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 TO MY DEAR WIFE, 
 
 WHO, LIKE HER SAINTED MOTHER, IS THE EMBODIMENT 
 
 OF GENUINE MODESTY AND INTELLIGENT PIETY, 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 
 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Having married, on the 27th of October, 
 1863, Miss Mary Frances Grant, youngest 
 daughter of Mr. Jesse Root and Hannah 
 Grant, of Covington, Ky., in the course 
 of time I came thus into frequent contact 
 with General Grant by visits at his home 
 and otherwise. From the 6th to the 12th 
 of July, 1878, General and Mrs. Grant were 
 our guests at Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 
 During these visits, etc., the general and 
 I conversed freely on various subjects ; he 
 readily answered all questions I put to him. 
 I generally made a memorandum of the 
 most interesting things he had said. He 
 was one of the most instructive and inter- 
 esting talkers I ever conversed with. His 
 conversations had wit and humor in them. 
 He was well versed, not only in the history 
 of the United States, but also in regard to 
 the various resources of the several States 
 and Territories of the Union ; to say noth- 
 ing of his accurate knowledge of recent 
 events in European and oriental countries. 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 We also exchanged letters. Some let- 
 ters from him to other members of his 
 father's family also fell into my hands. 
 Some of them throw fresh light on both 
 his private and public character, as well as 
 on several of his earlier campaigns. 
 
 Neither the conversations nor the letters 
 contained in the following pages have 
 ever been published. Friends in civil and 
 military life have heard me relate some 
 of the former, and seen some of the latter ; 
 at their earnest solicitations I have con- 
 sented to publish them all ; otherwise it 
 would never have occurred to me to do so. 
 
 I have endeavored to give the letters and 
 the conversations in their historical order. 
 Some of his earlier letters suggested ques- 
 tions vvhich I put to him in order to elicit a 
 fuller account of things alluded to therein. 
 
 My sole object in sending out this little 
 volumie is to serve the cause of truth in 
 reference to a man who has played an im- 
 portant part in the recent history of our 
 country. M. J. C. 
 
 East Orange, N, J., November, 1896. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. General Grant's Visit to Copenhagen 
 
 — Incidents and Views 1 1 
 
 II. Experiences Previous to the War 20 
 
 III. At the Breaking Out of the War 28 
 
 IV. Grant's Promotion 3^ 
 
 V. Grant's Busy Life— His Views on Re- 
 ligion 41 
 
 VI. Belmont— Our Country 47 
 
 VII. Grant's Conscientiousness 55 
 
 VIII. Grant's Views on Slavery— How he 
 was Brought Forward as a Presiden- 
 tial Candidate 63 
 
 IX. Some Wartime Letters 77 
 
 X. Before the Fall of Vicksburg 86 
 
 XI. Grant Declines a Civil Office 89 
 
 XII. Grant's Views on President Lincoln, 
 Stanton, Seward, Chase, and John- 
 son , 94 
 
 XIII. Much to Do— Little Influence- 
 
 Grant's Views on Providence 102 
 
 XIV. Office-seeking an Industry 108 
 
 XV. Domestic Life 120 
 
lO CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XVI. General Grant in Switzerland and 
 
 France 131 
 
 XVII. In Egypt, Jerusalem, Ephesus, Con- 
 
 stantinople, etc 1 36 
 
 XVIII. More Letters from General Grant.... 141 
 XIX. Various Conversations with General 
 
 Grant 146 
 
 XX. How President Grant Vetoed the So- 
 called " Inflation Bill " 1 56 
 
 XXI. Grant's Views About English Rule in 
 India — Importance of Christian Mis- 
 sions 162 
 
 XXII. Grant's Desire to Please his Friends 
 
 and Relatives 171 
 
 XXIII. Grant Engaged in Writing his Mem- 
 
 oirs 175 
 
 XXIV. Grant as a Man and Friend 177 
 
 XXV. General Grant's Capture of Fort Donel- 
 
 son — His Virtual Arrest Subsequent 
 to that Event — His Behavior in the 
 Field 182 
 
ULYSSES S, GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 General Grant's Visit to Copenliagen — Incidents and 
 Views, 
 
 During his trip around the world 
 General Grant visited Denmark. On July 
 5, 1878, they (the general and his wife) 
 left Hamburg by rail for Lubeck, in order 
 to see that quaint old city. On the even- 
 ing of the same day they took a steamer 
 for Copenhagen, arriving there the fol- 
 lowing morning at seven o'clock.^ The 
 
 'John Russell Young in his work, Around the 
 World with General Grant (vol. i, p. 436), writes 
 as follows : " We leave Hamburg on July 6, journey 
 rapidly through Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, and 
 cross the Great Belt," etc. Mr. Young may have done 
 so, for he did not accompany General and Mrs. Grant 
 to Copenhagen ; nor did he call either on them or on 
 me during the time they were my guests. 
 
12 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 steamer on which they had come was 
 flying the American flag in his honor. 
 Quite a number of people had gathered 
 at the landing, though nothing had been 
 said or published about the date of his 
 coming. They cheered him lustily as he 
 and Mrs. Grant stepped ashore. They 
 were driven at once to my house, where 
 they were my guests until July 12, when 
 they took a steamer for Christiania, Nor- 
 way. 
 
 During these six days I accompanied 
 them to different points and places of 
 interest in and around Copenhagen, in- 
 cluding two picture galleries, the Royal 
 Library, six different museums, thirteen 
 scientific and thirty charitable institutions. 
 I was somewhat surprised at the general's 
 accurate knowledge of Danish history, 
 and of the agricultural, industrial, com- 
 mercial, and financial resources of that 
 country. Nor was his knowledge defect- 
 ive about the educational institutions of 
 
VISIT TO COPENHAGEN. 1 3 
 
 Denmark. He informed me that he had 
 carefully read both the diplomatic corre- 
 spondence and the consular reports as 
 soon as they were published by the state 
 department. He was highly pleased at 
 the perfection of the Danish public-school 
 system, believing it to be about equal to 
 ours. He thought that the Prussian, the 
 Danish, and the American public schools 
 were the best in the world, and that the 
 percentage of illiteracy in these three 
 countries was smaller than that of any 
 other country. 
 
 We made several excursions to different 
 parts of the kingdom. He noticed that 
 where it was possible every foot of 
 ground was under cultivation, that the 
 people appeared to be intelligent, and to 
 live in comfortable circumstances. He 
 was correct in believing that there was no 
 abject poverty among the Danish people. 
 In a letter written to me from Paris on 
 December 10, 1878, referring to his visit 
 
14 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 to Denmark, he writes among other things 
 as follows : ^ 
 
 *' Since leaving Copenhagen Mrs. Grant 
 and I have visited every capital in Europe 
 not previously visited by us. I can say 
 with good earnestness that no part of our 
 journeyings gave us more pleasure than 
 that through the Scandinavian countries; 
 and no people have impressed me more 
 favorably." 
 
 Among the places we visited was Elsi- 
 nore {Daft. Helsingor), a seaport twenty- 
 four miles north of Copenhagen, situated 
 on the west shore of the Sound, and at its 
 narrowest part three and a half miles west 
 southwest of the town of Helsingborg, in 
 Sweden. Here the '' Sound dues " were 
 formerly collected of all vessels that 
 passed either way; but during the first 
 part of the present century they were 
 
 ' The letters quoted in these pages are in my 
 possession, and, if necessary, open for inspection or 
 comparison. 
 
VISIT TO COPENHAGEN. 1 5 
 
 gradually abolished by treaty arrange- 
 ments with the different maritime nations. 
 Here also Shakespeare laid the scene of 
 his ''Hamlet," an historical blunder on the 
 part of the great dramatist, as Jutland, 
 and not Seeland, was Hamlet's country. 
 Hamlet's ( supposed ) grave and the pond 
 where Ophelia is said to have drowned 
 herself were pointed out to the party. 
 Mrs. Grant had a copy of Hamlet with her, 
 and seemed to believe all the guide said 
 to us respecting those places, while the 
 general, with a twinkle in his eyes and a 
 smile on his lips, said : " I think these 
 stories and places are as mythical as is 
 the story of Holger Danske " (who is said 
 to have resided in the vaults of the Castle 
 of Kronborg near by, and who never 
 appeared above ground save when the 
 country was in danger, in order to march 
 at the head of the Danish Army). But he 
 believed in the reality of Saxo Gram- 
 maticus, a famous Danish writer of the 
 
1 6 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 twelfth century, who was born in this 
 town. 
 
 Arrangements having been made 
 through the usual diplomatic channels 
 to present General and Mrs. Grant to their 
 majesties, the King and Queen of Den- 
 mark, we drove, on Wednesday, July lo, 
 to Bernstorff Castle, one of the royal 
 summer residences, ten miles from Copen- 
 hagen, where we arrived at five o'clock 
 P. M., the appointed hour. The interview 
 between General and Mrs. Grant and their 
 Danish majesties lasted an hour, during 
 which various subjects relating to the 
 United States and Denmark were dis- 
 cussed. The latter were surprised at the 
 general's accurate knowledge of Danish 
 history, politics, resources, etc. Some flat- 
 tering remarks were made by the king and 
 queen in reference to the writer which 
 need not be repeated here. 
 
 The interview was followed by a ban- 
 quet given by their majesties in honor of 
 
VISIT TO COPENHAGEN. 1/ 
 
 General and Mrs. Grant, at which were 
 present, besides the hosts and guests of 
 honor, the crown prince and crown prin- 
 cess, the queen's court ladies, the king's 
 ministers and court officials, the general 
 of the army and the admiral of the navy, 
 and the writer. The conversation was 
 general, almost all the guests speaking 
 English. It was noticed that General 
 Grant drank no wine, except a few drops 
 of champagne when the king proposed 
 his health. Here it may be stated that 
 General Grant declined with sincere thanks 
 a banquet that the Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs intended to give in his honor ; as, 
 also, one that the writer had wished to 
 give at Klampenborg, a seaside resort, ten 
 miles from Copenhagen. He said that he 
 was tired of being " banqueted ; " that 
 they had come here to rest for a week. 
 
 After dinner the queen requested the 
 general to inscribe his name in an album 
 
 containing the autographs of emperors 
 2 
 
l8 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 and empresses, kings and queens, princes 
 and princesses, etc. He was watched by 
 all the guests. Afterward Admiral Irmin- 
 ger, the commander of the king's steam 
 yacht, said to the writer, " The manner 
 in which General Grant inscribed his name 
 in the album stamps him a great man." 
 
 One evening we went to the Tivoli Gar- 
 den, a place of innocent amusement which 
 people of all classes and ranks frequent 
 during the summer season. On account 
 of its fine and extensive grounds, its taste- 
 ful buildings and beautiful flower beds, its 
 two superior orchestras, its open panto- 
 mime theater, panoramas, physical and 
 chemical experiments, gymnastic feats, 
 festive fireworks, its excellent restaurant, 
 and small admission fee, the Tivoli Garden 
 of Copenhagen is unrivaled by any similar 
 institution in Europe. General Grant was 
 highly pleased with it ; he thought it a 
 fine thing for those who are unable to 
 spend the summer season in the country 
 
VISIT TO COPENHAGEN. I9 
 
 or at a seaside resort. " All cities ought 
 to have similar places," he said, " where 
 the rich and the poor, the high and the 
 low may meet on a footing of equality ; 
 where they may have aesthetic, instructive, 
 and other innocent amusements ; and 
 where all behave themselves in a proper 
 manner, as is the case in the Tivoli Gar- 
 den of Copenhagen. It would keep the 
 poor people from grumbhng, as well as 
 from revolutionary tendencies.'* 
 
20 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Experiences Previous to the War. 
 During his stay in Copenhagen as my 
 guest General Grant expressed himself 
 freely on any subject that I happened to 
 broach. I asked him about his residence 
 and business in Saint Louis previous to 
 the war. He said : *' I settled there as real 
 estate agent late in 1858 or early in 1859. 
 At first I believed that it would bring me 
 more than a support ; but I was disap- 
 pointed in my hopes, for that business was 
 even then overdone in that city, at least a 
 dozen new houses having started about 
 the same time I began. I had to look 
 out for something else to do." Referring 
 to this matter in a letter to his father, 
 dated Saint Louis, Mo., August 20, 1859, 
 he writes : 
 
EXPERIENCES PREVIOUS TO THE WAR. 21 
 
 *' I do not want to fly from one thing 
 to another; nor would I; but I am com- 
 pelled to make a living from the start, for 
 which I am willing to give all my time and 
 all my energy." 
 
 His father advised him to apply for a 
 (as he supposed) vacant professorship of 
 mathematics in Washington University. 
 In reference thereto the general wrote 
 him in the same letter as follows : 
 
 ** As to the professorship you spoke of, 
 that was filled some time ago ; and were 
 it not, I would stand no earthly chance. 
 Washington University, where the vacancy 
 was to be filled, is one of the best endowed 
 institutions in the United States, and all 
 the professorships are sought after by 
 persons whose early advantages were the 
 same as mine, and who have been en- 
 gaged in teaching all their mature years. 
 Quimby, who was the best mathematician 
 in my class, and who was for several years 
 an assistant at West Point and for nine 
 
22 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 years a professor in an institution in New 
 York, was an unsuccessful applicant. The 
 appointment is given to the most distin- 
 guished man in his department in the 
 country, and an author." 
 
 The general also told me that he had 
 made application for the appointment of 
 county engineer, but failed to secure it. In 
 reference to this latter he wrote in the 
 same letter as follows : 
 
 " I am not oversanguine of getting the 
 appointment mentioned in my last letter. 
 The Board of Commissioners who make 
 the appointment are divided, three Free 
 Soilers to two opposed; and although 
 friends who are recommending me are the 
 very best citizens of this place and mem- 
 bers of all parties, I fear they will make 
 strictly party nominations for all the offices 
 under their control. . . . Since putting in 
 my application for the appointment of 
 county engineer I have learned that the 
 place is not likely to be filled before Feb- 
 
EXPERIENCES PREVIOUS TO THE WAR. 23 
 
 ruary next. What I shall do will depend 
 entirely upon what I can get to do." 
 
 After having settled in Saint Louis as 
 real estate agent he wrote to his father 
 in reference to this matter, in a letter dated 
 Saint Louis, Mo., March 12, 1859, ^^ ^o^- 
 lows : 
 
 "We are now living in the lower part of 
 the city, fully two miles from my office. 
 The house is a comfortable little one, just 
 suited to my means. We have one spare 
 room, and also a spare bed in the children's 
 room, so that we can accommodate any of 
 our friends that are likely to come to see 
 us. I want two of the girls [meaning two 
 of his sisters] or all of them [he had at 
 that time three unmarried sisters] for that 
 matter, to come and pay us a long visit 
 soon." 
 
 In reference to the appointment of county 
 engineer referred to he wrote to his father, 
 in a letter dated September 23, 1859, ^^ ^^^" 
 lows : 
 
24 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 '' I have waited for some time to write 
 you the result of the action of the county 
 commissioners upon the appointment of a 
 county engineer. The question has at 
 length been settled, and, I am sorry to say, 
 adversely to me. The two Democratic 
 commissioners voted for me and the Free 
 Soilers against me. What I shall now go 
 at I have not determined, but I hope 
 something before a great while. Next 
 month I will get possession of my new 
 house, when my expenses will be reduced 
 so much that a very moderate salary will 
 support me. . . . You may judge from the 
 result of the action of the county commis- 
 sioners that I am strongly identified with 
 the Democratic Party; such is not the case. 
 I never voted an out-and-out Democratic 
 ticket in my life. I voted for Buchanan 
 for President to defeat Fremont, but not 
 because he was my first choice. In all other 
 elections I have universally selected the 
 candidates that, in my estimation, were 
 
EXPERIENCES PREVIOUS TO THE WAR. 25 
 
 the best fitted for the different offices; 
 and it never happens that such men are all 
 arranged on one side. The strongest friend 
 I had in the Board of Commissioners is a 
 Free Soiler; but opposition between par- 
 ties is so strong that he would not vote for 
 anyone, no matter how friendly, unless one 
 at least of his own party would go with 
 him. The Free Soil Party felt themselves 
 bound to provide for one of their own 
 party who was defeated for the office of 
 county engineer." 
 
 In the same letter he writes of his family 
 thus: 
 
 " Julia and the children are all well. Fred 
 and Buck go to the school everyday. They 
 never think of asking to stay at home.'* 
 
 When the writer went abroad for the first 
 time in an official capacity, the late Wil- 
 liam H. Seward, then Secretary of State, 
 said to him jocosely and with a merry 
 twinkle in his eye : " Consider every man 
 a scoundrel until you have proved him to 
 
26 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 be honest." General Grant, on the other 
 hand, considered every man honest until 
 he proved him to be a scoundrel. The fol- 
 lowing incident is an illustration of this 
 good trait in Grant's character; it is stated 
 by himself in a letter to one of his broth- 
 ers, dated Saint Louis, Mo., October 24, 
 
 1859: 
 
 ** I have been postponing writing to you, 
 
 hoping to make a return for your horse ; 
 
 but as yet I have received nothing for him. 
 
 About two weeks ago a man spoke to me 
 
 for him and said that he would try him 
 
 the next day, and if he suited give me 
 
 one hundred dollars for him. I have not 
 
 seen the man since; but one week ago 
 
 last Saturday he went to the stable and got 
 
 the horse, saddle, and bridle ; since which 
 
 I have seen neither man nor horse. From 
 
 this I presume he must like him. The 
 
 man, I understand, lives in Florisant, 
 
 about twelve miles from the city. 
 
 " P. S.— The man that has your horse is 
 
EXPERIENCES PREVIOUS TO THE WAR. 2/ 
 
 Captain Covington, owner of a row of six 
 three-story brick houses in this city ; and 
 the probabihties are that he intends to give 
 me an order on his agent for the money on 
 the first of the month, when the rents are 
 paid. At all events, I imagine the horse is 
 perfectly safe." 
 
 In reference to his employment, or rather 
 want of employment, Grant whites in the 
 same letter as follows : 
 
 " I am still unemployed, but expect to 
 have a place Jn the customhouse on the 
 first of next month. My name has been 
 forwarded for the appointment of super- 
 intendent, which, if I do not get, will not 
 probably be filled at all. In that case there 
 is a vacant desk which I may get that pays 
 twelve hundred dollars per annum. The 
 other will be worth from fifteen hundred 
 to eighteen hundred dollars, and will oc- 
 cupy but little time." 
 
28 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 At the Breaking Out of tlie War. 
 In the course of our conversation on 
 the subject of his failure to obtain employ- 
 ment in Saint Louis, I asked the general 
 whether he did not think that it was provi- 
 dential that every avenue of earning a live- 
 lihood in Saint Louis was closed against 
 him, in order that he might be compelled 
 to go where it would be easier for him to 
 find an opening for re-entering the army at 
 the outbreak of the war. He smiled and 
 said, '* Perhaps so." He fully believed in 
 an overruling Providence. Indeed, I gath- 
 ered from his remarks, made at different 
 times, that he believed the fundamental 
 doctrines of the Christian religion, and 
 in the necessity of the Christian Church 
 for the maintenance and advancement of 
 
BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. 29 
 
 moral and religious culture among the 
 people. While he never made, previous to 
 his last illness, so far as I know, a public 
 profession of religion in the sense of what 
 Methodists call conversion or regenera- 
 tion, yet he believed in the reality of such 
 '* a change of heart " in many of his friends 
 and acquaintances, among whom is his 
 youngest sister Mary, of whose faith he 
 said during his last illness: ''I wish I had 
 the strong faith that my sister Mary has." 
 Before and after the war he was in the 
 habit of attending public worship, usually 
 at a Methodist church ; for he was very 
 fond of good and earnest preaching. On 
 one occasion his sister Mary spoke in his 
 presence of the Rev. Mr. Blank as being a 
 good man, when, with a merry twinkle in 
 his eye, he said, " Why, Mary, you speak of 
 preachers as if their being good is an un- 
 usual thing." 
 
 General Grant was always an early riser. 
 On the morning of the third day of his 
 
30 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 sojourn at my house in Copenhagen, before 
 six o'clock, he entered my study, where I 
 was engaged in my private devotion. In- 
 stead of withdrawing, he came and knelt at 
 my side until its close. Whenever he had 
 a clergyman as his guest, he always re- 
 quested him to '^ say grace " at the table. 
 During February, 1 88 1, my wife and my- 
 self were his guests in New York. On the 
 following Sunday morning we all attended 
 church and heard an excellent sermon. 
 On returning home, my wife asked him 
 whether he would not like to have his 
 second son to be a preacher? He replied, 
 
 ''Yes, if he could preach like Dr. ." 
 
 After his failure to get any kind of 
 employment in Saint Louis, Grant moved 
 to Galena, 111., where his father employed 
 him as a clerk in his leather and findings 
 store. (And here it may be proper to say 
 that Grant never worked in his father's tan- 
 nery, as has been so often stated by dif- 
 ferent writers and speakers.) One of his 
 
BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. 3 1 
 
 duties was to collect outstanding debts in 
 various parts of the Northwest. I remem- 
 ber hearing his father say in reference to 
 this subject that " Ulysses sometimes spent 
 the amount he collected for horse and buggy 
 hire/' and that he ''was not a great success 
 as a collector." The general himself told 
 me that this business was not to his liking, 
 that he had no " faculty for dunning peo- 
 ple ;" and that, while he hated war, it 
 was a relief to him to get back into the 
 army. ''When the war broke out," he 
 said, " I felt it my duty to offer my services 
 to the government that had educated me." 
 
 In reference to the raising of the first 
 company of volunteers in Galena he wrote 
 to his father, in a letter dated Camp Yates, 
 near Springfield, May 6, 1861, as follows: 
 
 '*At the time our first Galena company 
 was raised I did not feel at liberty to en- 
 gage in hot haste, but took an active in- 
 terest in drilling them and imparting all 
 the instruction I could, and at the request 
 
32 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 of the members of the company and of Mr. 
 Washburn I came here for the purpose 
 of assisting for a short time in camp, and, 
 if necessary, giving my services for the 
 war. The next two days after my arrival 
 it was rainy and muddy, so that the 
 troops could not drill, and I concluded to 
 go home. Governor Yates heard of it, and 
 requested me to remain. Since then I 
 have been acting in that capacity, and 
 for the last few days have been in com- 
 mand of this camp. The last of the six 
 regiments called for from this State will 
 probably leave by to-morrow or the day 
 following, and then I shall be relieved from 
 this command. The Legislature of this 
 State provided for the raising of eleven 
 additional regiments and a battalion of 
 artillery, and a portion of these the gov- 
 ernor will appoint me to muster into the 
 service of the State, when I presume my 
 services may end. I might have got the 
 colonelcy of a regiment possibly ; but I 
 
BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. 33 
 
 was perfectly sick of the political wire- 
 pulling for all these commissions, and 
 would not engage in it. I shall be no 
 ways backward in offering my services 
 when and where they are required ; but 
 I feel that I have done more now than I 
 could do serving as captain under a green 
 colonel ; and if this thing continues, they 
 will want more men at a later day. There 
 have been full thirty thousand more volun- 
 teers offered their services than can be ac- 
 cepted under the present call, without in- 
 cluding the call made by the State; but I can 
 go back to Galena and drill the three or four 
 companies there, and render them efficient 
 for any future call. My own opinion is 
 that this war will be but of short duration. 
 The administration has acted most pru- 
 dently and sagaciously so far in not bring- 
 ing on a conflict before it had its forces 
 fully marshaled. When they do strike, 
 our thoroughly loyal States will be fully 
 
 protected, and a few decisive victories in 
 3 
 
34 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 some of the Southern parts will send the 
 secession army howling, and the leaders 
 in the rebellion will flee the country. All 
 the States will then be loyal for a genera- 
 tion to come ; Negroes will depreciate so 
 rapidly in value that nobody will want to 
 own them, and their masters will be loudest 
 in their declamation against the institution 
 in a political and economical view. The 
 Negro will never disturb the country again. 
 The worst that is to be apprehended from 
 him is now : he may revolt and cause more 
 destruction than any Northern man wants 
 to see. A Northern army may be required 
 in the next ninety days to go South to 
 suppress a Negro insurrection." 
 
 It appears from the above letter that 
 Grant's early views about the duration of 
 the war were similar to those of many other 
 intelligent men. He told me that at that 
 time he had no idea that the war would 
 last longer than a few months. He, like 
 others, had underrated the plans and dc- 
 
BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR. 35 
 
 termination of the Southern leaders of the 
 rebellion, to say nothing of their Northern 
 abettors, who then were as determined to 
 divide the Union as their Southern friends. 
 
 With regard to Grant's offering his serv- 
 ices to the government, he wrote, in a 
 letter to his father, dated Galena, May 30, 
 1 86 1, as follows: 
 
 " I have now been home nearly a week, 
 but return to Springfield to-day. I have 
 tendered my services to the government, 
 and go to-day to make myself useful, if pos- 
 sible, from this until all our national diffi- 
 culties are ended. During the six days I 
 have been at home I have felt all the time 
 as if a duty was being neglected that was 
 paramount to any other duty I ever owed. 
 I have every reason to be well satisfied 
 with myself for the services already ren- 
 dered, but to stop now would not do." 
 
36 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Grant^s Promotion. 
 In his Memoirs Grant gives a description 
 of what he did from the time of his re- 
 turn to Springfield, 111., to July 3, when he 
 wrote a letter to his father, dated Mexico, 
 Mo., July 3, 1861, in which occurs the fol- 
 lowing concerning army matters as well as 
 his promotion : 
 
 ♦* The papers keep you posted as to 
 army movements ; and as you are already 
 in possession of my notions on secession, 
 nothing more is wanted on that point. I 
 find here, however, a different state of feel- 
 ing from what I expected to exist in any 
 part of the South. The majority in this 
 part of the State are secessionists, as we 
 would term them, but deplore the present 
 state of affairs. They would make almost 
 
GRANT'S PROMOTION. 37 
 
 any sacrifice to have the Union restored, 
 but regard it as dissolved, and nothing is 
 left for them but to choose between two 
 evils. Many seem to be entirely ignorant 
 of the object of present hostilities. You 
 can't convince them but what the ultimate 
 object is to extinguish, by force, slavery. 
 Then, too, they feel that the Southern 
 Confederacy will never consent to give up 
 their State ; and as they — the South — are 
 the strong party, it is prudent to favor 
 them from the start. There is never a 
 movement of troops made that the seces- 
 sion journals throughout the country do not 
 give a startling account of their almost an- 
 nihilation at the hands of the State troops, 
 while the facts are, there are no engage- 
 ments. My regiment has been reported 
 cut to pieces once that I know of, and 
 I don't know but oftener, while a gun 
 has not been fired at us. These reports 
 go uncontradicted here, and give confir- 
 mation to the conviction already enter- 
 
38 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 tained, that one Southerner is equal to 
 five Northerners. We believe that they 
 are deluded, and know that if they are 
 not, we are. 
 
 ** Since I have been in command of this 
 military district (two weeks) I have re- 
 ceived the greatest hospitality and atten- 
 tion from the citizens about here. I have 
 had every opportunity of conversing with 
 them freely, and learning their sentiments; 
 and although I have confined myself 
 strictly to the truth as to what has been 
 the result of the different engagements, 
 the relative strength, etc., and the objects 
 of the administration and the North gen- 
 erally, yet they don't believe a word, I 
 think. 
 
 '' I see from the papers that my name 
 has been sent in for brigadier general. 
 This is certainly very complimentary to 
 me, particularly as I have never asked a 
 friend to intercede in my behalf. My only 
 acquaintance with men of influence in the 
 
grant's promotion. 39 
 
 State was while on duty at Springfield, 
 and I there saw so much pulling and haul- 
 ing for favors that I determined never to 
 ask for anything, and never have, not even 
 a colonelcy. I wrote a letter to Washing- 
 ton, tendering my services, but they de- 
 clined Governor Yates's and Mr. Trum- 
 bull's indorsement. 
 
 " My services with the regiment I am 
 now with have been highly satisfactory to 
 me. I took it in a very disorganized, de- 
 moralized, and insubordinate condition, 
 and have worked it up to a reputation 
 equal to the best ; and, I believe, with the 
 good will of all the officers and all the 
 men. Hearing that I was likely to be pro- 
 moted, the officers, with great unanimity, 
 have requested to be attached to my com- 
 mand. This I do not want you to read to 
 others, for I very much dislike speaking of 
 myself. 
 
 " We are now breaking up camp here 
 gradually. In a few days the last of us 
 
40 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 will be on our way for the Missouri River, 
 at what point cannot be definitely de- 
 termined, wood and water being a consid- 
 eration as well as a healthy fine site for a 
 large encampment." 
 
GRANT'S BUSY LIFE. 4I 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Grant's Busy Life— His Views on Religion. 
 In the course of a conversation about 
 fixedness of purpose and steadiness of per- 
 severance in order to achieve success in life, 
 Grant said that whatever he tried to do he 
 always did it with all his might. He had 
 no patience with lazy people. To live we 
 must labor; must have something to do; 
 some definite and fixed object in view, 
 which shall be our means of support. He 
 thought that strong, vigorous labor enables 
 one to resist temptation and to do good ; 
 that there is happiness in the conscientious 
 discharge of one's duties and in the achieve- 
 ment of success in whatever calling one 
 may be engaged. But one must always 
 have a definite purpose ; for labor without 
 it is scarcely better than none. According 
 
42 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 to his view success in life depends much 
 upon fixedness of purpose and steadiness 
 in perseverance. A man with no business, 
 with nothing to do, is of no use to society ; 
 he is a consumer, but a nonproducer ; hence 
 a parasite. 
 
 Successful men, he thought, owe more to 
 their perseverance than to their natural 
 powers, or their friends, or favorable cir- 
 cumstances. Talent is desirable, but per- 
 severance is more so; for it will strengthen 
 the mental powers and intensify their en- 
 ergy. He said that according to his expe- 
 rience perseverance not only makes friends, 
 but also favorable circumstances ; that op- 
 position, enemies, and barriers of every 
 kind are gradually overcome by a stout 
 heart and resolute energy of soul. He re- 
 ferred to Napoleon's resolution to make 
 his way across the Alps as an example of 
 what perseverance could accomplish. 
 
 When I referred to his own experiences 
 in the war he said that he had always car- 
 
GRANT'S BUSY LIFE. 43 
 
 ried out what he had planned to do, though 
 circumstances sometimes compelled him 
 to change his original plan. I asked him 
 if he ever thought he could not accomplish 
 what he had set out to do or what was ex- 
 pected of him. He replied that he never 
 thought of failure ; that he continued his 
 effort until he had accomplished his task. 
 
 To my question whether he ever prayed 
 to God for assistance and success he replied 
 that he often prayed to God mentally, but 
 briefly, for strength and wisdom to enable 
 him to carry to a successful termination the 
 task expected of him. He further said 
 that, like his mother, he never talked much 
 about religion, but thought much on this 
 all-important subject ; that he believed in 
 an overruling Providence ; that the destiny 
 of individuals and of nations is in God's 
 hands ; and that, while man has freedom 
 of will and action, God overrules men's ac- 
 tions for the good of mankind. He further 
 said that he could not see how anyone, in 
 
44 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 view of the history of the world, could be 
 an atheist. To this I replied that I could 
 not believe that there is really an atheist in 
 the world, because religion, no matter what 
 its form may be, in my opinion, is an in- 
 nate, or an intuitive, or an original element 
 of man's soul, and all religions presuppose 
 a deity or deities of some kind or other. 
 To this he replied, '' I think your views are 
 about right." 
 
 Apropos of the above remarks may be 
 quoted what he wrote to his father about 
 his busy life at the beginning of his career 
 in the army at the outbreak of the war, in 
 a letter dated Jefferson City, Mo., August 
 27, 1861 : 
 
 ''Your letter requesting me to appoint 
 Mr. F. on my staff was only received last 
 Friday, of course too late to give Mr. F. 
 the appointment, even if I could do so. I 
 remember to have been introduced to Mr. 
 F., Sr., several years ago, and if the son is 
 anything like the impression I then formed 
 
grant's busy life. 45 
 
 of the father the appointment would be 
 one that I could well congratulate myself 
 upon. I have filled all the places on my 
 staff, and flatter myself with deserving 
 men. ... I only have one of them with 
 me yet, and having all raw troops, and but 
 little assistance, it keeps me busy from the 
 time I get up in the morning until from 
 twelve to two o'clock at night or morning. 
 
 '' I have subscribed for the Daily Demo- 
 crat, a stanch Union paper, for you, so 
 that you might hear from me often. 
 There is a good deal of alarm felt by citi- 
 zens of an early attack upon this place ; 
 and if anything of the kind should take 
 place we are illy prepared. All the troops 
 are very raw, and about one half of them 
 Missouri Home Guards without discipline. 
 No artillery and but little cavalry are here. 
 
 *' I do not anticipate an attack here my- 
 self ; certainly not until we have attacked 
 the enemy first. A defeat might induce 
 he rebels to follow up their success to this 
 
46 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 point; but that we expect to prevent. My 
 means of information are certainly as good 
 as anyone else has, and I cannot learn that 
 there is an organized body of men north 
 of the Osage River, or any moving. There 
 are numerous encampments through all 
 the counties bordering on the Missouri 
 River ; but the object seems to be to 
 gather supplies, horses, transportation, etc., 
 for a fall and winter campaign. 
 
 " The country west of here will be left 
 in a starving condition for the next winter. 
 Families are being driven away in great 
 numbers for their Union sentiments, leav- 
 ing behind farms, crops, stock, and all. A 
 sad state of affairs must exist under the 
 most favorable circumstances that can 
 take place. There will be no money in the 
 country, and the entire crop will be carried 
 off, together with all stock of any value. 
 
 " I am interrupted so often while writ- 
 ing that my letters must necessarily be 
 very meager and disconnected." 
 
BELMONT — OUR COUNTRY. 47 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 Belmont— Our Country, 
 
 During the course of our conversations 
 I asked the general about the engagement 
 at or around Belmont. He narrated the 
 affair substantially as we now find it de- 
 scribed in his Memoirs. There is, how- 
 ever, a letter of his in existence which 
 throws much new light on that subject. 
 It is addressed to his father, part of which 
 is copied from a letter addressed by the 
 general to his wife. It reads verbathn, as 
 follows : 
 
 *' Cairo, November 8, 1861. 
 
 "Dear Father: It is late at night, 
 and I want to get a letter into the mail for 
 you before it closes. As I have just fin- 
 ished a very hasty letter to Julia that con- 
 tains about what I would write, and having 
 
48 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 something else to do myself, I will have 
 my clerk copy it on this [now follows 
 the copy : 
 
 *' Day before yesterday I left here with 
 about three thousand men on five steamers, 
 convoyed by two gunboats, and proceeded 
 down the river to within about twelve 
 miles of Columbus. The next morning 
 the boats were dropped down just out of 
 range of the enemy's batteries and the 
 troops debarked. 
 
 " During this operation the gunboats 
 exercised the rebels by throwing shells 
 into their camps and batteries. When all 
 ready we proceeded one mile toward Bel- 
 mont, opposite Columbus, where I formed 
 the troops into line, and ordered two com. 
 panics from each regiment to deploy as 
 skirmishers and push on through the 
 woods and discover the position of the 
 enemy. They had gone but a little way 
 when they were fired upon, and the ball 
 may be said to have fairly opened. 
 
BELMONT— OUR COUNTRY. 49 
 
 " The whole command, with the ex- 
 ception of a small reserve, were then de- 
 ployed in like manner with the first, and 
 ordered forward. The order was obeyed 
 with great alacrity, the men all showing 
 great courage. I can say with gratification 
 that every colonel, without a single ex- 
 ception, set an example to their commands 
 that inspired a confidence that will always 
 insure victory, when there is the slightest 
 possibility of gaining one. I feel truly 
 proud to command such men. From here 
 we foucrht our wav from tree to tree 
 through woods to Belmont, about two and 
 a half miles, the enemy contesting every 
 foot of ground. Here the enemy had 
 strengthened their position by felling the 
 trees for two or three hundred yards, and 
 sharpening the limbs, making a sort 
 of abatis. Our men charged through, 
 making the victory complete, giving us 
 possession of their camp and garrison, 
 equipage, artillery, and everything else. 
 
50 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 " We got a great many prisoners, the 
 majority having succeeded in getting aboard 
 their steamers and pushing across the river. 
 We burned everything possible and started 
 back, having accomplished all that we went 
 for, and even more. Belmont is entirely 
 covered by the batteries from Columbus, 
 and is worth nothing as a military position ; 
 it cannot be held without Columbus. 
 
 " The object of the expedition was to 
 prevent the enemy from sending a force 
 into Missouri to cut off troops I had sent 
 there for a special purpose, and to prevent 
 reinforcing Price. 
 
 *' Besides being well fortified at Colum- 
 bus, their numbers far exceeded ours, and it 
 would have been folly to have attacked 
 them. We found the Confederates well 
 armed and brave. On our return stragglers 
 that had been left in our rear, now front, 
 fired into us, and more recrossed the river 
 and gave us battle for full a mile, and after- 
 ward at the boats when we were embark- 
 
BELMONT — OUR COUNTRY. 5 I 
 
 ing. There was no hasty retreating or 
 running away. Taking into account the 
 object of the expedition, the victory was 
 most complete. It has given me a confi- 
 dence in the officers and men of this com- 
 mand that will enable me to lead them in 
 any future engagement without fear of 
 the result. General McClernand (who, 
 by the way, acted with great coolness and 
 courage throughout, and proved that he is a 
 soldier as well as a statesman, and myself 
 each had our horses shot from under us. 
 Most of the field officers met with the same 
 loss; besides, nearly one third of them 
 being killed or wounded themselves. As 
 near as I can ascertain, our loss was about 
 two hundred and fifty killed, wounded, 
 and missing. I write in great haste to get 
 this in the office to-night." 
 
 The officers and men engaged in the 
 battle of Belmont may well be proud of the 
 well-merited praise given them by their 
 
52 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 commander. In conversing with me on 
 that subject, he substantially repeated 
 what he had written about it to his father. 
 He further said that at no subsequent 
 period during the war had he received 
 greater encouragement by and confidence 
 in his troops than by their courageous 
 behavior at Belmont. If he had ever had 
 doubts as to the courage, intelligence, and 
 ability of the men called out from their 
 civilian avocations to cope successfully 
 with the rebellion, they were completely 
 dissipated by the intelligence and courage 
 displayed by his troops at Belmont. 
 
 He believed that these qualities were the 
 result of true loyalty and ardent patriotism 
 on the part of the soldiers and those of the 
 loyal North that backed them. He had 
 no patience with those who used the war 
 for their own selfish ends, — for their en- 
 richment at the expense of the country, 
 or whose patriotism was measured by 
 dollars and cents. These men, he thought, 
 
BELMONT— OUR COUNTRY. 53 
 
 lacked a good conscience ; or, if they had 
 any, it was warped by their inordinate de- 
 sire for gain. In a country hke ours, he 
 said, there is every possible inducement 
 for cultivating true patriotism, and to give 
 it its highest expression in noble deeds 
 and gentlemanly behavior. We can and 
 ought to make our country great by 
 our being moral, intehigent, industrious, 
 thrifty, if not religious ; for everything that 
 can be afforded by outward advantages, 
 that the great Creator has given and the 
 government or public may bestow, are in 
 abundance around us. We have but to 
 step in, and by intelligence, energy, and 
 labor pluck the fruit of our endeavors. 
 
 He thought that our public-school sys- 
 tem is excellent, most of our higher institu- 
 tions of learning rest on solid foundations, 
 their scholarship and sciences equal to those 
 of other countries, our churches doing a 
 good work for the public, our resources of 
 all kinds enormous or incalculable, our 
 
54 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 mechanical skill unrivaled, and our liter- 
 ature, so far as he was able to judge, on 
 the whole, good ; hence we ought to love 
 our country, do all in our power to main- 
 tain the Union and advance its interests in 
 every direction. He thought that our 
 children had good and inspiring examples 
 in the lines and deeds of those noble men 
 and women who have made our country 
 what it is, and thus far maintained its in- 
 tegrity and placed it in a path of achieving 
 ''still greater greatness." 
 
 I 
 
grant's conscientiousness. 55 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Grant's Conscientiousness. 
 
 General Grant insisted everywhere 
 and always on conscientiousness, and every- 
 one who knew him was aware that he him- 
 self was extremely conscientious in every- 
 thing he said and did. The love of truth 
 and right was a conspicuous quality of his 
 character. It was the spring-source of his 
 integrity. He fully believed the sentiment 
 that "an honest man is the noblest work 
 of God." It was this sentiment that 
 crowned him with real nobility. He also 
 believed in the truth of the sentiment of 
 the German philosopher Kant : " The two 
 most beautiful things in the universe are, 
 the starry heavens above us, and the sense 
 of duty within us." This sense of duty 
 in Grant was inspired by his conscientious. 
 
$6 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 ness. The idea of obligation, responsibil- 
 ity, faithfulness to trust, rectitude, justice, 
 right — all these qualities were highly de- 
 veloped in him. Anyone who had the 
 privilege of listening to his conversations 
 in the privacy of the family circle or 
 among intimate friends must have noticed 
 that these qualities were prominent in his 
 character. It pained him to see a lack of 
 them in others, and he exacted them from 
 those who served under him. 
 
 An illustration of the truth of the above 
 statem.ent is found in the following letter 
 addressed to his father : 
 
 "Cairo, III., November 28, 1861. 
 
 "Dear Father: Your letter asking if 
 Mr. L. can be passed South, and also in- 
 closing two extracts from papers, is re- 
 ceived. 
 
 " It is entirely out of the question to 
 pass persons South. We have many Union 
 men sacrificing their lives now from ex- 
 posure as well as in battle in a cause 
 
 I 
 
GRANT'S CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 5/ 
 
 brought about by secession, and it is neces- 
 sary for the security of the thousands still 
 exposed that all communication should be 
 cut off between the two sections. 
 
 ** As to that article in the Hawk-Eye, it 
 gives me no uneasiness whatever. The 
 Iowa regiment has done its duty fully, and 
 my report gives it full credit. All who 
 were on the battlefield know where Gen- 
 eral McClernand and myself were, and it 
 needs no resort to the public press for our 
 vindication. The other extract gives our 
 loss in killed and wounded almost exactly 
 correct ; our missing, however, is only three 
 or four over one hundred. Recent infor- 
 mation received through deserters shows 
 that the rebel loss from killed, wounded, 
 and missing reaches about two thousand 
 five hundred. One thing is certain, after 
 the battle one third of Columbus was used 
 for hospitals, and many were removed to 
 houses in the country. There were also 
 two steamboat loads sent to Memphis, and 
 
58 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 the largest hotel in the city was taken as 
 a hospital. The city was put in mourning 
 and all business suspended for a day and 
 the citizens thrown into the greatest con- 
 sternation lest they would be attacked." 
 
 The first few years of the war General 
 Grant was frequently attacked or merci- 
 lessly criticised by a portion of the public 
 press, probably arising from a want of 
 knowledge of all the facts of the case in 
 hand. His father was worried about it and 
 wanted to defend him, or get others to do 
 so; but he would never engage in news- 
 paper controversy in his own defense, nor 
 permit others to do so if he could help it. 
 In his conversation with me on this subject 
 he said that ordinarily he hated newspaper 
 controversy, that he was always willing to 
 be judged by his actions as well as by the 
 reports he sent to the government of his 
 operations in the field. He believed that 
 some of the generals of the late war were 
 
 I 
 
GRANTS CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 59 
 
 " puffed " by newspaper correspondents 
 either into obscurity, or ** to the rear," or 
 "out of their command." While some 
 commanding officers had newspaper corre- 
 spondents on their personal staffs, who 
 wrote flattering reports about their doings, 
 he never employed one on his staff, and 
 would hardly tolerate one even in his camp. 
 This, he believed, was one of the reasons 
 why some of the newspapers frequently at- 
 tacked or mercilessly criticised him, and had 
 seldom anything good to say about him. 
 He believed that " right is might," and that 
 right and truth will ultimately triumph. 
 He disliked to talk or write about himself, 
 or to talk against others. This is a trait 
 of character of the Grant family. The 
 following incident will illustrate it : 
 
 On one occasion the ladies' benevolent 
 society of the church of which Mother 
 Grant was a member met at her house for 
 the purpose of making some garments for 
 the wife and children of a drunkard who 
 
6o ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 consumed all his earnings by drink. The 
 subject of their conversation, among other 
 things, was the vile character of said 
 drunkard. According to their remarks 
 there was not a single redeeming trait left 
 in that man. When all had had their 
 "say-so," Mother Grant looked up and 
 said, "Well, Mr. A. was a good fiddler, 
 anyhow." 
 
 I never heard Mother Grant nor the 
 general say an unkind thing against any- 
 body. If the latter ever made a criticism 
 upon anyone, it was always confined within 
 the strict limiits of truth. 
 
 The following letter from the general 
 to his father, who was worried by some 
 attacks made upon the former, will illus- 
 trate his aversion to self-defense in news- 
 papers. It is dated " Corinth, Miss., Au- 
 gust 3, 1862," and contains, among other 
 things, the following remarks : 
 
 "You must not expect me to write in 
 my own defense, nor to permit it from any- 
 
GRANT'S CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 6l 
 
 one about me. I know that the fecHng of 
 the troops under my command is favora- 
 ble to me, and so long as I continue to do 
 my duty faithfully it will remain so. . . . 
 I do not expect, nor want, the support of 
 
 the • city press on my side. Their 
 
 course has been so remarkable from the 
 beginning, that should I be indorsed by 
 them, I should fear that the public would 
 mistrust my patriotism. I am sure that I 
 have but one desire in this war, and that 
 is to put down the rebellion. I have no 
 ' hobby ' of my own with regard to the 
 Negro. If Congress passes any law and the 
 President approves it I am willing to ex- 
 ecute it. Laws are certainly as binding 
 on the minority as on the majority. I do 
 not believe even in the discussion of the 
 propriety of laws and official orders by the 
 army. One enemy is enough at a time, 
 and when he is subdued it will be time 
 enough to settle personal differences. 
 '' I do not want to command a depart- 
 
62 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 ment, because I believe I can do better 
 service in the field. I do not expect to be 
 overslaughed by a junior, and should feel 
 exceedingly mortified should such a thing 
 occur, but would keep quiet, as I have 
 ever done heretofore." 
 
grant's views on slavery. 6^ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Grant's Views on Slavery — How he was Brought 
 Forward as a Presidential Candidate. 
 
 The following letters will explain them- 
 selves, as they relate to army matters : 
 
 "Corinth, Miss., August 19, 1862. 
 " Dear Sister : I am now in a situa- 
 tion -where it is impossible for me to do 
 more than to protect my long lines of de- 
 fense. I have the Mississippi to Mem- 
 phis, the railroad from Columbus to Cor- 
 inth, from Jackson to Bolivar, from Cor- 
 inth to Decatur, and the Tennessee and 
 Cumberland rivers to keep open. Guerril- 
 las are hovering around in every direction, 
 getting whipped every day at some place 
 by some of my command, but keeping us 
 busy. The war is evidently getting op- 
 pressive to the Southern people. Their 
 
64 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 ''institution" are beginning to have ideas 
 of their own, and every time an expedition 
 goes out more or less of them follow in the 
 wake of the army and come into camp. 
 I am using them as teamsters, hospital at- 
 tendants, company cooks, etc., thus saving 
 soldiers to carry the musket. I don't 
 know what is to become of these poor peo- 
 ple in the end, but it is weakening the 
 enemy to take them from them. If the 
 new levies are sent in soon the rebels will 
 have a good time getting in their crops 
 this fall. 
 
 " I have abandoned all hope of being 
 able to make a visit home before the close 
 of the war. A few weeks' recreation would 
 be very grateful, however. It is one con- 
 stant strain now, and has been for a year. 
 If I do get through I think I will take a 
 few months of pure and undefiled rest. I 
 stand it well, however, having gained some 
 fifteen pounds in weight since leaving 
 Cairo." 
 
GRANTS VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 65 
 
 The general's reference in the above let- 
 ter to the peculiar *' institution " — that is, 
 to the status of the Negro at the time it 
 was written — leads me to state his opinion 
 concerning it from the time he entered the 
 army until Congress busied itself with the 
 reconstruction of the Southern States. 
 
 General Grant was originally not an abo- 
 litionist. He believed in letting slavery 
 alone, though he was far from believing it to 
 be a " divine institution." He believed that 
 Mr. Lincoln's course in reference to it pre- 
 vious to the declarationof emancipation was 
 right ; nor did he object to the emancipation 
 of the slaves. He did, however, privately 
 object at first to the their enfranchisement 
 before they were able to read and write. 
 But when the reconstruction acts had been 
 put into operation and the Kuklux en- 
 deavored to suppress the political rights 
 of the freedmen of the South by the use 
 of unscrupulous means, etc., he, as the 
 head of the army, became convinced by the 
 
66 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 reports of those who had to aid in suppress- 
 ing " Kukluxism" that the ballot was the 
 only real means the freedmen had for de- 
 fending their lives, property, and rights. 
 When President Johnson came into conflict 
 with Congress on the questions of the 
 Freedmen's Bureau and the reconstruction 
 acts, the general took a decisive stand in 
 favor of the congressional legislation on 
 those great national questions, though he 
 refrained from talking openly on the sub- 
 ject. I remember, being his guest in Wash- 
 ington at the time, how he prefaced his 
 remarks, in the privacy of the family, rela- 
 tive to this matter with the words, " Now, 
 what I am going to say I do not want to 
 be printed in the newspapers." He be- 
 lieved it to be improper for army officers 
 to discuss or criticise congressional legis- 
 lation. •' We are here to execute, not to 
 criticise, the acts of Congress," he said. 
 Hence, neither senators nor representa- 
 tives really knew his sentiments on these 
 
GRANT'S VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 6/ 
 
 topics ; nor were they able to '' pump " 
 them out of him. As the head of the army 
 he refused to talk on politics, desiring thus 
 to set a good example in this matter to his 
 subordinate officers. 
 
 When there was " talk " of bringing him 
 forward as the Republican candidate for 
 the presidency the leaders of the party 
 hesitated, for they were not quite sure 
 whether Grant was a Republican or a 
 Democrat. It was known that he had 
 voted for Buchanan as President ; and this 
 fact, together with his silence on the recon- 
 struction acts, made these leaders doubt 
 his genuine Republicanism (in the party 
 sense of the term). 
 
 It was some time during the early spring 
 of 1867 that Senator Wade came to Cov- 
 ington, Ky. (where General Grant's father 
 resided), for the purpose of calling on the 
 latter to inquire of him what the general's 
 sentiments were in reference to the great 
 questions that agitated Congress at that 
 
68 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 time. Both Father and Mother Grant 
 were out, and so, too, were the other mem- 
 bers of the family, except myself (my wife 
 and myself were at that time residing with 
 her parents). 
 
 Senator Wade was disappointed. He 
 was about to leave, when I said, " Senator 
 Wade, perhaps I can tell you what you 
 wish to know." He asked, "Who are you? " 
 I replied, " I am Mr. Cramer, Father and 
 Mother Grant's son-in-law." He said, '' Per- 
 haps you can tell me what I want to know. 
 I want to know what General Grant's senti- 
 ments are with regard to the action of Con- 
 gress relative to the Freedmen's Bureau, the 
 reconstruction acts, etc.; in short, I want 
 to know whether he is a good Republican ; 
 for we desire to bring him forward as our 
 candidate for the presidency ; yet we do 
 not exactly know where he stands on these 
 questions." *' Well," I replied, '' I know 
 General Grant's sentiments on all these 
 great questions ; for I was his guest during 
 
GRANT'S VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 69 
 
 February last, and heard him express his 
 opinions freely on all measures proposed 
 and adopted by Congress ; but he then ex- 
 acted a promise from me that what he 
 was ' about to say was not to go to the 
 press.' If you will promise me not to betray 
 the name of your informant I will give 
 you all the information you want." 
 
 After having received his promise I 
 told him that General Grant indorsed all 
 congressional measures ; that he was a 
 thorough Republican, and that the Repub- 
 lican Party could as fully trust Grant as 
 it trusted him (the senator). I then pro- 
 ceeded to give him in detail what I had 
 heard the general say in reference to the 
 different acts of Congress respecting the 
 freedmen and the reconstruction of the 
 Southern States, etc. When I had ended 
 my remarks Senator Wade rose from his 
 chair, threw his slouch hat toward the ceil- 
 ing (breaking a globe of the chandelier), 
 and exclaimed : *' That settles the matter ; 
 
70 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 we shall propose Grant as the candidate of 
 the Republican Party for the presidency. 
 I am greatly relieved. The whole party 
 will rejoice with me that we are relieved 
 of this terrible uncertainty and have found 
 our presidential candidate. With him we 
 are sure to win. I thank you for this long- 
 desired information." 
 
 Senator Wade returned to Cincinnati. 
 He faithfully kept his promise ; for, so far 
 as I was able to learn, he never mentioned 
 my name in connection with his communi- 
 cating the information I had given him to 
 others. In the summer of 1869 I met him 
 again ; he recognized me and thanked me 
 again for the information I had given him 
 in the early spring of 1867, and with a 
 smile he said, "You see what has come 
 of it." 
 
 During the time the general was my 
 guest in Copenhagen I took occasion to 
 tell him that once, and only once, I had 
 "betrayed his confidence," and then I 
 
GRANT'S VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 7 1 
 
 narrated to him the story of Senator 
 Wade's call at his father's house in Coving- 
 ton, Ky. " Well," said Grant, *' I never 
 heard of it; but I think it vi^as all right. It 
 did not get into the papers ; but (with a 
 smile) how did you prevent it ? " I told 
 him that I had exacted a promise from 
 Wade not to mention my name in connec- 
 tion with the information he had received 
 from me, nor to have our interview pub- 
 lished in the newspapers. " Well, general," 
 said I, " will you pardon my ' betrayal ' of 
 your confidence in this matter?" With a 
 merry twinkle in his eye and a smile on 
 his lips he replied : " How can I, after hav- 
 ing experienced the consequences of your 
 * betrayal ;' but I guess it is all right." *' I 
 am glad," I said, " for a number of reasons 
 that you have never heard of this incident 
 before." *' I am glad, too," he said, " that 
 you never asked for a reward for it." I 
 replied : " It has never occurred to me that 
 I had done anything in this matter that de- 
 
72 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 served a reward. All 1 did was to relieve 
 Senator Wade of an uncertainty in refer- 
 ence to your political sentiments at a crit- 
 ical time when Congress and the President 
 were at loggerheads with each other, and 
 when it behooved every loyal and pa- 
 triotic citizen legitimately to do all in his 
 power to bring about a pacific settlement 
 of the difficulties growing out of the late 
 war." 
 
 " It would be a good thing for our 
 country," he said, " if all our people could 
 see and do their duties in that light; but 
 I am sorry to say there is a good deal of 
 self-seeking among some of our politicians, 
 who expect and demand a reward for 
 every little service they render, not so 
 much for the country as for their party, 
 and generally they do not always belong 
 to the best class of citizens. A truly loyal 
 and patriotic citizen performs his duties as 
 a citizen, not with the expectation of receiv- 
 ing a reward for it, except the reward of a 
 
GRANT'S VIEWS ON SLAVERY. J^ 
 
 good conscience, but because he loves his 
 country and desires to promote its best in- 
 terests. Didn't Christ say somewhere that 
 if we have done our duties we are still un- 
 profitable servants for merely having done 
 what we ought to have done ? " 
 
 I replied : '' Yes ; the exact words of 
 Christ are : ' When ye shall have done all 
 those things which are commanded you, 
 say, We are unprofitable servants: we have 
 done that which was our duty to do.* I 
 take this to mean in our case that, as the 
 citizen receives from the State protection 
 of life and family and property, and many 
 other privileges and blessings, he is bound 
 in return to perform his duties to the State, 
 whatever they may be, which is really 
 nothing more than giving a quid pro quo ; 
 hence he has no right to claim a reward as 
 if he had rendered the State an extraordi- 
 nary service. A child receiving protection, 
 support, education, and love from its par- 
 ents is in duty bound to render them in 
 
74 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 return loving obedience, and has no right 
 to claim an extra reward as though it had 
 rendered them some extraordinary service. 
 This, I think, expresses in principle the 
 relation between the State and the citizen, 
 as well as the doctrine of the justification 
 of the sinner by grace alone ; if the sinner 
 is thus justified by God, then the obligation 
 of the sinner to love and serve God in re- 
 turn grows naturally out of this fact, and 
 he has no right to claim an extra reward 
 for love and service thus rendered." 
 
 "Ah," replied the general, "you are get- 
 ting into the field of theology ; but I think 
 your explanation and application are cor- 
 rect. If only some of our politicians could 
 be made to see it in that light; but I have 
 known men who claimed appointments 
 from me because they had voted for me. 
 I cannot imagine how some people can do 
 such a thing. Is it not enough that they 
 have the right to vote for whom they please? 
 Is it not preposterous for men to claim a 
 
GRANT'S VIEWS ON SLAVERY. 75 
 
 reward for having exercised that right — a 
 right freely given to them by the State ? 
 Such people ought to learn the first prin- 
 ciples of moral philosophy, to say nothing 
 of the teachings of Christ. I have had a 
 good opportunity to notice much of the self- 
 ishness of human nature, and the thought 
 occurred to me that the children in our 
 public schools ought to be instructed in the 
 principles of moral philosophy ; of course, 
 this instruction should be adapted to their 
 understanding, for there are many children 
 and parents who do not attend church or 
 Sunday school, and some of the former 
 generally grow up without having correct 
 ideas of right and wrong, of duty, service, 
 submission, trade, commerce, etc. While 
 we cannot compel parents and children to 
 attend church and Sunday school (which 
 is one of the glories of our country), yet 
 the State should see to it that the chil- 
 dren attending our public schools should 
 receive instruction in the science of morals, 
 
76 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 SO that they may become intelligent citi- 
 zens, having correct ideas of the laws and 
 rules that govern the relations of parents 
 and children, of citizens and the State, of 
 citizens to each other, etc. This would be 
 one of the strongest measures for securing 
 good citizens as well as for perpetuating 
 our form of government and making our 
 nation really great." 
 
SOME WARTIME LETTERS. // 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some Waftime Letters. 
 
 The following extracts from two letters 
 written by the general, the one from " Cor- 
 inth, Miss.," and the other from " Oxford, 
 Miss.," will explain themselves. The rea- 
 son why the letters are not given entire is 
 that portions of them contain private or 
 family matters that are not of public in- 
 terest. The first one is addressed to his 
 father, dated : 
 
 "Corinth, Miss., September 17, 1862. 
 " Dear Father : A letter from you 
 and one from Mary were received some 
 time ago, which I commenced to answer 
 in a letter addressed to Mary, but being 
 frequently interrupted by matters of busi- 
 ness it was laid aside for some days and 
 
78 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 finally torn up. I now have all my time 
 taxed. Although occupying a position 
 attracting but little attention at this time, 
 there is probably no garrison more threat- 
 ened than this. I expect to hold it, and 
 have never had any other feeling, either 
 here or elsewhere, but that of success." 
 
 [Here follows a request to his father not 
 to do anything in the way of defending 
 him against the attacks of the press, which, 
 as was usual, worried his father a good deal, 
 and prompted him to take up the pen, or 
 get others to do so, in defense of his son, 
 for whose success he was naturally very 
 anxious. The general wrote him :] 
 
 *' I require no defenders. . . . Persons 
 who have returned to this army said that 
 they found the best of feeling existing 
 toward me in every place except in Cin- 
 cinnati. Do nothing to correct anything, 
 and keep quiet on this subject. 
 
 '' Mary wrote me about an appointment 
 for Mr. N. I have nothing in the world 
 
SOME WARTIME LETTERS. 79 
 
 to do with any appointments, no povver 
 to make, and nothing to do with recom- 
 mending except for my own staff. That 
 is now already full." 
 
 Parts of the other letter, addressed to 
 his sister Mary, read as follows : 
 
 "Oxford, Miss., December 15, 1862. 
 
 "Dear Sister: Yesterday I received a 
 letter from you and the children and one 
 from Uncle Samuel. . . . I shall remain here 
 to-morrow, or the next day at farthest. 
 
 '' We are now having wet weather. I 
 have a big army in front of me as well as 
 bad roads. I shall probably give a good 
 account of myself, however, notwithstand- 
 ing all obstacles. My plans are all com- 
 plete for weeks to come, and I hope to 
 have them all work out just as planned. 
 For a conscientious person, and I profess 
 to be one, this is a most slavish life. I 
 may be envied by ambitious persons, but I 
 in turn envy the person who can transact 
 
80 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 his daily business and retire to a quiet 
 home without the feeling of responsibility 
 for to-morrow. Taking my whole depart- 
 ment, there are an immense number of 
 lives staked upon m.y judgment and acts. 
 I am extended now like a peninsula into an 
 enemy's country with a large army depend- 
 ing for their daily bread upon keeping 
 open a line of railroad running one hun- 
 dred and ninety miles through an enemy's 
 country, or at least through territory oc- 
 cupied by a people terribly embittered and 
 hostile to us. With all this I suffer the 
 mortification of seeing myself attacked 
 right and left by people at home professing 
 patriotism and love of country who never 
 heard the whistle of a hostile bullet. I 
 pity 'them and a nation dependent upon 
 such for its existence. I am thankful 
 however, that although such people make 
 a great noise, the masses are not like 
 them. 
 
 '' To all my other trials I have to con- 
 
SOME WARTIME LETTERS. 8 1 
 
 tend against is added that of speculators 
 whose patriotism is measured by dollars 
 and cents. Country has no value with 
 them compared with money. To elucidate 
 this would take quires of paper, so I will 
 reserve this for an evening's conversation 
 if I should be so fortunate as to again get 
 home, where I can have a day to myself. 
 
 " Tell the children to learn their lessons, 
 mind their grandma, and be good children. 
 I should like very much to see them. To 
 me they are all obedient and good. I may 
 be partial, but they seem to me to be chil- 
 dren to be proud of." 
 
 Speaking here of his children, the gen- 
 eral had reference to the fact that they 
 were for the timQ being staying at his par- 
 ents' home in Covington, Ky., where they 
 went to school, and were for some time 
 under the care and management of the 
 general's mother and sisters. According 
 to the first part of the above letter his wife 
 
82 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 and father were at the time of writing at 
 Holly Springs for the purpose of pa3'ing 
 him a visit. The general had alwa5^s been 
 very fond of his children and had a high 
 opinion of their character and ability. He 
 was very "domestic" in his habits and 
 tastes. He loved to be at home, surround- 
 ed by his family. He did not believe in 
 physical punishment as applied to children. 
 He told me that, so far as his children 
 were concerned, he put them " on their 
 honor," and he believed it had a better 
 effect than if he had applied physical pun- 
 ishment to them. This thought is worthy 
 of the attention of parents and educators. 
 
 It is evident from the above letter that 
 the general was very sensitive in reference 
 to the attacks made upon him by the press 
 and others at home while he was at the 
 front doing all in his power to put down 
 the rebellion, denying himself of home com- 
 forts and the presence of his family, and 
 bearing day and night an awful responsi- 
 
SOME WARTIME LETTERS. 83 
 
 bility for the support of his army in the 
 enemy's country, as well as for their and 
 his honor in prosecuting the war success- 
 fully and meeting the expectations of the 
 government and the people. In convers- 
 ing on this subject at a subsequent period 
 he told me that though he bore it all in 
 silence he was frequently discouraged and 
 felt tempted to resign his commission and 
 go home. He thought it ungenerous, to 
 say the least, on the part of those who at- 
 tacked him to charge him with things of 
 which he was not guilty, and to criticise 
 his plans and actions when they were to- 
 tally ignorant of the position and circum- 
 stances of the case, while he was at the 
 front bearing all the hardships, privations, 
 and responsibility, and they at their homes 
 enjoying their comforts and rest and ease, 
 with no responsibility whatsoeverconnected 
 with the war. But being conscientious, and 
 knowing that he was doing his very best 
 under the circumstances, he could afford to 
 
84 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 wait until time justified his course. His 
 detracters are forgotten, or nearly so, while 
 his name still lives and is honored. 
 
 A great trial to him were those ** specu- 
 lators whose patriotism was then measured 
 by dollars and cents," and who thought 
 more of money-making than of their country 
 in distress. He told me that he was often 
 besieged by them, requesting him to give 
 them " passes " to go South ; and in some 
 cases he was even requested to give them 
 a military guard for protection— a thing he 
 never did. Of course, these disappointed 
 '' speculators " returned home and caused 
 *' complaints " and "charges," manufactured 
 out of whole cloth, to be circulated and 
 published against him in a portion of the 
 press that was either opposed to the prose- 
 cution of the war, or whose " correspond- 
 ents " he did not appoint on his staff nor 
 furnish with news from headquarters. 
 These complaints and charges, coming 
 from men who had '' recently been at 
 
SOME WARTIME LETTERS. 85 
 
 the front," were made to have the sem- 
 blance of truth and thus to hurt the gen- 
 eral, if they were not intended to be the 
 means for his removal. Seen and judged 
 at this distance, these men were worse than 
 the rebels ; for the latter fought for their 
 '^ cause," and thus staked their lives and 
 property in its maintenance or defense, 
 while the former endeavored to take ad- 
 vantage of their bleeding country to en- 
 rich themselves at its expense ; and if the 
 commanding general felt it to be his duty 
 to put his veto upon their selfish, if not 
 unlawful, endeavors, they, in a cowardly 
 manner, stabbed him in the back. 
 
86 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Before the Fall of Vicksbttrg. 
 
 "Walnut Hills, Miss., June 15, 1863. 
 
 *' Dear Father : I have received sev- 
 eral letters from Mary and yourself, but, as 
 I have to do with nineteen-twentieths of 
 those received, have neglected to answer 
 them. 
 
 " All I can say is that I am well ; I have 
 the enemy closely hemmed in all around. 
 My position is naturally strong and fortified 
 against an attack from outside. I have 
 been so strongly reinforced that Johnston 
 will have to come with a mighty host to 
 drive me away. I do not look upon the 
 fall of Vicksburg as in the least doubtful. 
 If, however, I could have carried the place 
 on the twenty-second of last month I could 
 by this time have made a campaign that 
 
BEFORE VICKSBURG. 8/ 
 
 would have made the State of Mississippi 
 ahnost safe for a solitary horseman to ride 
 over. As it is, the enemy have a large 
 army in it, and the season has so far ad- 
 vanced that water will be difficult to find 
 for an army marching, besides the dust and 
 heat that must be encountered. The fall 
 of Vicksburg now will only result in the 
 opening of the Mississippi River and the 
 demoralization of the enemy. I intended 
 more from it; I did my best, however, and, 
 looking back, can see no blunder com- 
 mitted. Yours, etc., Ulysses." 
 
 Having always been naturally interested 
 in what led to the siege and the taking of 
 Vicksburg (having a brother killed in the 
 battle of Champion's Hill), I asked the 
 general about it, and he narrated substan- 
 tially the affair as we find it described in 
 his Memoirs^ only not quite so elaborately; 
 and he made the identical remarks found 
 in Vol. I, pp. 519, 520: " Had McClernand 
 
88 ULYSSES S, GRANT. 
 
 come up with reasonable promptness, or 
 had I known the ground as I did after- 
 ward, I cannot see how Pendleton could 
 have escaped with any organized force ; " 
 hence on June 15, 1863, he could write to 
 his father, " Looking back I can see no 
 blunder committed," meaning on his own 
 part. But he expressed regrets that General 
 McClernand did not move more rapidly, 
 as in that case Vicksburg w^ould have fallen 
 at least a month earlier into his hands. 
 What would have been the consequence of 
 this cannot be calculated with exactness ; 
 but in Grant's opinion it would probably 
 have shortened the war and hastened the 
 restoration of peace. 
 
GRANT DECLINES A CIVIL OFFICE. 89 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Grant Declines a Civil Office* 
 
 From the following letter it appears 
 that General Grant was urged to be a can- 
 didate for a certain office not mentioned 
 therein. It is probable that the men whose 
 names are mentioned in it suggested to his 
 father and to himself the propriety of his 
 allowing his name to be brought forward as 
 a candidate for the Presidency, though I 
 am not quite sure about it. The letter 
 will explain itself: 
 
 "Nashville, Tenn., February 20, 1864. 
 " Dear Father : I have received your 
 letter and those accompanying it, to-wit : 
 Mr. Newton's and J. N. Morris's. I may 
 write to Mr. Newton, but it will be differ- 
 ent from what he expects. I am not a 
 
90 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 candidate for any office. All I want is to 
 be left alone to fight this war out, fight 
 all rebel opposition, and restore a happy 
 Union in the shortest possible time. You 
 know, or ought to know, that the public 
 prints are not the proper mediums through 
 which to let a personal feeling pass. I 
 know that I feel that nothing personal to 
 myself could ever induce me to accept a 
 political office. 
 
 " J'J^^g^^g from your letter you seem 
 to have taken an active feeling, to say the 
 least, in this matter, that I would like to 
 talk to you about it. I could write, but 
 do not want to do so. Why not come 
 down here and see me? 
 
 "Yours, etc., Ulysses." 
 
 General Grant- never conversed with me 
 on this subject, except to say that while in 
 the army he had been requested to '' run for 
 an office ; " that he peremptorily declined 
 to do so ; that he never had a desire while 
 
GRANT DECLINES A CIVIL OFFICE. 9I 
 
 in the army for a political office, not even 
 for the presidency ; that he was perfectly 
 satisfied with being in the army, and that 
 after the war it was his intention to spend 
 the remainder of his life, or until he had 
 reached the legal limit, in the position as 
 head of the army. He told me that it 
 cost him a severe struggle to accept the 
 nomination as candidate for the presidency 
 offered to him by the Republican Party in 
 1868, and that only upon the strogu pres- 
 entation of the case by the leaders of that 
 party, and taking the situation and cir- 
 cumstances into consideration, he felt it 
 his duty to obey that call and serve his 
 country in the position to which the peo- 
 ple afterward elected him. He said that 
 when the people, through their representa- 
 tives, called him to any position, he felt it 
 his duty to obey that call, whatever his 
 personal feelings or his likes and dislikes 
 might be. When the country calls a citi- 
 zen to perform any service it is his duty 
 
92 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 to obey, '' though," he said, with a smile, 
 *' there are some who either call them- 
 selves, or by some hook or crook get others 
 to call them, and then they boast that the 
 country has called them." 
 
 Upon another occasion he said to me: 
 ** I can truly say that I never sought the 
 presidency, nor any promotion that came 
 to me in the army during the war. They 
 all came to me unsolicited ; but in all posi- 
 tions that thus came to me I endeavored 
 to do my duty as I saw it, conscientiously, 
 and to give satisfaction to those who pro- 
 moted or elected me. From the time my 
 services were accepted in 1861 until the 
 expiration of my second term as President 
 I never asked for promotion, nor got others 
 to ask for me. Perhaps one reason why I 
 received unsolicited promotions is that I 
 never allowed myself to deviate from the 
 path of duty — from what was given me to 
 do. I never aspired to hold any political 
 office ; I never sought newspaper ' puffs ' or 
 
GRANT DECLINES A CIVIL OFFICE. 93 
 
 influence. My sole desire was to do all in 
 my power to put down the rebellion and 
 restore the Union. While I was in the 
 army I never criticised the actions of Con- 
 gress or of the administration ; I simply 
 obeyed all the orders given me by my supe- 
 riors. I may say I was a man of one pur- 
 pose, namely, to put down the rebellion." 
 
94 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Grant^s Views on President Lincoln, Stanton, Seward, 
 Qiase, and Johnson, 
 
 In this connection it may be well to give 
 an extract from a letter addressed to his 
 father relative to a certain young man 
 (Mr. W.) in the army, who appears at that 
 time to have been undergoing punishment 
 for an offense, but who had the audacity to 
 apply for a position on the general's staff. 
 It is as follows : 
 
 "Culpepper Court House, Va., April i6, 1864. 
 " Dear Father: Your letter inclosing 
 one from young W., asking for duty on 
 my staff during his suspension, is received. 
 It is the third letter from him on the same 
 subject. Of course, I cannot gratify him. 
 It would not be proper. It would be 
 changing punishment into reward. . . . 
 
VIEWS ON PUBLIC MEN. 95 
 
 ** It has rained here ahnost every day 
 since my arrival ; it is still raining. Of 
 course, I say nothing of when the army 
 moves, or how, or where. I am in most 
 excellent health, and well pleased with 
 appearances here. Yours, etc., 
 
 " Ulysses." 
 
 The general's remarks relative to young 
 W. show his high sense of propriety and 
 justice. He told me that this was not the 
 first time that similar requests were made 
 of him by persons (or their friends) who 
 were either undergoing some kind of pun- 
 ishment for having committed some of- 
 fense or were known to entertain favorable 
 feelings for the Southern cause, but who 
 coveted the distinction of serving on Gen- 
 eral Grant's staff irrespective of their merit 
 or ability, or both. Whenever he had re- 
 ceived promotion applications for positions 
 on his staff came pouring in from all classes 
 of men, some known and some unknown 
 
96 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 to him, who cared less for rendering real 
 service, but more for the honor it would 
 bring to them. 
 
 The letter written from Culpepper Court 
 House soon after the general had assumed 
 command of the armies of the United 
 States, and making his headquarters with 
 the Army of the Potomac, suggests a re- 
 mark he made to me relative to his direct- 
 ing the movements of that army. He said 
 that, the army being so near Washington, 
 he was afraid lest senators and members 
 of Congress might endeavor to interfere 
 with his plans, and thus bring confusion 
 into or retard the movements of the army; 
 that therefore he had requested President 
 Lincoln to see to it that such should not 
 be the case, and that he had received the 
 desired assurance. Continuing to speak of 
 Mr. Lincoln, he said that he never knew a 
 man in a high position who had the faculty 
 to manage other men so easily and without 
 giving offense in such a high degree as he. 
 
VIEWS ON PUBLIC MEN. 97 
 
 While he was gentle and humane, he was 
 nevertheless decisive in his opinions. He 
 was very careful of the feelings of others 
 and approachable to all classes of persons. 
 He was morally and intellectually great 
 without assuming to be great, and had the 
 gift of easily comprehending any situation 
 with which he had to deal. He was always 
 governed by the best of motives, and was 
 thoroughly unselfish. The country was 
 fortunate in having him as President 
 during the most trying period in its his- 
 tory. No man could have done better, 
 if as well. He will be more thought of 
 as time passes. He will go down into his- 
 tory as one of the greatest men America 
 has ever produced. 
 
 Concerning Mr. Stanton, Secretary of 
 War under Mr. Lincoln, General Grant 
 said that he was also a great man in his 
 way, and the right man in the right place; 
 that few, if any could have done as well in 
 the War Office during the war as he did, 
 
98 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 but he had not the same ability of mana- 
 ging men that Mr. Lincohi had; that he was 
 not as considerate of the feelings of others as 
 Mr. Lincoln was ; that he had a strong will, 
 that in great emergencies he was uneasy 
 and fidgety; still, in the War Office he was 
 the complement of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 With reference to William H. Seward, 
 Secretary of State, Grant said that he con- 
 sidered him a great statesman ; that he 
 managed our foreign affairs during the war 
 with consummate skill; that Mr. Lincoln 
 could not have had a better man in that 
 Q.ffice than Mr. Seward was ; and that he 
 rendered our country an immense service 
 by preventing war between the United 
 States and England while yet maintain- 
 ing our rights. He also praised Seward's 
 diplomatic skill in inducing Napoleon III 
 to withdraw his troops from Mexico, thus 
 preventing the establishment of a perma- 
 nent empire in our neighborhood. 
 
 Relative to S. P. Chase, Secretary of the 
 
VIEWS ON PUBLIC MEK. 99 
 
 Treasury, the general said, that he always 
 admired his great financial ability; that by 
 his skillful management of our national 
 finances durinc: the war he rendered the 
 country an immense service ; that his hon- 
 esty and integrity were never questioned, 
 though he might easily have enriched him- 
 self; that he was a thoroughbred gentle- 
 man, possessing a great mind, a great char- 
 acter, and great statesmanship. His weak- 
 ness consisted chiefly in his inordinate am- 
 bition to become President, which induced 
 him to seek the Democratic nomination. 
 The nobility of Mr. Lincoln's character, lie 
 said, is shown, among other things, in nom- 
 inating Mr. Chase, in October, 1864, to the 
 Senate for the position of Chief Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of the United States 
 after he had been seeking during that year 
 the nomination for the Presidency in the 
 place of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 Concerning Andrew Johnson, Grant said 
 that while he was naturally smart and 
 
lOO ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 shrewd he nevertheless showed the defect- 
 iveness of his early education ; that in some 
 things he was stubborn, and mistook it for 
 strength of character ; that his denunci- 
 ations of the rebels, after he had become 
 President, caused a great deal of uneasiness 
 and trouble in the South ; that the sudden 
 change in his sentiments respecting the 
 Southern States brought him into conflict 
 with Congress and did a great deal of harm; 
 and that he was ambitious and designing 
 for a second term. That strange charm 
 and nobility so manifest in Mr. Lincoln's 
 character was absent in Mr. Johnson's. 
 There were no revengeful feelings in Mr. 
 Lincoln ; if there were he never showed 
 them ; but Mr. Johnson was revengeful, 
 passionate, and opinionated. ''While Mr. 
 Johnson had some good traits in his char- 
 acter, yet as a whole I cannot admire him." 
 Of the two Congresses that carried on 
 the war, Grant had nothing but good to 
 say. He admired their patriotism and 
 
VIEWS ON PUBLIC MEN. lOI 
 
 the unstinted liberality with which they 
 voted men and means to prosecute the war 
 to its close. *' Without their active sup- 
 port," he said, "we would have failed in 
 suppressing the rebellion." 
 
I02 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Much to Do— Little Influence— Grant's Views on 
 Providence. 
 
 The following extracts from letters ad- 
 dressed to his father, one at the close of 
 the war, and the other nearly three years 
 later, will show the general's busy life 
 during and after the war; and that he 
 possessed apparently little influence in get- 
 ting appointments for applicants : 
 
 " Headquarters Armies of the U. S., 
 " Washington, May 6, 1865. 
 '' Dear Father : I have just returned 
 from Philadelphia, leaving Mr. Cramer 
 there. He can describe our new house to 
 you when he returns. 
 
 *' My health is good, but I find so much 
 to do that I can scarcely keep up with 
 public business, let alone answering all the 
 
MUCH TO DO. 103 
 
 private letters I receive. My going to 
 Philadelphia and spending half my time 
 there, as I hope to do. will give me some 
 leisure. I attend to public business there 
 by telegraph and avoid numerous calls tak- 
 ing up much time, or hope to do so. . . . 
 
 '' I hope to hear of mother's entire re- 
 covery. Yours, etc. Ulysses." 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE U. S., 
 
 Washington, February 10, 1868. 
 •* Dear Father : I spoke to Secretary 
 McCulloch about giving Mrs. P. a clerk- 
 ship in the Treasury, and he promised me 
 he would do it, but has not yet done it. 
 Now, I fancy I have not much influence, 
 and if I had I would be very careful about 
 using it. The family are well and send 
 much love to mother, Jennie, and yourself. 
 *' Yours truly, U. S. GRANT." 
 
 The Mrs. P. referred to in the above let- 
 ter was the widow of an army officer who 
 was killed in the war and left her and her 
 
104 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 boy without any means. She resided in 
 Covington, Ky., and made appHcation 
 through the general's father for a clerkship 
 in the Treasury Department. She never 
 got it, which induced him to say that 
 ** he had not much influence," and even if 
 he had he '' would be very careful about 
 using it." 
 
 The house referred to in the first of the 
 above letters was the one donated to him 
 by the citizens of Philadelphia soon after 
 the close of the war. It was a fine, com- 
 modious house, with all the modern im- 
 provements and conveniences. With be- 
 coming modesty and sincere gratitude he 
 accepted it as a token of the appreciation, 
 on the part of the citizens of that city, of 
 the services he was enabled, " with the help 
 of the armies of the United States, to ren- 
 der our country." It was then his inten- 
 tion to let his family reside there, while he 
 divided his time between Philadelphia and 
 Washington, but the business of his office 
 
MUCH TO DO. 105 
 
 incident to the disbanding of the armies 
 of the United States at the close of the 
 war, and the reorganization of the reg- 
 ular army, etc., was so enormous that he 
 was compelled soon to abandon his plan 
 and move his family to Washington. It 
 was fortunate, however, that his attention 
 had been directed to Philadelphia imme- 
 diately after the close of the war; other- 
 wise he would probably have been in Wash- 
 ington at the time of the assassination 
 of Mr. Lincoln and the attack upon Mr. 
 Seward and his son. In all probability he 
 would have shared the same fate. It was 
 no doubt a merciful Providence that thus 
 enabled him to escape the hand of the 
 assassin ; at least he told me, when we 
 conversed on the assassination of Mr. Lin- 
 coln, that he looked upon it as such, " for 
 I am," he said, " a profound believer in 
 a special and a general providence that 
 shapes the destiny of individuals and na- 
 tions." 
 
Io6 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 We had several conversations on this sub- 
 ject. To illustrate : At the outbreak of the 
 war he was somewhat indifferent to the 
 question of the abolition of slavery. He 
 thought at first that the rebellion could be 
 suppressed without its abolition. But as 
 the war progressed he became gradually 
 convinced that *' slavery was doomed and 
 must go." He had always recognized its 
 moral evil, as also its being the cause of 
 the war ; and " as all evil must be punished 
 in some form at some time, and as nations 
 have no organized existence hereafter, 
 they must be punished here for their na- 
 tional sins ; " hence General Grant came to 
 look upon the war as a divine punishment 
 for the sin of slavery; and God used hu- 
 man beings to carry out his purposes. 
 *' Thus," he said, " we see a special provi- 
 dence that shapes the calling and destiny 
 of individuals, and we see a general prov- 
 idence that governs nations, yet all in 
 such a way as not to destroy man's free 
 
MUCH TO DO. 107 
 
 agency." Grant was communicative to 
 me on religious and Church matters when- 
 ever I broached these subjects. Few 
 Christians were more conscientious and 
 just than he was. 
 
I08 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Office-seeking an Industry. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to his 
 sister Mary, will be read with interest : 
 
 " Washington, D. C, ]\Iarch 31, 1869. 
 
 " My Dear Sister : I received a note 
 from you a few days since which ought to 
 have been answered at once. The fact is, 
 hov/ever, that I scarcely get one moment 
 alone. Office-seeking in this country, I re- 
 gret to say, is getting to be one of the in- 
 dustries of the age. It gives me no peace. 
 With the adjournment of Congress, how- 
 ever, I hope it will be better. 
 
 " Father and Jennie left here last Thurs- 
 day after a visit of several weeks. You 
 heard, no doubt, that father got a severe 
 fall on inauguration day. He is not 
 
OFFICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. IO9 
 
 much improved, and I fear never will 
 entirely recover. It is not probable that 
 his injury will shorten his life, but will 
 probably make him lame for life. He 
 had but little peace ^vhile here. Office- 
 seekers were after him from breakfast till 
 bedtime. . . . 
 
 ''The family are all well and join me in 
 love. Yours truly, U. S. GRANT." 
 
 General Grant told me on one occasion 
 that during the time of his settlement in 
 Washington after the war and his inaugu- 
 ration he had an inkling of the extent to 
 which office-seeking is carried on in this 
 country, having been frequently requested, 
 both in letters and viva voce, by persons 
 known and unknown to him, to intercede 
 in their behalf with the ** powers that be " 
 for the purpose of securing offices for them, 
 but in comparison with what he expe- 
 rienced In this line after his inauguration 
 it was as a little flowing brook to the 
 
no ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 mighty cataract of Niagara. Is it a wonder 
 that he calls office-seeking '' one of the in- 
 dustries of the age?" Here were, in the 
 first place, the Republican senators and 
 representatives, who claimed the first con- 
 sideration ; then there came friends and 
 acquaintances who believed that they had 
 a primary claim upon him for themselves or 
 their friends or relatives ; then came gov- 
 ernors of States and officers of the army and 
 navy, and lastly a host of unknown per- 
 sons, some of whom brought letters of in- 
 troduction or recommendation from friends 
 or politicians, while others came in their 
 own name. *' The whole business,'* he 
 said, "was simply overwhelming." For 
 each of the hundreds or thousands of ap- 
 pointments there were from ten to twenty, 
 and even more, applicants. Of course, the 
 majority of the office-seekers had to be 
 disappointed. 
 
 To illustrate: It appears from the above 
 letter that Father Grant was also daily 
 
OFFICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. Ill 
 
 besieged with the importunities of many 
 office-seekers, whether he was at his own 
 home or at his son's in Washington. From 
 1867 to 1870 I was consul at Leipzig. 
 From the time it had been officially de- 
 clared that Grant was elected President of 
 the United States until the first of May 
 following — that is, during less than five 
 months — I received not less than one hun- 
 dred and fifty-three written applications 
 for different offices, domestic and foreign, 
 with the request that I should indorse and 
 forward them to the President, accom- 
 panied by a personal letter from me to 
 him. During the said month of May I 
 came home on a leave of absence, and, 
 spending a week at the White House, I, 
 like Father Grant, was daily besieged by 
 office-seekers, and this thing followed me 
 to New York and Covington, Ky., during 
 the whole of my leave of absence. 
 
 More than this : Certain parties — whis- 
 key distillers — approached me and offered 
 
112 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 me several hundred thousand dollars '' if I 
 would go to Washington, reside there, and 
 keep on 'good terms ' with the Commis- 
 sioner of Internal Revenue." I simply 
 replied, " Thy money perish with thee " 
 (Acts viii, 20). At that time gold was 
 above par, and hence, in a certain sense, 
 an article of merchandise. The govern- 
 ment sold gold coin or bullion as it was 
 needed by bankers or importers, etc. Cer- 
 tain other parties approached me and of- 
 fered me large sums of money if *' I would 
 reside in Washington and procure for them 
 the first information when the government 
 would throw gold upon the market." 
 Knowing what they wanted, I replied, 
 '' Gentlemen, I have no right to trade with 
 President Grant's name," and, as in the 
 other case, I walked away. 
 
 These incidents are mentioned here to 
 corroborate Grant's statement, that " of- 
 fice-seeking has become one of the indus- 
 tries of the age." There are others whose 
 
OFFICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. II 3 
 
 patriotism is, as Grant said, measured by 
 dollars and cents; they will stoop to brib- 
 ery and other questionable acts necessary 
 to accomplish their object — the enrich- 
 ment of themselves by defrauding the gov- 
 ernment or the public — and will try to 
 use honest and honorable men in or out 
 of office. It is sad to see so little con- 
 science in some persons who claim to be 
 patriots and gentlemen ! 
 
 The general's relatives were frequently 
 besieged by office-seekers to use their in- 
 fluence with him to secure positions for 
 them of some sort or another. So long as 
 he was President I received letters of ap- 
 plication (during my residence abroad) 
 with almost every American mail from 
 office-seekers in nearly every part of the 
 country, so much so that I suggested to 
 him to let it be known that recommen- 
 dations from his relatives had no weight 
 with him ; and that applicants for office 
 must be recommended by the senators 
 
114 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 and congressmen of their respective 
 States, or other well-known and responsi- 
 ble parties. On one occasion a young 
 lady, whose parents had died and left her 
 no means of support (her father was killed 
 on the battlefield as an officer), requested 
 me by letter to intercede with the Presi- 
 dent to give her a clerkship in the Treas- 
 ury Department. I wrote to her that the 
 President had nothing to do with the ap- 
 pointment of clerks in the different de- 
 partments ; that she must apply to the 
 senators or congressmen of her State, etc. ; 
 that therefore I could not comply with her 
 request, for it would do no good, however 
 much I would like to see her appointed. 
 Without securing the influence of these 
 lawmakers she went to Washington, 
 called on the President, and gave him my 
 letter to read. The young lady informed 
 me afterward that the President had said 
 to her that he was pleased with the ad- 
 vice I had given her, and especially that 
 
OFFICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. II 5 
 
 I didn't bother him with her appHcation, 
 and that for that very reason he took pity 
 on her and procured for her the desired 
 appointment. 
 
 Another instance showing the general's 
 kind-heartedness toward and sympathy 
 with suffering famihes is the following : 
 
 A boy eighteen years old, the only son of 
 a royal officer of high rank in Leipzig, Ger- 
 many, had committed a youthful indiscre- 
 tion, and, fearing punishment, emigrated to 
 New York. Being unable to secure em- 
 ployment he enlisted in the United States 
 Army. Not being accustomed to the rough 
 life of a soldier at the frontier he became 
 ill. In his distress he wrote to his parents, 
 confessing his wrongdoing, asking their par- 
 don, and requesting them to get his gov- 
 ernment to intercede in behalf of his dis- 
 charge. His father and mother came to 
 my office (I was then United States con- 
 sul in that city), and with tears in their 
 eyes laid the case before me, asking me at 
 
Il6 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 the same time to plead with the President 
 to discharge their only son. I did so, and 
 with return mail I received copies of the 
 discharge papers from the War Depart- 
 ment. The boy returned home a reformed 
 young man, and has since become a dis- 
 tinguished official. Happier parents and a 
 happier son I never saw. 
 
 Another case is equally illustrative of 
 the general's sympathy with suffering hu- 
 manity : 
 
 A highly respectable family in Copenha- 
 gen, consisting of father, mother, and eight 
 children (of whom the eldest was a boy 
 eighteen years old), lost the husband and 
 father by death. Up to that time they 
 had nothing for their support but his small 
 salary of six hundred dollars. With his 
 death that income ceased. The boy had 
 been preparing himself for a university 
 course ; but now he had to give up his 
 studies and work for the support of his in- 
 valid mother and her seven small children. 
 
OFFICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. 11/ 
 
 It was difficult for him to get a position in 
 which he could earn more than two dollars 
 a week — an insufficient amount for their 
 support. 
 
 A position in a New York business ^ 
 house was offered to him, with an in- 
 come of eight hundred dollars. He came 
 to this country, but only to find that the 
 firm had failed. Here he was — penniless. 
 What should he do? Finding no employ, 
 ment he enlisted in the United States 
 Army; but his monthly pay, which he 
 regularly sent to his mother, was insuf- 
 ficient to support the family. A little sis- 
 ter of his came to me of her own prompting 
 (I was then United States Minister Resi- 
 dent in Copenhagen), stated the case of 
 her mother and brother, and asked me with 
 tears if I could not get him out of the army 
 and into a business by which he could sup- 
 port the family. I promised that I would 
 try. I laid the case before the President 
 in almost the same words (in a translated 
 
Il8 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 form) used by the little girl, whose name 
 was Ingeborg. Indue time I was informed 
 that the President had ordered the dis- 
 charge of Ingeborg's brother, and had se- 
 cured for him a position with a salary of 
 a thousand dollars. Of course there was 
 great joy in that household. The affec- 
 tionate son and brother made remittances 
 to his mother of fifty dollars every month. 
 That same Ingeborg helped her mother, 
 educated herself at my advice, learned 
 some English, and finally married a well- 
 to-do official. Inviting me to the wed- 
 ding, she wrote in English, literally, as 
 follows : 
 
 *' I am hope that I should marry in Co- 
 penhagen at the entrance of August ; you 
 are indubitably entitled to be invited ; we 
 adjoin our portrats and send them you. 
 My loved and I hope you will kondisdaen to 
 go to our marriage. My mother send hu- 
 meliat respect, and also I adjoin my ven- 
 erable humbelness. IxGEBORG L." 
 
OPTICE-SEEKING AN INDUSTRY. II9 
 
 This is somewhat similar to the remark 
 of another Danish young lady, who desired 
 to emigrate to this country, " I to love 
 America, I enemy Denmark ; " or of a Ger- 
 man woman referring to chickens, saying, 
 " They are a strange people, I mean a 
 curious folk ; " or of a young foreigner 
 learning our language, saying, ** I walked 
 into English." 
 
I20 ULYSSES S, GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Domestic Life» 
 
 The following extracts from two letters 
 addressed by the general, one to his sister 
 in Copenhagen, and one to his father, give 
 glimpses of his domestic life and of what 
 he thought of his children. A part of the 
 first letter refers to his '' summering " at 
 Long Branch, where a Mr. W., a friend of 
 his sister, made an unsuccessful attempt to 
 see him, not for the purpose of asking for 
 an office, but of paying his respects to 
 him. 
 
 The following is an extract from the first 
 letter mentioned : 
 
 •'Washington, D. C, October 26, 1871. 
 '' My Dear Sister : I have been in- 
 tending to write you for some time ; but 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 121 
 
 the moment I get into my office in the 
 morning it is overwhehned with visitors, 
 and continues so through the day. I now 
 write of a rainy evening, after having read 
 the New York papers. 
 
 " Jennie is with us, has been for some 
 days, and will remain until she becomes 
 homesick, which, I hope, will not be 
 soon. 
 
 *' I received your letter in which you 
 gave me an extract from Mr. W.'s. I had 
 no recollection or knowledge of the matter 
 whatever. The fact is, I am followed 
 wherever I go, at Long Branch as well as 
 here. I sometimes shake off callers, not 
 knowing their business, whom I would be 
 delighted to see. In the case of Mr. W., 
 however, I do not think that I ever knew 
 that he had called. For the first time in 
 my life I had arranged to go fishing at 
 sea. To do so it was necessary to engage 
 fishermen, with boat, beforehand. General 
 P. did not know that I had made the 
 
122 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 arrangement, and probably was not at my 
 house when I returned from riding, the 
 evening after Mr. W. called. You will 
 see the explanation. I will write it to 
 Mr. W. 
 
 " Fred, after graduating at West Point, 
 accepted a position as assistant civil en- 
 gineer, and gave up a good portion of his 
 furlough to go to work at his new profes- 
 sion. He has been in the Rocky Moun- 
 tains since August, surveying, in pursuit of 
 his new profession. 
 
 '* But little or nothing can be done in 
 the winter by him ; I have, therefore, got 
 him a leave of absence from his engineer 
 duties to accompany General Sherman 
 abroad until the latter part of April. I 
 expect him to sail the next month. . . . 
 I will instruct him to run up to Copen- 
 hagen from a convenient point and spend 
 a few days with you. You will find him a 
 well-grown and much-improved boy. He 
 is about the height Brother Simpson was, 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 123 
 
 and well developed physically. You will 
 be pleased with him, I know. 
 
 "During the Harvard vacation, next 
 year I intend that Buck and Jesse shall 
 „o to Europe also. It may be that in the 
 short time they will have to remain abroad 
 they may not be able to go up to see you ; 
 but I think they will be pleased to do so, 
 and may spare time for that purpose. I 
 do not know but I owe an apology to Mr. 
 Cramer for not answering his letters. All 
 have been received, and I have been grat- 
 ified with them. But I am so constantly 
 pressed that it is almost impossible for me 
 to get any time to devote to private corre- 
 spondence. 
 
 " AH send our kindest regards to Mr. 
 Cramer, and love to you and the chil- 
 dren Yours affectionately, 
 
 " U. S. Grant." 
 up s — I shall always be delighted to 
 receive letters from you and Mr. Cramer, 
 whether I answer them or not." 
 
124 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 The following is an extract from the 
 President's letter to his father about his 
 children, and will explain itself: 
 
 " Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 June 2, 1872. 
 
 "Dear Father: Hearing from home 
 frequently as I do, through persons com- 
 ing from there and through occasional 
 letters, I scarcely ever think of writing. 
 Hereafter, however, I will try to write 
 oftener or have Jesse write. The children 
 might all write to you, for that matter. 
 We hear occasionally from Fred direct, 
 and very often through the papers. He 
 has enjoyed his European trip very much, 
 and I think will be much improved by it. 
 Nellie writes very often, and isav^erymuch 
 better letter-writer than either of the boys 
 are. Her composition is easy and fluent, 
 and she writes very correctly. She seems 
 to have made a very good impression 
 where she has been. Buck sails for Europe 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 1 25 
 
 on July 6. He will travel but little, how- 
 ever. . . . His object is to acquire a 
 speaking knowledge of both the French 
 and German languages, both of which he 
 is now quite a good scholar in. 
 
 '' I received a letter from Mary a short 
 time since. She said that she would leave 
 for home about the first of June. You may 
 expect her home by the twentieth,no doubt. 
 Julia and Jesse are well, and send much 
 love to you and mother. 
 
 '' Sincerely yours, U. S. GRANT." 
 
 It is evident from the above extracts 
 that the general was very much devoted 
 to his children ; that he carefully watched 
 their progress in their growth, education, 
 etc., and that he thought much of them, 
 as well as of his relatives. A more de- 
 voted and affectionate husband, father, 
 and friend than Grant can scarcely be 
 conceived. He was always very careful of 
 the feelings of others, and felt sorry when 
 
126 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 anyone who was not an office-seeker was 
 disappointed in not seeing him after an 
 effort had been made to that effect. There 
 were few, if any, Presidents who carried on 
 such an enormous private correspondence 
 as he did. He seldom got his private sec- 
 retaries to write any of his private letters. 
 The following letter, written to his aged 
 and feeble father in response to one from 
 the latter, expressing a desire to see him 
 before the meeting of Congress, shows 
 that, notwithstanding the pressure of official 
 business in the form of reading the reports 
 of the secretaries of the different depart- 
 ments and of preparing his own annual 
 message to Congress, etc., he was willing 
 and glad to please him at the sacrifice of 
 his time and convenience : 
 
 "Executive Mansion. Washington, 
 November 3, 1872. 
 " Dear Father : I am in receipt of Mr. 
 Brent's letter, dictated by }'ou expressing 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 12/ 
 
 a wish to see me, if possible, before the 
 meeting of Congress. I think it will be 
 possible for me to go this week, probably 
 leaving here on Thursday or Friday next. 
 I would like as far as possible to avoid 
 meeting people while there. I hope, there- 
 fore, you will say nothing about my com- 
 ing. Probably Julia, Fred, Nellie, and 
 Jesse will accompany me. You probably 
 have not room enough in the house for us 
 all ; but that will make no difference. Fred 
 and Jesse can stay at the hotel. All are 
 quite well. Yours truly, 
 
 "U. S. Grant." 
 
 The following letter on the same subject 
 shows the general's anxiety for his father's 
 condition : 
 
 •' Executive Mansion, Washington, 
 May 31, 1873. 
 
 " Dear Sister: I am just in receipt of 
 your letter speaking of father's rapid de- 
 cline. 0( course, I will go home at any 
 
128 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 day that it may be necessary for me to 
 do so. I have been absent so much this 
 spring that business has accumulated so 
 that I cannot go very well just now, and 
 next Thursday I have arranged to take us 
 all to Long Branch. Any time after that 
 I can go as well as not, and would not let 
 that interfere if there should be a necessity. 
 Don't fail to keep me advised of father's 
 condition. Yours truly, 
 
 '' U. S. Grant." 
 
 Speaking one day of his parents the 
 general said that his father was a remark- 
 able man, naturally smart, with strong con- 
 victions, well read and intelligent, with a 
 fine poetic mind ; so much so that if he 
 had had a superior education he would have 
 become an excellent poet. Of his mother 
 he said that she was the best woman he 
 had ever known ; unselfish, devoted to her 
 family, thoroughly good, conscientious, in- 
 telligent, of a quiet and amiable disposition, 
 
DOMESTIC LIFE. 1 29 
 
 never meddling with other persons* affairs, 
 genuinely pious without any cant, with a 
 strong sense of right and justice ; unob- 
 trusive, kind-hearted, and attached to her 
 Church and country. I said, " General, 
 you have most of your mother's character- 
 istics ;" to which he simply replied, "Yes, 
 I think so." 
 
 Speaking of religion and devotion to the 
 Church, he told me that on the occasion 
 of a communion service being held in the 
 Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 in Washington, he requested Schuyler 
 Colfax, who occupied a pew in front of the 
 general's, to accompany him to the com- 
 munion table, being anxious to partake of 
 the holy communion ; but he declined to 
 go, "and so I, too, stayed away," the 
 general said. This is an illustration of the 
 influence of example. He thought that if 
 professed Christians were more consistent 
 in their practice the churches would be 
 
 better attended and do more good. I told 
 9 
 
130 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 him that this was no excuse for not join- 
 ing church, for counterfeit money presup- 
 poses genuine money, and so hypocrisy 
 argues genuine piety. He admitted the 
 truth of this statement, but said that 
 people do not always think of it in that 
 light. 
 
IN SWITZERLAND AND FRANCE. 13I 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 General Grant in Switzerland and France. 
 Persons who have traveled in Switzer- 
 land will read with interest the following 
 letter from his pen in reply to one inviting 
 him to visit us in Copenhagen : 
 
 " Ragatz, Switzerland, August 13, 1877. 
 " My Dear Mr. Cramer : Before leav- 
 ing England I had accepted invitations to 
 visit cities and country houses in Scotland 
 — and places in England not yet visited by 
 me — to take up all the month of Septem- 
 ber and part of October. I thought there 
 was time for me to visit this interesting 
 country and to make a run through Den- 
 mark, Sweden, and Norway, and get back 
 to Scotland in time to keep my engage- 
 ments. But I have found so much of in- 
 
132 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 terest here, and the modes of conveyance 
 so slow in reaching the points of greatest 
 interest, that it is aheady too late to even 
 go to Denmark, leaving out Norway and 
 Sweden. Already we have spent eight 
 actual days in carriages in getting from 
 point to point, exclusive of other modes of 
 travel. We have visited most of the lakes 
 and crossed the principal passes in Switzer- 
 land and northern Italy. It has all been 
 exceedingly interesting to me, the greatest 
 regret being that I had not more time. I 
 intend yet to visit Denmark and the 
 countries north of it ; but whether this fall 
 or next season is not yet determined ; 
 probably about next June. 
 
 *' I am sorry not to be able to see Mary 
 before she returns to America. I do not 
 expect to return there before next July a 
 year, and possibly not so early. 
 
 "All send love to Mary and the children, 
 with kindest regards for yourself. 
 
 "Very truly yours, U. S. Grant." 
 
IN SWITZERLAND AND FRANCE. 1 33 
 
 The following letter has a general Inter- 
 est. It was written in response to one 
 from me concerning the case of a foreign 
 diplomatist. It shows the willingness of 
 General Grant to do justice to all parties, 
 whatever their nationality or stations in 
 
 life : 
 
 "Paris, France, November 27, 1877. 
 
 '' My Dear Mr. Cramer: I am just in 
 receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, in- 
 closing one from the Portuguese Minister 
 —I suppose — to Denmark, recounting the 
 cause of his brother-in-law's removal from 
 the diplomatic service, etc. I knew Baron 
 de S. and the baroness very well, and es- 
 teemed them very highly. There was 
 never any difficulty with him in the State 
 Department, or with any official in Wash- 
 ington, that I have any recollection of. I 
 am very sure that no cause of complaint 
 could have existed on our part without 
 my knowing it. It would afford me the 
 greatest pleasure to meet the baron and 
 
134 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 his wife during my European tour, but I 
 fear I shall not be able to do so. My trip 
 through Spain and Portugal has been put 
 off, or at least postponed, for this year. 
 On Saturday we leave here for the south 
 of France, from there to take a naval ves- 
 sel to visit all points of Interest on the 
 Mediterranean. We will probably go up 
 the Nile, and put In the winter in a warm 
 climate, to be ready for our northern tour 
 in the spring. It Is barely possible that 
 when we return from our trip up the Nile 
 we may go on east through China, Japan, 
 etc., over to San Francisco. But this is not 
 probable for another year. This will prob- 
 ably be the last opportunity I shall ever 
 -have of visiting Europe, and there is much 
 to see that I have not seen, and cannot this 
 winter. 
 
 " I hear from home occasionally, but not 
 as often as probably you do. All were well 
 by the last advices — received two days ago 
 from Orville. 
 
IN SWITZERLAND AND FRANCE. 1 3$ 
 
 " Please assure your colleague that I have 
 no recollection of other than the most 
 pleasant relations between United States 
 officials and the Baron de S. 
 
 " With kind regards from Mrs. Grant, 
 Jesse, and myself, I am very truly yours, 
 '' U. S. Grant." 
 
no ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 In Egypt, Jemsalem, Ephesus, Constantinople, etc« 
 
 The following letter has, to some extent, 
 an historic interest, in that it, among other 
 things, describes the condition of Constan- 
 tinople at the time the Russian army be- 
 sieged it : 
 
 " Constantinople, March 5, 1875. 
 " My Dear Mr. Cramer : On my ar- 
 rival here I found your letter specially in- 
 quiring about the time I expect to be in 
 Copenhagen. My plan is to be in Sweden 
 by the middle of June, and after visiting 
 that country and Norway to return byway 
 of Copenhagen. It is not likely that I 
 will be there before the fifth to the tenth 
 of July ; and it may be that I will like the 
 northern country so well that my visit to 
 
IN EGYPT, JERUSALEM, ETC. 1 3/ 
 
 Copenhagen will be postponed even a 
 month longer. We have had a delightful 
 winter. Over a month was spent in Egypt, 
 visiting the old ruins of that country under 
 the most favorable circumstances. 
 
 '' Leaving Cairo, we visited Suez and 
 passed through the Suez Canal to Port 
 Said. From the latter place we went to 
 Joppa and out to Jerusalem. Since then 
 we visited Ephesus and Smyrna, and are 
 now here. The Russians are outside of 
 the city, but do not come in. A stranger 
 would not detect, from appearances, that 
 an enemy was so near. In fact, I think 
 the Turks now regard Russians as about the 
 only people in Europe from whom they 
 can expect anything. 
 
 ** When you write home give my love to 
 mother, Mary and the children, and Jennie. 
 
 " I will inform you later, when I know 
 definitely, about the time to expect me in 
 Copenhagen. Very truly yours, 
 
 "U. S.Grant." 
 
138 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 Referring, in our conversations at a later 
 date, to the siege of Constantinople by the 
 Russians, General Grant said that he never 
 knew of a besieged place where so little of 
 warlike preparations were seen as in that 
 city at the time he was there. Concerning 
 Abdul-Hamid II, Sultan of Turkey, with 
 whom he dined, he said that he appeared 
 to be a man familiar with the manners and 
 customs of the European Christian nations, 
 and not averse to them ; that he seemed 
 to be well versed in geography and mili- 
 tary affairs ; an intelligent and kind-hearted 
 ruler who earnestly desired to promote 
 the welfare of his people ; but that he 
 seemed to be in a state of unrest and ap- 
 prehension, though he tried to conceal it 
 all the time. The general thought that 
 though the Sultan was not a bigoted Mo- 
 hammedan he was, nevertheless, under the 
 control of the Old Turkish party, which is 
 opposed to every liberal or constitutional 
 movement, as well as to all Christian in- 
 
IN EGYPT, JERUSALEM, ETC. 1 39 
 
 fluences, and that, therefore, the Christians 
 of his empire could expect few, if any, fa- 
 vors at his hand. He thought it strange 
 that though Russia began a war with Tur- 
 key and conquered it, " the Turks regarded 
 the Russians as about the only people in 
 Europe from whom they can expect any- 
 thing." The reason of this he thought he 
 saw in the autocratic form of government 
 of both countries, both being determined 
 to repress all liberal sentiments, even at 
 the expense, if need be, of the Christian 
 inhabitants of Turkey.* Personally, the 
 general liked the sultan very much and 
 was highly pleased with his interview with 
 him. 
 
 Concerning his visit to Jerusalem he 
 said that the impressions he received there 
 were of a mixed character. Nowhere are 
 
 * This shows how correct General Grant's judgment 
 was of the state of affairs in Turkey at the time he was 
 there, and how clearly he foresaw the future action of 
 that country in reference to the Christian inhabitants 
 thereof. 
 
140 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 the retarding effects of Mohammedanism 
 upon the people more apparent, so far as 
 he knew, than in that city. They are woe- 
 fully behind the age there. How different 
 is the present city from that described by 
 David : " The perfection of beauty, the 
 joy of the whole earth." And yet it is 
 true of it to-day what is said of it in the 
 Psalms: ''Jerusalem is builded as a city 
 that is compact together." He said he 
 never felt so solemn in his life as he did in 
 the presence of the places made memorable 
 and sacred by the presence of Jesus Christ. 
 While he had not studied the predictions 
 of the Bible concerning Jerusalem and 
 Palestine, yet, from what he had heard, 
 read, and seen, he could not help noticing 
 that some of them had been fulfilled. 
 
MORE LETTERS. I4I 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 More Letters from General Grant, 
 It was not the intention of General 
 Grant to keep me informed of all his move- 
 ments, but only of those relating to his in- 
 tended visit to Copenhagen, during which 
 time my wife and children were in this 
 country for the purpose of letting the lat- 
 ter attend school, that they might become, 
 not " Europeanized," but '' Americanized." 
 This observation is made in explanation of 
 the general's references, in several of his 
 letters, to " Mary and the children." 
 
 " Hotel Liverpool, Paris, May 25, 1878. 
 
 *' My Dear Mr. Cramer: I am now 
 
 for the first time able to fix, approximately, 
 
 the time of my visit to Copenhagen. We 
 
 will leave here on Saturday, three weeks 
 
142 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 from to-day, or on the following Tuesday. 
 We will stop at The Hague three or four 
 days. Jesse leaves for home so as to take 
 the steamer on the 4th of June from Liv- 
 erpool. Our party, therefore, will consist 
 only of Mrs. Grant — with her maid — and 
 myself. If your arrangements are made to 
 be away from Copenhagen at the time 
 mentioned above I beg that you will not 
 change your plans. Should you be there 
 we will probably remain over about one 
 week. Should you be away we will stop 
 only a couple of days. 
 
 " I have not heard directly from Eliza- 
 beth for some time: probably my own 
 fault, for Mr. Corbin is very prompt in an- 
 swering every letter. But Buckey writes 
 regularly every week from New York, so I 
 hear indirectly. When you write give my 
 love to all of them at Elizabeth. 
 
 *' Very truly yours, U. S. GRANT." 
 '' P. S. — I go from Copenhagen directly 
 to Stockholm. I am not personally ac- 
 
MORE LETTERS. 143 
 
 quainted with our present minister there, 
 though I once appointed him to a South 
 American mission. U. S. G." 
 
 "Paris, France, June 3, 1878. 
 
 ** My Dear Mr. Cramer : Your letter 
 of the 31st of May is just received. I 
 should have written to you within a day 
 or two to inform you of a slight change of 
 plan, which will bring me to Copenhagen 
 from ten days to two weeks later than I 
 wrote you I should be there, even if I had 
 not received your letter. To save retracing 
 my steps, as I should be obliged to do by 
 the routes laid out in my last letter, I now 
 intend to go from The Hague to Berlin, 
 and visit a few German cities before going 
 to Denmark. From Copenhagen I shall 
 go by water to Norway, thence to Sweden, 
 St. Petersburg, Moscow, and to Vienna. 
 
 '' I shall be very glad indeed to see 
 Mary and the children, and hope they 
 may be back by the time I reach Copen- 
 
144 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 hagen, about from the 5th to the loth of 
 July. 
 
 '* Jesse sails from Liverpool to-morrow 
 for home. He has been very homesick for 
 some time. 
 
 ** With best regards from Mrs. Grant and 
 myself, I am very truly yours, 
 
 *' U. S. Grant." 
 
 " Hanover, Germany, June 25, 1878. 
 " My Dear Mr. Cramer : Mrs. Grant 
 and I are now here on our way to the 
 German capital. We will probably remain 
 in Berlin until Monday, the 1st of July. 
 We will stop over by the way from Ber- 
 lin to Copenhagen — particularly at Ham- 
 burg — so as to reach Copenhagen about 
 
 July 5. 
 
 "If you will drop me a line to the Kai- 
 serhof Hotel, in Berlin, to let me know if 
 Mary will be home at the time designated, 
 I will be obliged. If she is not to be at 
 home I may change my plan and go 
 
MORE LETTERS. I45 
 
 direct to Sweden, thence to Norway, and 
 return south to Denmark. 
 
 " Mrs. Grant and I are both well, and 
 send much love to Mary and the children. 
 *' Very truly yours, 
 
 *' U. S. Grant." 
 
 "Berlin, Germany, June 29, 1878. 
 *' My Dear Mr. Cramer : I have re- 
 ceived your last letter, and am sorry to 
 learn that Mary and the children will not 
 be in Copenhagen at the time I propose 
 being there. We will go on, however, as 
 previously proposed, leaving here on 
 Tuesday, the 3d of July, remain over the 
 4th, and possibly the 5th at Hamburg, 
 reaching Copenhagen the same day. I 
 win telegraph you from Hamburg the day 
 and the hour of our departure and the 
 line by which we will travel. 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " U. S. Grant.*' 
 10 
 
[46 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Various Conversations with General Grant, 
 It was stated at the beginning that 
 General and Mrs. Grant arrived in Copen- 
 hagen on the morning of the 6th of July, 
 1878, and remained there as my guests 
 until the 1 2th of the same month, when 
 they left by steamer for Christiania, Nor- 
 way. During these six days we discussed 
 many subjects, the leading thoughts of 
 which I entered in my diary, which are 
 here reproduced in their outhne. Among 
 the topics of our conversation was 
 
 PRINCE BISMARCK. 
 
 Omitting my own remarks I give here 
 the substance of the general's observa- 
 tions. He said that he had spent several 
 very interesting hours with Prince Bis- 
 
CONVERSATIONS. H/ 
 
 marck, whom he considered one of the 
 most charming and instructive conversa- 
 tionalists he had ever met with, overflowing 
 with humor and wit, and throwing hght 
 on every subject he discussed. '* Putting 
 company at their ease, Bismarck entertains 
 and amuses them for hours as few are able 
 to do. Sometimes in a few words he 
 draws the character of a prominent man 
 or woman or a nation so correctly that it is 
 really surprising, or he gives the gist of an 
 event in a single sentence. He has a 
 magnificent physique, and seems to be 
 born to his high position. He is no doubt 
 the greatest statesman of the present time. 
 He knows how to make events and persons 
 subserve his purpose. He loves to talk, 
 and is courteous and kind to everyone in 
 his presence. There are always ' points ' 
 in his conversation, and he knows how to 
 draw out from men what he wants to know 
 from them. His brief descriptions of men 
 and nations are as humorous as they are 
 
148 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 generally correct. He may sometimes be 
 arbitrary in his measures and views, but 
 he seems to be always sincere and have 
 the good of the emperor and of the father- 
 land at heart. I noticed that he thought 
 a great deal of the old emperor. Germany 
 owes much to Bismarck, whatever may be 
 said of his autocratic bearing. Like my- 
 self, he enjoys a good cigar, and there we 
 met on a footing of equality." 
 
 Of the German people the general said 
 that what he had thus far seen of them 
 and their country pleased him greatly. 
 Everywhere the soil was under good culti- 
 vation ; the people seemed to be intelligent 
 and thrifty, loving their beer, tobacco, and 
 fatherland. 
 
 VIEWS OF AMERICAN NATIONALITY. 
 
 The feeling of American nationality 
 was highly developed in General Grant. 
 In conversing with him on home affairs I 
 asked him if he believed that our country 
 
CONVERSATIONS. I49 
 
 would remain united. He replied in sub- 
 stance that since the late civil war the 
 feeling of nationality had become stronger 
 than it had ever been before. Our people 
 take now a greater pride in being '' Ameri- 
 cans " than in being " Virginians " or " New 
 Yorkers,' * etc. Local government, he said, 
 far from diminishing the feeling of nation- 
 ality, rather strengthens it. The idea of 
 self-government is intensely developed 
 among our people. No monarchy could 
 ever be established here. According to him 
 the strong feeling of nationality embracing 
 the whole country has a tendency to as- 
 similate all the various elements of our 
 people — race, languages, customs, etc. — 
 under our common political institutions. 
 There are now fewer elements of real 
 danger in the United States arising from 
 the solution of the problem of nationality 
 than there are in any other great and 
 growing people. State after State has 
 been taken into the Union without having 
 
 \. 
 
I50 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 a population alien in race, language, man- 
 ners, customs, education, etc. This has 
 been a fortunate thing for us. Civil and 
 religious liberty, local and self-government, 
 and our excellent common-school system 
 have contributed largely toward gradually 
 absorbing the immigrants and making our 
 people a homogeneous nation. Hence no 
 section of our country is inhabited with 
 a hostile people — a fortunate thing for us. 
 Excepting a few anarchists and other dis- 
 contented foreigners we have no hostile 
 people to contend against, for the majority 
 of the foreigners that land annually on our 
 shores come here to work and improve 
 their personal and domestic condition. 
 They are generally peaceable, if not excited 
 by anarchists and half-educated lazy fel- 
 lows. 
 
 In speaking of the means for preserving 
 the Union and perpetuating our institu- 
 tions General Grant said that great care 
 should be taken to extend our common- 
 
CONVERSATIONS. 151 
 
 school system to every nook and corner 
 of our vast country, and to bring that 
 system to its highest perfection ; to cul- 
 tivate in the rising generation love of 
 country or true patriotism, and instill in 
 their minds the idea of the indissoluble- 
 ness of the Union. They should be taught 
 *' not to love Caesar less, but Rome more ; " 
 that is to say, while loving the home 
 State, they should love the country more. 
 Hard sectional feelings should give way to 
 brotherly love for the whole American 
 family. Now, that the cause of the late 
 great strife is forever removed, the whole 
 nation, as one great family, should culti- 
 vate genuine brotherly feelings and en- 
 deavor to perpetuate the union of the 
 States, the principles of the Declaration of 
 Independence, and constitutional liberty. 
 
 Another safeguard of our liberties the 
 general saw in our Protestant Churches 
 and Sunday schools. While we have no 
 State religion — and this is as it should 
 
152 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 be — yet we are in reality a Christian 
 nation which owes much to the teachings 
 of the Bible through the Churches and 
 Sunday schools. There can be no ques- 
 tion, in his opinion, as to the fact that the 
 various humanitarian institutions in the 
 several States owe their existence indi- 
 rectly to the teachings of Christianity. 
 He was glad to notice that there was so 
 much religious activity in our country ; 
 and if the Churches and Sunday schools 
 continue to do their duty, the danger 
 growing out of lawlessness, anarchy, and 
 the secret machinations of a countryless 
 enemy will be diminished and overcome. 
 The permeation of our people with the 
 principles of Christianity will aid them in 
 absorbing the promiscuous crowds of Eu- 
 ropean immigrants and assimilating them 
 in the body politic. But, notwithstanding 
 this, greater restrictions ought to be laid 
 upon immigration. No paupers, no crim- 
 inals, no cripples, and none who are unable 
 
CONVERSATIONS. 1 53 
 
 to read and Aviite, ought to be permitted 
 to land on our shores ; while the franchise 
 should be extended only to those foreign- 
 ers who have in reality been five years in 
 this country and are able to read and write. 
 As to the Chinese immigrants, that is a 
 problem that needs still further careful 
 consideration. 
 
 Another thought of the general's was 
 that no portion of our people ought to be 
 subject to the dictation of a foreign poten- 
 tate so far as their civil relations to the 
 State are concerned. It might lead to 
 dangerous complications, as is seen in 
 Germany and Austria-Hungary and else- 
 where ; or it might lead to the overthrow 
 of our civil institutions and religious liberty. 
 It behooves our people to be on their guard 
 in this m^ltter, and not to elect men to 
 legislatures and Congress, and to other re- 
 sponsible positions, who, for some reason 
 or other, are influenced by foreign dictation. 
 In this particular matter, as in every other 
 
154 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 dangerous affair, the general thought that 
 '' Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." 
 The State authorities,the general thought, 
 should never make any appropriation for 
 any sectarian school or institution. It 
 would be unjust to the taxpayer as well as 
 to those denominations that receive no 
 such grant ; nor should these authorities 
 provide religious instruction for the chil- 
 dren in our public schools, though he had 
 no objections to the reading of a few verses 
 from the New Testament and the saying 
 of the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of 
 school hours. 
 
 As to the relations of capital and labor, 
 he thought the government should never 
 interfere in them, except to protect both 
 alike from violence. This problem will ad- 
 just itself if left to the parties concerned 
 under this law of protection. 
 
 He thought it a wise provision that only 
 native citizens are eligible to be elected 
 President of the United States, though in 
 
CONVERSATIONS. ^55 
 
 all Other respects he favored the equality 
 of all citizens alike ; while all citizens 
 should recognize the indivisibility and su- 
 premacy of the sovereignty of the United 
 States ; and those citizens who acknowl- 
 edge and act under any other (foreign) su- 
 preme power should be deprived of the 
 rights and privileges of citizenship. On 
 the other hand, our government should 
 protect all its citizens alike, at home and 
 abroad. 
 
$6 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 How President Grant Vetoed the So-called '^Inflation 
 Bill/' 
 
 In September, 1873, a financial panic 
 swept over the country, causing many 
 business failures and disturbing the money 
 markets of the world. The Forty-third 
 Congress of the United States, that con- 
 vened in the following December, grappled 
 with this subject. The refunding of the 
 public debt and the movement for the re- 
 sumption of specie payment were checked 
 for a while. There were many well-mean- 
 ing men in and out of Congress who advo- 
 cated so-called " fiat-money " in the form of 
 an unusually large issue of " greenbacks." 
 Even President Grant, at the beginning of 
 the session of that Congress, had almost 
 come to the same conclusion ; for in his 
 
THE "INFLATION BILL. I 5/ 
 
 annual message he said, among other 
 things : *' I do not believe that there is too 
 much of it [greenback circulation] now for 
 the dullest period of the year." 
 
 During the latter part of its session that 
 Congress passed what was then called " the 
 inflation bill," and urged the President to 
 sign it. 
 
 But in the meantime he had studied the 
 question more carefully, especially that 
 phase of it relating to our national credit 
 abroad, and had arrived at a more conserv- 
 ative conclusion. Residing in Copenha- 
 gen at that time, I studied public opinion 
 in Europe on that subject as expressed 
 by the leading journals of England, Ger- 
 many, and France, as well as by my col- 
 leagues in private conversations, and know- 
 ing that my letters to him on any subject 
 were always welcome I wrote him privately 
 a strong letter, stating what I had thus 
 learned, namely, that that bill, if it became 
 law, would strike a blow at our national 
 
158 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 credit in Europe, from the effects of which 
 our country would not recover for a long 
 time. The financial world in Europe was 
 then on tiptoe to learn whether the Presi- 
 dent would sign or veto that bill. 
 
 Well, he did veto it, notwithstanding 
 many Republican senators, and repre- 
 sentatives for several days urged upon 
 him the necessity of signing it. By that 
 act, I told him, he rendered our country a 
 service that, in my judgment, was, in im- 
 portance, second to none of the battles he 
 had won during the war. 
 
 He said that he never had any reason to 
 regret having vetoed that bill, and then 
 briefly described how he had prepared his 
 veto message. I give it here substantially 
 as he told it. 
 
 The first evening after the bill had been 
 brought to him, and after the callers had 
 left the White House, he read it over very 
 carefully, and then sat down at his desk 
 and wrote out all the reasons he could think 
 
THE "INFLATION BILL. I 59 
 
 of in favor of his signing it. Laying his man- 
 uscript in a drawer he retired for the night. 
 
 The following evening, after having care- 
 fully listened to all the arguments that 
 senators and congressmen had urged upon 
 him in the course of the day and evening in 
 favor of the bill, he sat down to write out 
 all the arguments he could muster against 
 it, and, laying it beside the first manuscript, 
 he retired for the night. 
 
 On the third evening he carefully read 
 over both documents, reflecting for a while 
 on the relative strength or weight of their 
 respective arguments. 
 
 On the following morning he had come 
 to the conclusion that, in order to avert 
 a still greater financial calamity in the 
 near future, the requirements of the exist- 
 ing situation, as well as the honor of the 
 nation, demanded of him to veto the bill, 
 and he caused his second document to be 
 copied and the necessary formulas to be 
 added, and, having thus prepared his cele- 
 
l6o ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 brated veto message against signing the 
 " inflation bill," he sent it to the Forty- 
 third Congress. 
 
 It required a great deal of moral courage 
 to veto that bill, passed as it had been by 
 a Republican Congress. He told me that 
 for several days he was uncertain what to 
 do in the matter, for men in whose wis- 
 dom, statesmanship, and patriotism he had 
 the fullest confidence, urged upon him the 
 necessity of signing it ; while, on the other 
 hand, there were other men, equally wise 
 and patriotic, who strongly advised him to 
 veto it, pointing out the disastrous conse- 
 quences that would follow from the bill be- 
 coming a law. But he took into considera- 
 tion the necessity of maintaining the finan- 
 cial integrity of our country in the presence 
 of the financial world of Europe. He told 
 me that my letter on the subject, above 
 referred to, influenced his mind in the right 
 direction, because I had studied the ques- 
 tion from the European point of view. 
 
THE ♦' INFLATION BILL.'* l6l 
 
 Whatever may be said to the contrary, 
 Grant was extremely conscientious, and 
 carefully studied every question laid before 
 him for decision or action. His sole de- 
 sire was to serve the whole country con- 
 scientiously and to the best of his ability. 
 He told me that often during the sessions 
 of Congress, after a day's hard work, and 
 after having met the claims of society in 
 the evening, he sat up till long after mid- 
 night to study the various cases and ques- 
 tions that had been submitted to him for 
 action. He fully felt the tremendous re- 
 sponsibility of his office. 
 
 I asked him if he ever prayed for wisdom 
 and guidance. He replied, ''Yes, I often 
 prayed silently to God at night and dur- 
 ing the day that he might aid me in the 
 performance of my duties, though I said 
 nothing to anyone about it. I believe in 
 the necessity of prayer, though I don't 
 
 want to boast about it." 
 11 
 
l62 ULVSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Grant^s Views About English Rule in India — ^Impor- 
 tance of Christian Missions, 
 
 The following letter, addressed to me 
 while still residing in Copenhagen, will be 
 read with interest, as it clearly expresses 
 Grant's views about English rule in India, 
 as also his own and his wife's views of the 
 work done by missionaries, especially in 
 the educational line : 
 
 "Rangoon, Burma, March 20, 1879, 
 '' My Dear Mr. Cramer : We have 
 now been very well through India, and 
 are this far on our way to the farther 
 East. The weather has been pleasant un- 
 til within the last few days. But now it 
 is becoming very warm, and as we have 
 yet to go through the Straits of Malacca, 
 
ENGLISH RULE IN INDIA. 163 
 
 near the equator, before turning north, we 
 must expect some discomfort. 
 
 " I have been very much pleased with 
 English rule and English hospitality in 
 India. With that rule two hundred and 
 fifty million of uncivilized people are liv- 
 ing at peace with each other, and are not 
 only drawing their subsistence from the 
 soil, but are exporting a large excess over 
 imports from it. 
 
 *' It would be a sad day for the people 
 of India and for the commerce of the 
 world if the English should withdraw. 
 
 '* We hope to be in Hong Kong by the 
 middle of April, and farther north in 
 China as soon thereafter as possible. 
 When a good climate is reached we will 
 regulate our further movements by the 
 reports of weather on seas to be traversed 
 and climate of places to be visited. At 
 present, however, we expect to reach San 
 Francisco about the first half of July. Al- 
 though homesick to be settled down, I 
 
164 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 dread getting back. The clamor of the 
 partisan and so-called independent press 
 will be such as to make life there unpleas- 
 ant for a time. 
 
 *' Mrs. Grant joins me in love to you, 
 Mary, and the children. 
 
 " I have to-day written a letter to Mr. 
 Corbin. " Very truly yours, 
 
 '' U. S. Grant." 
 
 *'P. S. — Julia asks me to add, and to 
 tell Mary, that the English speak in the 
 highest terms of the work being done 
 all through this country by the mission- 
 aries, especially in an educational way. 
 They say they are doing much good." 
 
 " U. S. G." 
 
 During a visit my wife and myself made 
 at General Grant's home, No. 3 Sixty- 
 sixth Street, New York city, from Feb- 
 ruary 2 to February 9, 1882, I took 
 occasion to make further inquiries of the 
 general relative to the subjects touched 
 
ENGLISH RULE IN INDIA. 165 
 
 upon in the above letter. Referring to 
 English rule In India, he said, '^ that if it 
 were not for the fact that the English 
 government was ruling that vast country 
 India would still be benighted and down- 
 trodden." While he did not approve all 
 that that government had done in that 
 country, yet it owed to England the high 
 degree of Christian civilization everywhere 
 apparent there. "Agriculture, industry, 
 commerce, education, railroads, etc., intro- 
 duced and improved by the English, have 
 started that country on a career of pros- 
 perity without which it would not even be 
 as far advanced as the Chinese are. It is, 
 after all. Christian civilization that raises 
 the people of pagan countries in the scale 
 of intelligent beings." I asked him if he 
 did not believe Christianity to be the 
 prime factor in our rnodern Christian civ- 
 ilization? He replied, "Certainly I do; 
 and it is to be hoped that the Eastern 
 nations will come to see it and adopt its 
 
1 66 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 fundamental principles." I further asked 
 him if, judging from what he had seen 
 and heard in these Eastern countries con- 
 cerning Christian missions, he believed it 
 to be justifiable in the different missionary 
 societies of Christian countries to spend 
 annually as much money as they do in the 
 prosecution and maintenance of missionary 
 work in the countries referred to ? He 
 replied : " Most certainly I do. If the 
 missionaries, in connection with preaching, 
 endeavor to educate the people, especially 
 the rising generation, and cause them 
 to be taught the Western arts of peace, 
 that is, to improve their methods of carry- 
 ing on agriculture and manufacture, as well 
 as their modes of transportation ; if they 
 establish schools for all classes alike, and 
 try to raise woman from her degraded 
 position, the ultimate effects will be worth 
 infinitely more than all the money the 
 Churches may have expended on these 
 enterprises. It is to be hoped that these 
 
ENGLISH RULE IN INDIA. 167 
 
 missionaries will be sustained at home and 
 in the countries in which they labor. They 
 deserve it, for they do a noble and a good 
 work." 
 
 Referring again to India, he said that it 
 is one of the most remarkable facts in his- 
 tory that fifty or sixty thousand Englishmen, 
 to say nothing of other Europeans and some 
 Americans, manage a population in India 
 of about two hundred and fifty millions, 
 keep them in peace, and gradually teach 
 them the Western civilization. It shows 
 the superiority of the Christian religion 
 over the pagan religions; " for," he further 
 said, ** there can be no doubt that religion, 
 whatever its form may be, greatly influ- 
 ences the private and public life of a people 
 and advances or retards their improvement 
 in what we call civilization." 
 
 In reference to China he said that its 
 people are very conservative and shrewd, 
 disinclined to accept anything of our 
 Western civilization, and hence far behind 
 
1 68 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 in what makes a nation truly great and 
 strong. '' I was treated very kindly while 
 there," he said, " and they listened atten- 
 tively to what I had to say to them. In 
 some things they followed my advice, and 
 I think it was for their advantage." The 
 general thought that the commerce be- 
 tween the United States and China is not 
 sufficiently developed ; that the English are 
 ahead of us ; that we should send consuls 
 there well qualified for the task of study- 
 ing the best methods of extending the 
 commerce between the two countries, and 
 report the results of their investigations 
 and the suggestions they have to make to 
 our government ; while the latter should 
 encourage our merchants and manufac- 
 turers to seek a market for their respective 
 goods in that country by concluding with 
 it the necessary treaties to facilitate and 
 protect the commerce and the life and 
 property of all engaged in it. We should 
 give the Chinese to understand that we do 
 
ENGLISH RULE IN INDIA. 169 
 
 not come for conquest or to take undue 
 advantage of them, but simply to extend 
 the commerce between the two countries, 
 and thus to establish friendly relations be- 
 tween them. The Chinese are shy of 
 foreigners ; they have some reason for it ; 
 but we should give them to understand 
 that we seek nothing more than friendly 
 commercial relations, in which both parties 
 have an equal chance. 
 
 Concerning Japan the general said that 
 he was greatly astonished at the progress 
 they had made up to the time he was 
 there. No Eastern country had pleased 
 him so much as Japan. Its government 
 had introduced many things of our Western 
 civilization both in the army and navy 
 and in civil life. He was highly pleased 
 with her school system, especially with 
 her technical schools, and with the fact 
 that the English language is taught in 
 them. He considered the emperor one 
 of the most intelligent and progressive 
 
I/O ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 rulers of our time in the East, while the 
 people, too, have made wonderful progress, 
 considering that they are orientals. On my 
 asking the general about the report of his 
 having acted as the mediator between 
 China and Japan in a certain important 
 question pending at that time between 
 the two governments, he smilingly said 
 that he would rather not talk about him- 
 self, though it was true that he did effect 
 a compromise, and thus averted a war, 
 at least for some years. He did not ap- 
 prove the manner in which some of the 
 European governments treat Japan. He 
 advised the latter to enter into closer 
 commercial relations with the United 
 States, as Japan had nothing to fear from 
 us except a fair commercial rivalry, 
 
DESIRE TO PLEASE. I /I 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Grant^s Desire to Please his Friends and Relatives. 
 THE following " Letter of Introduction " 
 shows General Grant's willingness to please 
 his friends, and to aid them in " having a 
 good time : " 
 
 " New York City, May a, 1883. 
 '' My Dear Mr. Cramer: This letter 
 will present the Hon. Charles H. A. and 
 family, friends of mine and neighbors 
 in this city. Mr. A. goes abroad to see 
 the Old World, and will probably re- 
 main there for a year or more. No doubt 
 his summer travel will carry him mto 
 Switzerland, where I hope you may meet 
 
 him. 
 
 '' Mr. A. has been a personal as well as 
 political friend of mine, and I hope you 
 
172 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 will be able to make his and his family's 
 visit to the Swiss capital pleasant. 
 
 " Very truly yours, U. S. Grant.' * 
 
 The following extracts from two letters 
 — the one addressed to his sister, Mrs. 
 Corbin, and the other to his niece. Miss 
 Clara V. Cramer — show his solicitude for 
 his relatives who, at the time the financial 
 disaster overtook him, were residing in 
 Berne, Switzerland. When the first letter 
 was written the extent of that disaster 
 was not yet fully known : 
 
 " New York City, May 8, 1884. 
 
 " Dear Jennie : I presume Fred has 
 written to you — or will write — of the great 
 disaster to the firm of Grant & Ward. He 
 and I will endeavor to keep you from harm. 
 . . . We are all well, and are trying to be 
 happy. Do not be the slightest uneasy. 
 
 ** Give our love to Mr. and Mrs. Cramer 
 and dear Clara. Yours affectionately, 
 
 ♦' U. S. Grant." 
 
DESIRE TO PLEASE. 1/3 
 
 " NO. 3 East Sixty-sixth Street, 
 New York City, June lo, 1884. 
 <' Dear Clara: Your letter, with one 
 from your Aunt Jennie, reached me a few 
 days since. I regret that I have not more 
 cheerful news to write you than I have. 
 Financially the Grant family is ruined for 
 the present, and by the most stupendous 
 frauds ever perpetrated. But your Aunt 
 Jennie must not fret over it. . . . Fred is 
 young and active, honest and intelligent, 
 and will work with a vim to recuperate his 
 losses. Of course, his first effort will be to 
 repay his aunts. We go to Long Branch 
 this week. We expected to live with Fred 
 this summer in Morristown, N. J. But 
 failing to rent our cottage we will occupy 
 it, and Fred will live with us and rent his, 
 if he can. 
 
 '' All send love to you, your father and 
 mother and Aunt Jennie. 
 
 ** Yours affectionately, 
 
 '' U. S. Grant.*' 
 
1/4 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 Grant's integrity and moral heroism never 
 shone more brilliantly than during and sub- 
 sequent to the terrible financial disaster 
 above referred to. Conscious of his rec- 
 titude, integrity, and honesty, he felt all 
 the more keenly the insinuations, etc., that 
 were for a short time thrown out against 
 him by malicious parties. The heroic for- 
 titude and silence with which he carried 
 himself under those terribly trying ordeals 
 were truly sublime, and, together with the 
 magnificent patience he displayed during 
 his long illness and approaching death, 
 stamped him one of the world's greatest 
 moral heroes. Right, justice, and virtue 
 will always triumph in the end. 
 
WRITING HIS MEMOIRS. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Grant Engaged in Writing his Memoirs. 
 
 The following extract is from one of 
 General Grant's last letters written before 
 his death. It is addressed to his sister, 
 Mrs. Cramer, who was residing at that date 
 in Berne, Switzerland : 
 
 " New York City, January 13, 1885. 
 
 "Dear Sister: I am just in receipt 
 of Jennie's letter of the 2d of January. 
 I am busy on my book, which Fred is 
 copying for the press. I hope to have 
 it ready for the press by May next. But 
 I may fail in this on account of weak- 
 ness. 
 
 " My mouth has been very sore, but not 
 so bad, I think, as some of the newspa- 
 pers have made out. But it has been bad 
 
176 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 enough. The balance of the family are 
 all well. 
 
 ** I presume Jennie will be away before 
 this reaches you. . . . All send love. 
 ** Yours affectionately, 
 
 '' U. S. Grant." 
 
AS A MAN AND FRIEND. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Grant as a Man and Friend. 
 
 General Grant was ever careful of the 
 feelings of others, whether they were his 
 friends or not. He never, consciously or 
 willingly, hurt the feelings of anybody. He 
 never spoke derogatively of anybody. If 
 he expressed his opinion of any person that 
 was not flattering to that person it con- 
 tained nothing but his honest judgment 
 expressed in a spirit of kindness. 
 
 He never used profane language. He 
 told me that the nearest approach he made 
 to swearing was the use of the word "con- 
 founded." Nor did he ever tell *' smutty " 
 anecdotes or allow others to tell such in 
 his presence. At a certain summer resort 
 he happened to be in a company of men 
 one of whom was about to tell such a 
 
178 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 story, and, looking around, asked, "Are 
 there any ladles here?" The general re- 
 plied, " No, but there are gentlemen here." 
 That man did not relate his anecdote. 
 
 He had a quiet way of getting rid of 
 obtrusive persons. At that same place he 
 was one morning about to take a walk in 
 the woods, when a lady emerged from a 
 company of her female friends and accosted 
 him thus: ''General, we are also about to 
 take a walk; would you be willing to ac- 
 company us ? " He simply replied, " Mad- 
 ame, you are very kind ; but you must 
 excuse me, I have made my arrangements 
 for a morning v/alk." 
 
 He never used improper or coarse lan- 
 guage anywhere, nor related stories that 
 could not be told in the circle of the most 
 refined ladies. He turned away with dis- 
 gust from all coarseness and vulgarity. He 
 was approachable to the humblest as well 
 as to children. He was fond of the latter, 
 because they were pure and innocent. He 
 
AS A MAN AND FRIEND. 1 79 
 
 was very charitable, and aided financially 
 many a poor person or family, and that in a 
 very quiet and unobtrusive way. Indeed, 
 when informed that such and such people 
 were worthy of help, he was very liberal in 
 his donations ; and it made no difference 
 of what nationality they may have been ; 
 but he was especially liberal toward the 
 widows and orphans of soldiers and sailors. 
 In our walks in Copenhagen he frequently 
 handed a dollar, unsolicited, to women 
 that had the appearance of being " honestly 
 poor." 
 
 It is well known that he was a great 
 smoker. He was very liberal with his 
 cigars ; for whenever he took one from his 
 pocket to light it he generally offered one 
 to every gentleman who happened to be 
 present at the time. On one occasion, 
 when my wife and myself were his guests, 
 he offered me a cigar in her presence. She, 
 remonstrating, said to him, " Ulys., don't 
 lead my husband into temptation; for I 
 
l80 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 married him as a non-smoking man." To 
 which the general replied, in an amused 
 way, "Mary, let Mr. Cramer smoke if he 
 wants to ; if he don't do anything worse 
 he will get to heaven anyway." It is only 
 proper to say here that he did not insist 
 upon my smoking. He respected every 
 person's conscientious convictions ; nor did 
 he endeavor to persuade them differently 
 so long as they violated no human or di- 
 vine law or the rules of propriety. He 
 never "put on airs" either of superiority 
 or " smartness." 
 
 If anyone showed him any favor he was 
 sure to repay it in some form or other, if it 
 was possible. He did not like to receive 
 presents of any kind, and yet he disliked to 
 disappoint by a refusal those who had the 
 kindness to think of him in that way. At- 
 tentions of this character oppressed him. 
 Nevertheless, he was always sincerely grate- 
 ful for the kindness of the people, in what- 
 ever form it was manifested, as well as for 
 
AS A MAN AND FRIEND. l8l 
 
 their good opinion of him. He was averse 
 to ''fuss and feathers," or to pomp and 
 show of any kind. He did not want any- 
 one to go to any expense or trouble on 
 his account. While in Copenhagen he 
 would not permit me to give a banquet in 
 his honor ; and the one offered him by the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs he gratefully 
 declined, saying that he '' came to Copen- 
 hagen, not be feasted, but to rest." He ap- 
 preciated good sermons and good speeches. 
 He was present at the graduation of his 
 niece, Miss Clara V. Cramer. She read 
 the " essay of honor ; " her subject was, 
 '' Our Indebtedness to Greece and Rome." 
 He was so highly pleased with her perform- 
 ance that he gave her a hundred dollars in 
 gold, and said, "That essay would have 
 been a credit to a graduate of Yale or 
 Harvard College." 
 
I 82 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 General Grant's Capture of Fort Donelson— His Virtual 
 Arrest Subsequent to that Event— His Behavior in 
 the Field* 
 
 In his Memoirs General Grant refers to 
 the capture of Fort Donelson, and to his 
 virtual arrest after that event ; but with 
 characteristic modesty he refrains from 
 giving all the details, or all the reasons 
 leading up to this unpleasant occurrence. 
 Some daily newspapers made unkind criti- 
 cisms on the general concerning the so- 
 called "complaints" or ''charges" that had 
 been preferred against him. It was natural 
 that his father, then residing in Covington, 
 Ky., opposite Cincinnati, should feel great- 
 ly concerned about the matter ; so he wrote 
 a letter to an officer of General Grant's 
 staff, in whose veracity and frankness he 
 had the utmost confidence, requesting him 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 1S3 
 
 to give him a true account of llie whole 
 matter. He did so, signing himself only 
 with the letter " II.," and sent also a copy 
 of a letter written by General Halleck to 
 General Thomas, of the War Department, 
 in reference to said complaints. 
 
 These documents I found among Father 
 Grant's papers. Though they were written 
 with the permission to publish them, I do 
 not know that they have ever been pub- 
 lished (excepting General Halleck's letter). 
 They throw fresh light on that episode, as 
 well as on General Grant's private charac 
 ter, refuting in the most positive manner 
 the "charges" both of his "profanity" 
 and his "drink habits." It is to be remem- 
 bered that this staff officer had up to that 
 time always been with General Grant, and 
 had thus had opportunities for observing 
 the general in his daily walk and conver- 
 sation ; also, that he was a man of veracity, 
 who enjoyed the confidence of Father Grant 
 to the fullest extent, and who, if his state- 
 
1 84 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 ments relative to these *' complaints" and 
 ''charges " had been false, might have got- 
 ten himself into trouble both with the au- 
 thorities in Washington and with the public 
 in general. 
 
 These letters or documents are given here 
 in exactly the same form and words in which 
 they were written : 
 
 " Jesse R. Grant, of Covington, Ky., the 
 father of General Grant, being concerned 
 to know the truth in relation to the com- 
 plaints against his son, and his reported sus- 
 pension from command after the capture of 
 Fort Donelson, wrote a letter to a member 
 of the general's staff, in whose veracity and 
 frankness he had the utmost confidence, and 
 has received the following letter of expla- 
 nation, which he submits for publication : 
 
 '"Pittsburg Landing, April, 1S62. 
 " ' Dear Sir: The inquiry as to the con- 
 duct of General Grant, ordered by the War 
 Department, was solely with reference to 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 1 85 
 
 matters subsequent to the capture of Fort 
 Donelson. I send you herewith copies of 
 correspondence between Adjutant General 
 Thomas and General Halleck, which covers 
 the whole ground of complaint, and pretty 
 fully explains itself. It was Thomas's letter 
 that was the foundation of the telegraphic 
 dispatch to the Cincinnati papers, that 
 the 'War Department had ordered General 
 Grant to be superseded for bad conduct at 
 Fort Donelson and elsewhere.' 
 
 *' ' In further explanation I would state 
 that immediately after the surrender of 
 Fort Donelson, General Grant issued the 
 most stringent orders with reference to the 
 captured property. He had several officers 
 arrested for their violation, one of whom 
 was the Provost Marshal of Clarksville. 
 He did everything that a commander of an 
 army to some extent demoralized by victory 
 could do to enforce his orders. He had one 
 regiment detailed solely for that duty. But 
 in spite of all, so vast was the amount of 
 
1 86 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 plunder, and so great the eagerness of the 
 soldiers and citizens to procure trophies, 
 that even officers of high rank were willing 
 to risk their commissions in their violation ; 
 and in spite of all precautions much of the 
 captured property was surreptitiously car- 
 ried off. So much for that complaint.' 
 
 *' It will be observed that in the foregoing 
 letter the exact date is not given, though 
 it was written in April, 1862, from Pitts- 
 burg Landing. 
 
 *'The following letter was also written 
 from near Pittsburg Landing, and dated 
 April 25, 1862 ; its contents indicate that 
 it was written some days later than the 
 preceding one. It is full of interest, and 
 reads as follows : 
 
 "• In Field, Near Pittsburg Landing, 
 Tenn., April 25, 1862. 
 
 *'' My Dear Friend : Here we are, ad- 
 vanced toward Corinth. Rain, rain, rain, 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT UONELSON, 1 87 
 
 is the daily chronicle of the camps. Talk 
 about Potomac mud! It is not to be 
 compared to the Tennessee mud. That 
 awful road over which our brave troops 
 marched from Fort Henry to Fort Donel- 
 son, when General Grant marched to ac- 
 complish that victory which was the death- 
 blow to the rebellion, is the only one com- 
 parable to the road to Corinth. With 
 twenty-eight thousand troops he not only 
 took that stronghold, but at the same time 
 took Bowling Green and Nashville, which 
 one hundred thousand troops, under the 
 generalship of the brave Buell, had failed 
 to accomplish. 
 
 " ' '' Did Buell cooperate in the taking of 
 Fort Donelson ?" Let us see. But first 
 let me remind you of Grant's celebrated | 
 I should rather say notorious — " expedition 
 against Columbus," where twenty-five (?) 
 thousand men " marched up the lane, and 
 then marched down again." You remem- 
 ber it well. Grant's friends had high 
 
1 88 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 hopes at the promise and great disappoint- 
 ment at the result. That expedition was 
 made to divert the enemy and enable 
 Buell to attack Bowling Green, which he 
 failed to do. How was it reciprocated ? 
 You remember an order of General Hal- 
 leck's, in which he thanked Major General 
 Hunter for his aid and cooperation in the 
 capture of Fort Donelson. It meant to 
 thank Hunter; but it meant much more. 
 You will appreciate that order better when 
 I narrate a few facts which have come into 
 my possession. 
 
 " ' When Grant, with an army of less 
 than twenty thousand men, was about to 
 march on Fort Donelson, General Halleck 
 telegraphed to General Buell : " Grant is 
 about to attack Fort Donelson. Can't you 
 send him reinforcements?" Buell's an- 
 swer was, " I have none to spare." Soon 
 after Halleck telegraphed : " The enemy 
 are evacuating Bowling Green and rein- 
 forcing Fort Donelson. Can't you attack 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 1 89 
 
 Bowling Green ? " Buell answered, '' I am 
 not prepared." Halleck then telegraphed, 
 *' Can't you make a demonstration ?" Buell 
 replied, "I never make demonstrations." 
 And so Grant was left with twenty-eight 
 thousand troops and the gunboats to 
 strike the blow which drove the rebel army 
 from Kentucky and Tennessee and from 
 their stronghold at Manassas. 
 
 " ' What has been his reward ? The Cin- 
 cinnati Gazette^ a paper making great pre- 
 tensions to high-toned morality and im- 
 partiality, uses such language as this con- 
 cerning him : " But even in case of victory 
 time should be taken to receive the full re- 
 ports and find out who it was that attacked, 
 pursued, and captured the enemy and took 
 intrenchments at the point of the bayonet, 
 and who were tardy and inert while the 
 battle was going on. By a proper exer- 
 cise of this moderation the government 
 might avoid the extraordinary predica- 
 ment of promoting a commander to a 
 
1 90 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 major generalship one day and suspending 
 him from command the next, and eventu- 
 ally restoring him, chiefly to save its own 
 consistency." No baser paragraph was ever 
 published in the most venal press on earth. 
 There is not a line in it that is not preg- 
 nant with most malicious falsehood. The 
 editor of that paper either deliberately 
 stated as a fact what he knew to be false, 
 or he stated as a fact something concern- 
 ing the truth or falsity of which he was 
 ignorant. In either case he has committed 
 a grave crime. 
 
 " ' It is enough to assure you that every 
 act and order of General Grant, in the in- 
 vestment and capture of Fort Donelson, 
 met with the cordial indorsement and 
 freely expressed approbation of the com- 
 manding general of the department. True, 
 he was absent in the necessary discharge 
 of duty at the gunboats at the time of the 
 terrible conflict betw^een McClernand's 
 division and the enemy on our right on 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. I9I 
 
 Saturday morning. But he had so dis- 
 posed his forces as to enable McClernand, 
 as he eventually did, to check and repulse 
 the advance of the enemy there, and had 
 sent a portion of his staff, with authority 
 and instructions to represent him ; while 
 the brilliant and successful charges of 
 General C. F. Smith on our left and 
 Colonel Morgan L. Smith on our right, 
 on Saturday afternoon, were made by the 
 order and under the immediate supervision 
 of General Grant in person. 
 
 " * I shall not soon forget the reply of 
 General Smith to a remark by General 
 Buckner, on the morning of the surrender. 
 It indicated the soldier and the gentle- 
 man. Immediately after General Smith 
 came in and was saluted by General Buck- 
 ner the latter remarked, " You made a 
 brilliant charge and terribly surprised us 
 on our right yesterday afternoon, Gen- 
 eral Smith. It decided the day against 
 us." " I simply obeyed orders, nothing 
 
192 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 more, si//' was General Smith's prompt 
 reply. 
 
 " * No complaint whatever was ever made 
 by the President, or the War Department, 
 or any other authority, or any responsible 
 man, for any action or want of action on 
 the part of General Grant in the invest- 
 m.ent and capture of Fort Donelson. He 
 has received no allusion to it by any 
 authority above him, except unqualified 
 praise. I speak what I know. * *.' " 
 
 [Extract from a letter written by a 
 friend in the army in Tennessee to a 
 friend and relative of General Grant's in 
 this vicinity. 
 
 The following copy of a letter from 
 General Halleck explains itself:] 
 
 " The following is a copy of General Hal- 
 leck's letter to General Thomas, alluded to 
 in the above. It relates to * complaints ' 
 against General Grant at that time: 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 193 
 
 " ' Headquarters Dep't of the Mississippi, 
 Saint Louis, March 15, 1862. 
 ''"'Brigadier General L. Thomas, Adjutant 
 General of the Army, Washington : 
 '' ' General : In accordance with your in- 
 structions of the loth instant I report that 
 General Grant and several officers of high 
 rank in his command, immediately after the 
 battle of Fort Donelson, went to Nashville 
 without my authority or knowledge. 
 
 " ' I am satisfied, however, from investi- 
 gation, that General Grant did this from 
 good intentions, and from a desire to sub- 
 serve the public interests. Not having 
 advice of General Buell's movements, and 
 learning that General B. had ordered 
 Smith's division of his [Grant's] command 
 to Nashville, he deemed it his duty to go 
 there in person. During the absence of 
 General Grant and a part of his general offi- 
 cers numerous irregularities are said to have 
 occurred at Fort Donelson. These were in 
 
 violation of the orders issued by General 
 13 
 
194 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 Grant before his departure, and probably 
 under the circumstances were unavoidable. 
 
 '"General Grant has made the proper 
 explanations, and has been directed to re- 
 sume his command in the field. As he 
 acted from a praiseworthy although mis- 
 taken zeal for the public service in going 
 to Nashville and leaving his command, I 
 respectfully recommend that no further 
 notice be taken of it. 
 
 *' ' There never has been any want of mili- 
 tary subordinations on the part of General 
 Grant, and his failure to make returns of 
 his forces has been explained as resulting 
 partly from the failure of colonels of regi- 
 ments to report to him on their arrival, 
 and partly from an interruption of tele- 
 graphic communications. All these irregu- 
 larities have now been remedied. 
 '' ' Very respectfully, 
 
 *' ' Your obedient servant, 
 
 " ' (Signed,) H. W. Halleck, 
 
 " * Major General.' 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON, I95 
 
 "Again, General Grant was complained 
 of because he failed to make a return of 
 his forces immediately after the battle. 
 His failure to do this, and the commander 
 of the Eastern forces not knowing within 
 two or three thousand of the exact 
 strength of Grant's army, ' disarranged 
 the whole plan of operations on the Poto- 
 mac ! ' Now, immediately after the battle, 
 General Grant issued orders to division 
 commanders to send as soon as possible 
 reports of their commands. This was 
 done without reference to the * repeated 
 orders from Washington and Saint Louis,' 
 only one of which — owing to the cutting 
 off of telegraphic communication — was 
 ever received. But it was utterly impos- 
 sible to get the division reports promptly. 
 I need only cite one fact to prove this. 
 The last report received was from General 
 C. F. Smith — who is universally acknowl- 
 edged to be one of the best disciplinarians 
 in our army — and when Grant sent a re- 
 
196 ULYSSES S. GRANT, 
 
 port to Saint Louis, which was at the earli- 
 est practicable moment, he had to estimate 
 General Smith's strength, his report not 
 having been received up to that time. So 
 much for this complaint. 
 
 *' Now, as to his leaving his command and 
 going to Nashville. The day after the cap- 
 ture of Fort Donelson General Grant re- 
 ceived an order placing him in command 
 of the ' District of West Tennessee.' The 
 order gave no boundaries to the district 
 other than the name would suggest, and 
 the only natural boundary seemed to be 
 the Cumberland River. If that were the 
 true boundary, Nashville was in his dis- 
 trict. He wrote to General Halleck that 
 he would occupy with his forces Clarks- 
 ville on Friday, and the succeeding Friday 
 he would take possession of Nashville, un- 
 less he received different orders in the in- 
 terim. Clarksville was occupied accord- 
 ingly. In the meantime General Buell, 
 with Mitchell's division of his army, moved 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. I97 
 
 on and halted his column nine miles from 
 Nashville, and sent an order to General C. 
 F. Smith to move his command, which was 
 part of Grant's army, from Clarksville to 
 Nashville. About the same time General 
 Nelson came up the Cumberland with his 
 command, ten thousand strong, with in- 
 structions from the Secretary of War to 
 report to General Grant for duty. Grant 
 not only permitted Smith to obey Buell's 
 order, but sent Nelson, convoyed by a gun- 
 boat, on to Nashville. Grant knew very 
 well that Nashville was already evacuated 
 and white flags were floating over the city, 
 and that the citizens were anxious for the 
 approach of our army to take possession and 
 protect them from the ravages of the rear 
 guard of the rebel army. It was at this 
 time, and under these circumstances, that 
 Grant wrote to Halleck that unless some 
 order was received by the next day direct- 
 ing his movements he would proceed to 
 Nashville and have a conference with Buell 
 
198 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 as to his movements and the movements 
 of the enemy. He went to Nashville, saw 
 Buell, remained five or six hours, and re- 
 turned to Fort Donelson. Nothing was 
 ordered, and nothing transpired requiring 
 his presence during his absence. These 
 were General Grant's offenses, nothing 
 more. 
 
 " These have been made the pretext for 
 an amount of abuse and defamation which 
 no other man in the army has received. 
 The fact is, the army, as well as the civil 
 walks of life, has many aspirants for pre- 
 ferment, and they seem to think that 
 every man who has earned the favor of 
 the people stands in their way and must 
 be stricken down. You know as well as I 
 that General Grant has no political aspira- 
 tions. Often have I heard him express 
 the wish that there was a law rendering 
 every officer in the army unqualified for 
 civil office for life. I know this further 
 fact, that he has never sought, nor has any 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 1 99 
 
 friend of his with his sanction, asked for 
 his promotion in the army. Long ago, 
 when he was commanding the District 
 of Cairo, an influential friend of his, 
 Mr. Washburne, wrote to him from Wash- 
 ington with reference to his promotion to a 
 major generalship. General Grant prompt- 
 ly replied not to ask it — that no major gen- 
 eralships should be given until they were 
 earned by actual services in the field. 
 
 '' You know that when he left his busi- 
 ness at Galena and went to Springfield with 
 a company as their drillmaster, he did not 
 ask or desire a position in the army. Day 
 and night he worked at Springfield, doing 
 all the drudgery of organizing the army of 
 Illinois — drafting blanks, instructing quar- 
 termasters, mustering troops, making out 
 reports, and doing everything that was 
 asked by Governor Yates. While other men, 
 especially those having military experience, 
 were seeking the offices in the gift of the 
 governor. Grant was patiently and unceas- 
 
200 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 ingly toiling with no object in view but the 
 pubHc good. 
 
 " It was at this time that, at the earnest 
 solicitation of Governor Yates, he took 
 command of a regiment whose disorgani- 
 zation and want of discipline had made it 
 notorious. Yates insisted that Grant was 
 the only man he knew that could manage 
 it. He marched his regiment into Missouri, 
 and made it a model regiment for discipline 
 and effectiveness. I have heard it said that 
 it was the only regiment quartered in Mis- 
 souri against which no complaints were 
 made for depredating. 
 
 '' While Grant was quietly performing his 
 duty with his regiment in the interior of 
 Missouri, cut off almost entirely from com- 
 munication with the rest of the world, he 
 picked up a paper one morning and saw 
 the announcement of his nomination and 
 confirmation as brigadier general. Noth- 
 ing could have more astonished him. He 
 did not know that he had * a friend at court,' 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 201 
 
 and he had never thought or spoken of pro- 
 motion. But there were men who had 
 watched his progress in Missouri and knew 
 his mihtary capacity and untiring vigilance. 
 Soon after he took command of the Dis- 
 trict of Cairo, and from that day to this 
 his history is part of the history of the 
 country. Whatever the papers may say 
 by way of detraction, the general has thus 
 far received the confidence and indorse- 
 ment of his superiors. 
 
 " Anyone knowing him as you and I 
 know him would suppose that, whatever 
 might be said about his official conduct, no 
 one would ever assail his private character. 
 But this has been done. General John A. 
 Logan was asked in Washington a few 
 weeks ago, ' What kind of a man is Grant, 
 I mean his private character?' 'Sir,' re- 
 plied Logan, ' he is one of the very best 
 men I ever knew.' This may have been an 
 extravagant opinion, but it was an honest 
 one, I have no doubt. 
 
202 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 " Grant has been charged with drunken- 
 ness ! No decent man can be found re- 
 sponsible for the report. I do not know 
 a more abstemious man in the army. Dur- 
 ing that terrible siege of Donelson, when 
 the elements seemed to have conspired to 
 exhaust the strength of the besiegers, and 
 some stimulant seemed absolutely neces- 
 sary to health, he invariably refused to take 
 one drop of liquor. It required a clear head 
 as well as a strong arm to strike that fatal 
 blow. 
 
 *' There is another thing that can be 
 said of the general that can be said of 
 few men in the army. I do not believe 
 any man ever heard him utter an oath. I 
 have been with him under all manner of 
 circumstances, and have seen him in anger, 
 but never heard a profane word from him. 
 If you knew the fearful amount of profanity 
 there is in the army, and especially in the 
 battlefield, you would appreciate the rare- 
 ness of his virtue in this respect. The 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON, 203 
 
 highest compliment I ever heard him pay 
 his early instructors was a remark he made 
 one day that he 'did not remember of ever 
 having used an oath in his life.' For a 
 man who is not a religious man to say that 
 shows great reverence for the example and 
 teachings of his childhood. 
 
 '' Yours truly, H." 
 
 In whatever light we may view General 
 Grant, he stands before the world a great 
 man, great in his achievements, but still 
 greater in his moral nature. His character 
 as it really was has not yet been fully or 
 correctly drawn. Prejudice, in some form 
 or other, still lingers in some minds ; nor 
 have all excellent traits therein been fully 
 brought out. His singleness and inflexi- 
 bility of purpose, his conscientiousness, 
 his devotion to duty, his sterling integrity, 
 his true nobility, his refinement of nature, 
 his kind-heartedness, his carefulness for the 
 
204 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 feelings of others, his pure and ardent 
 patriotism, his strong sense of right and 
 justice, his affectionate devotion to his 
 family, the purity of his daily life, his 
 strong common sense, his well-informed 
 mind, his comprehensive intelligence, the 
 quickness of his apprehension, his clear 
 and far sightedness, his long-suffering un- 
 der abuse and unjust criticism, his calmness 
 amidst danger, his resignation amidst over- 
 whelming misfortune, his heroic patience 
 under a terrible and painful illness, his 
 reverence for moral purity and goodness, 
 his resolute determination for the triumph 
 of truth and right, his trustfulness in the 
 hour of sorrow, his undaunted courage on 
 the battlefield, his endurance under severe 
 trials and burdens, his serenity amid the 
 stormy elements of passion, his composure 
 amid strong temptations, his just views on 
 religion and Providence, his ready recog- 
 nition of merit in others, his silence under 
 calumny, his unselfishness in the midst of 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 20$ 
 
 self-seeking politicians and office-seekers — 
 these qualities of his character stand out 
 in solemn grandeur and tower far above 
 the great mass of people ; and we see in 
 them a sight more truly noble than any 
 mere warrior or conqueror the earth ever 
 nursed on her bloody bosom, and one that 
 in the eye of God is greater than any king 
 or emperor that ever sat upon the throne 
 of ambitious dominion. 
 
 How little do we know of his brain 
 sweat, his heart labor, his conscience 
 struggles, of his many days of toil, his 
 many nights of weariness, his many months 
 and years of vigilant, powerful effort, that 
 were spent in achieving success and in 
 perfecting what the world has bowed to 
 in reverence ! He was the son of perse- 
 verance, of unremitting toil and industry. 
 He toiled long and hard, and his successes 
 and greatness were due, not so much to 
 his genius (if he had any), as to his perse- 
 verance and industry. Like many other 
 
206 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 successful men, he owed more to his un- 
 remitting toil, industry, and perseverance 
 than to his native talents, or to his friends, 
 or to favorable circumstances, or to all 
 these combined. His work, whatever it 
 was for the time being — he thought for it, 
 planned for it, labored for it, lived for it. 
 He never waited for favorable circum- 
 stances. Like Napoleon I, he made cir- 
 cumstances. He knew that he could not 
 go to sleep and wake up an Alexander, a 
 Napoleon, a Wellington, a Blucher. He 
 knew that genius makes one great effort, 
 then flutters, darts, and tires; but that 
 hard work and perseverance wear and win ; 
 and he won by these qualities. 
 
 Reader, why do we hold up before us 
 the example of great and good men? Be- 
 cause the use of these examples is to in- 
 spire others. The succession of all high 
 and noble life is through personality. 
 The fascination that draws us to the great 
 and good is deep and divine ; it is a call 
 
CAPTURE OF FORT DONELSON. 20/ 
 
 to share their greatness and goodness. If 
 we get close to men of energy and see 
 how they work, to men of strength and 
 thought and see how they work, we will 
 catch their spirit and method, and it will 
 lift us into the atmosphere of purity and 
 greatness and power, and energize and 
 purify our whole being. 
 
 Grant was a noble and heroic example 
 of devotion to duty, to liberty, and to 
 country — a country that is freedom's 
 cradle and liberty's home, religion's altar 
 and humanity's shrine, learning's retreat 
 and the arch of safety, and holding out the 
 olive branch of peace. He endeavored to 
 make strong our country's right arm of 
 virtue and honor and safety, and to lay 
 deep the principles of the permanence, 
 prosperity, and glory of our republic. Let 
 us all do likewise ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
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