the foregoing by Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant:

Respectfully forwarded through Secretary of War to the President, with earnest recommendation that the application of General Robert E. Lee, for amnesty and pardon, may be granted him. The oath of allegiance required by recent order of the President to accompany application does not accompany this, for the reason, as I am informed by General Ord, the order requiring it had not reached Richmond when this was forwarded.

Brief.

States, that being about to be indicted with others, for crime of treason, by grand jury at Norfolk, Virginia, says that he is ready to meet any charges that may be preferred against him.

Had supposed his surrender protected him. Desires to comply with provisions of the President's proclamation. Encloses application, etc.

Endorsement on the foregoing by Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant:

In my opinion the officers and men paroled at Appomattox court-house, and since, upon the same terms given to Lee, cannot be tried for treason so long as they observe the terms of their parole. This is my understanding. Good faith, as well as true policy, dictates that we should observe the conditions of that convention. Bad faith on the part of the government, or a construction of that convention subjecting officers to trial for treason, would produce a feeling of insecurity in the minds of all the paroled officers and men. If so disposed, they might even regard such an infraction of terms by the government as an entire release from all obligations on their part. I will state further, that the terms granted by me met with the hearty approval of the President at the time, and of the country generally. The action of Judge Underwood, in Norfolk, has already had an injurious effect, and I would ask that he be ordered to quash all indictments found against paroled prisoners of war, and to desist from further prosecution of them.