Person^ JRecolledions
of Lincoln S&

By
MAJOR-GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE

Co ikA^.%jJi ^XiSaAA .Lcj
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Personal Recollections of
Lincoln

By
MAJOR-GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE

An Address Before the Young Men's Christian
Association of Council Bluffs, Iowa,
on February I2th, igii

1911:
MONARCH PRINTING COMPAKY
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA

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Personal RecoUedions of Lincoln

My Comrades and Friends:
If there is any person living who should be grateful
for such an opportunity as this, and before such an aud
ience, to pay his tribute to Abraham Lincoln, it is my
self, for as President he raised me from a citizen to the
highest command and highest rank in the army. He
was my friend from the time I first met him until I
helped to lay him away in Springfield, Illinois.
No one can appreciate what that friendship and
what his acts were to me, unless they have experienced
the benefit of it as I have.
Now, before I take up the subject I am to speak
upon, I want to read to you Abraham Lincoln's own
biography of himself, to show you from what a simple
and low station he arose to be a great General, a great
Statesman, a most just and kind ruler — the best of this
era. In a letter to Mr. P. Fell he writes :
I was bom February 12, 1809, in Hardin county, Ken
tucky. My parents were both born in Virginia of undis
tinguished families — second families perhaps I should say.
My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of
the name of Hanks, some of whom now reside in Adams and
others in Macon counties, Illinois. My paternal grandfather,
—7 —

Abraham Lincoln, emigrated from Rockingham county, Vir
ginia to Kentucky about 1781 or 1782, where a year or two
later he was killed by Indians, not in battle but by stealth,
when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest. His
ancestors, who were Quakers, went to Virginia from Berka
county, Pennsylvania. An effort to identify them with the
new England family of the same name ended in nothing more
definite than a similarity of Christian names in both families,
such as Enoch, Levi, Mordecai, Solomon, Abraham, and the
like. My father, at the death of his father, was but six years
of age, and he grew up literally without education. We
removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, In
diana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about
the time the state came into the union. It was a wild region
with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods.
There I grew up. There were some schools, so called, but no
qualification was ever required of a teacher beyond "readin",
writin', and cipherin' to the rule of three."
If a straggler, supposed to understand Latin, happened to
sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizard.
There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for educa
tion. Of course, when I came of age I did not know much,
still somehow I could read, write and cipher to the rule of
three ; but that was all. I have not been to school since. The
little advance I now have upon this store of education I have
picked up from time to time under the present necessity.
I was raised to farm work, which I continued till I was
twenty-two. At twenty-one I came to Illinois and passed the
first year in Sanganaw, now in Menard county, where I
remained a year as a sort of clerk in a store. Then came
the Black Hawk war and I was elected a Captain of Volun
teers — a success which gave me more pleasure than any I
have had since. I went into the campaign, was elected, ran
for the Legislature the same year (1832) and was beaten —
the only time I ever have been beaten by the people. The next
and then succeeding biennial elections, I was elected to the
Legislature. I was not a candidate afterward. During the
Legislature period, I had studied law, and removed to Spring
field to practice it. In 1846 I was elected to the lower house

of Congress. Was not a candidate for re-election. Prom 1849
to 1854 both inclusive, practiced law more assiduously than
ever before. Always a Whig in politics, and generally on the
Whig electorial tickets (making active canvasses). I was los
ing interest in politics when the repeal of the Jlissouri Com
promise aroused me again. ¦ What I have done since then is
pretty well known.
If any personal description of me is thought desirable,
it may be said : I am, in height, six feet four inches, nearly ;
lean in flesh, weighing on an average one hundred and eighty
pounds ; dark complexion with coarse black hair and grey
eyes ; no other marks or scars recollected.
My first acquaintance with Mr. Lincoln was in this
cit3^ In August, 1859, I think the 11th day, right
after his great debate with Douglass. He came here to
look at some property in the Eiddle Tract on which he
had loaned some money to Mr. N. B. Judd, the attor
ney for the Rock Island Eailroad. Mr. Judd was also
the manager in the campaign with Douglass. Mr. Lin
coln came from Springfield to St. Joseph by rail, then
came up the Missouri River by steamboat. He found
here two old friends who had lived in Springfield be
fore they came to Coimcil Blufils, W. K. M. Pusey and
Thomas Officer. While he was here he was induced to
make a speech in Concert Hall, and I will read you the
notices of that speech and the comments.
From the Council Bluffs "Weekly Nonpareil," Aug
ust 13, 1859.
HON. A. LINCOLN SPEAKS AT CONCERT HALL THIS
EVENING AT HALF PAST 7 O'CLOCK-
GO AND HEAR HIM.
Hon. Abe Lincoln and the Secretary of State of Illinois,
Hon. O. M. Hatch, arrived in our city last evening, and are

stopping at the Pacific House. The distinguished "sucker"
has yielded to the earnest importunities of our citizens — with
out distinction of party — and will speak upon the political
issues of the day, at Concert Hall this evening. The celebrity
of the speaker will most certainly insure him a full house. Go
and hear "Old Abe."
From The Nonpareil, August 20, 1859.
ABB LINCOLN.
This distinguished gentleman addressed a very large aud
ience of ladies and gentlemen at Concert Hall in this city,
Saturday evening last. In the brief limits of a newspaper
article, it were impossible even though we wielded the trench
ant pen of a Babbitt, which we do not, to give even jan outline
of his masterly and unanswerable speech. The clear and lucid
manner in which he set forth the true principles of the re
publican party, in the dexterity with which he applied the
political scalpel to the democratic carcass — beggars of all de
scription at our hands. Suffice it, that the speaker fully and
fairly sustained the great reputation he acquired in the memor
able Illinois campaign, as a man of great intellectual power —
a close and sound reasoner.
The Bugle, edited by Mr. Babbitt, had this notice :
The people of this city were edified last Saturday evening
by a speech from Honorable Abe Lincoln of Illinois. He
apologized very handsomely for appearing before an Iowa
audience during a campaign in which he was not interested.
He then, with many excuses and a lengthy explanation, as if
conscious of the nauseous nature of the black Republican ros
trum, announced his intention to speak about the "Eternal
Negro," to use his own language, and entered into a lengthy
and ingenious analysis of the "nigger" question, impressing
upon his hearers that it was the only question to be agitated
until finally settled. He carefully avoided going directly to the
extreme ground occupied by him in his canvas against Doug
lass, yet the doctrines, which he preached, carried out to their
legitimate results, amount to precisely the same thing. He
was decidedly opposed to any fusion or coalition of the Re-
—10—

publican party with the opposition of the South, and clearly
proved the correctness of his ground in point of policy. They
must retain their sectional organization and sectional charac
ter, and continue to wage their sectional warfare by slavery
agitation ; but if the opposition in the South would accede to
their views and adopt their doctrines, he was willing to run
for president in 1860, as southern man with northern princi
ples, or in other words, with abolition proclivities. His speech
was of the character of an exhortation to the Republican
party, but was in reality as good a speech as could have been
made for the interest of the Democracy. He was listened to
with much attention, for his Waterloo defeat by Douglass has
magnified him into quite a lion here.
Among others, I listened to his speech, which was
vei-y able, attractive and convincing. His manner of
presenting his argument was very simple, his points so
clear and well defined that it was easy for anyone to
comprehend it. It was his method that made him so
attractive as a public speaker. The crowd, as well as
myself, was absolutely convinced that what he had said
was true, and that his policy in the negro question in
national affairs shordd be adopted.
During the summer of 1859 I had been engaged in
making reconnoissances west of the Missouri River for
the Union Pacific Eailroad. I came back to Council
Bluffs with my party, arriving here some time in Au
gust. Mr. Lincoln heard from someone of my explora
tions and surveys and that I was in Council Bluffs, and
he sought me out, and on the porch of the Pacific Hotel,
for two hours, he engaged me in conversation about
what I knew of the country west of the Missouri Eiver,
and greatly impressed me by the great interest he dis-
—11—

played in the work in which I was engaged. He stated
that there was nothing more important before the na
tion at that time than the building of the railroad to
the Pacific Coast. He ingeniously extorted a great deal
of information from me, and I found the secrets I had
been holding for my employers in the east had been
given to him. This intei'view was of the greatest im
portance to me. It was a milestone in my life, and Mr.
Lincoln never forgot it.
While he was in Council Bluffs the citizens took him
up what is now Oakland avenue, to the point where the
road turns into Rohrer Park, and he was greatly im
pressed with the beauty of the landscape. It is one of
the most beautiful views in the world. You can look
up and dowTi the broad Missouri River valley for ten
miles and can look across into Nebraska and see
Omaha, and from Florence to Bellevue.
As you all know, there has been a Lincoln Memorial
Association organized in this city which proposes to
place on that spot a monument or memorial to Abraham
Lincoln, and I would advise everyone to become a mem
ber of that Association.
The property which Mr. Lincoln had in the Riddle
Tract was joined by that of Mr. C. L. Vallinghan of
Ohio, a very bitter rebel during the War; a man of
meat ability, and who was a member of Congress and
snent his time fighting and opposing the administration
with great bitterness — so much so that he was arrested
by General Burnside and tried for treason. He was
—12 —

convicted and sentenced to imprisonment during the
War, I think at Port Lafayette or some other national
prison, and President Lincoln, notwithstanding the bit
terness shown towards him and the attacks made upon
him, commuted the sentence and ordered him sent
through the lines to the South. Vallinghan went
through the lines, but he did not think the South treat
ed him with proper consideration and he left there and
went to Canada. He remained there until the War was
over, then he came back to Ohio and ran for Governor
and was defeated by over 100,000 majority. He then
became, to the astonishment of everyone, a great advo
cate of universal suffrage for the negro. It is a
singular fact that Vallinghan met death by a pistol shot,
the same as President Lincoln. He was trying a case
in the courts of Ohio — a case of murder — and while he
was showing the pistol used by the murderer he let it
fall, and in falling it was discharged, wounding him,
and he died from the wound.
In 1860 when President Lincoln was a candidate of
the Republican partv, Mr. N. B. Judd of Chicago wrote
me a letter and requested me to come to Chicago and
aid as far as I could in the nomination of Mr. Lincoln.
I went to Chicago and was greatly surprised when I
got to the convention and found that there were only
two votes for Abraham Lincoln from the Iowa delega
tion, the rest being scattered to Seward, McLane, and
others. I thought the state next to Illinois should cast
their entire vote for a man of Lincoln's ability and
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standing, and I did what I could to turn them to Lin
coln. I was present at the conference the evening be
fore the last day of balloting and the Pennsylvania
delegation led in an agreement with other states to
cast their votes on the next day for Lincoln, and that
would insure his nomination. I was anxious that the
Iowa delegation should vote for him which they all did
with the exception of one or two. After his nomina
tion and election, I went to Washington to the inaug
uration. I remember there was with me, Kasson, Alli
son, Gurley, David, Hoxie and others, representing
Iowa. We hired a house in the rear of the National
Hotel, which we made our headquarters, and which be
came the headquarters for the state of Iowa. We all at
tended the inauguration and listened to Lincoln's in
augural speech. It impressed not only us but every
one who attended. When it was over we returned to
the National Hotel. Judge Denio of Springfield, a
very tall man — I should say six feet four inches — was
very enthusiastic in praise of Lincoln and they induced
him to make a speech. He got up on a table and in
describing the speech he said : "There has only one
address ever been made better than that of Lincoln
and that was Christ's sermon on the Mount."
During the time we were in Washington, there was
great alarm and a great deal of discussion as to
what the policy of the Government would be, what part
Lincoln would take in it, and what his acts would be.
I visited Lincoln with ex-Senator Nye and Mr. Deyer

—14—

of New York and we had a long conversation with
him in relation to the conditions, what should be done,
and giving him our opinions. He listened very atten
tively to what we had to say, and by referring to my
diary I see that he replied that he was not alarmed;
that he felt that he could take this country safely
through the crisis. When we left we were greatly
strengthened in our belief in his ability, and felt he
would carry the country through, no matter what oc
curred. In the spring of 1863 I was in command of the
district of Corinth, Mississippi. I had just returned
from the campaign to the rear of Bragg up the Ten
nessee Valley. There had followed me back to Corinth
thousands of negroes which were a great burden to us.
We had to feed them and as yet there had been no
policy determined by the Government as to how they
should be treated or what should be done with them.
I had them on my hands and made a camp outside of
Corinth for them. I put at the head of it the Chap
lain of the 27th Ohio Infantry, named Alexander, and
endeavored to utilize the negroes by putting them on
plantations to work, so as to partially earn their liv
ing, and using them as teamsters and in camp work.
I first put over them a guard of white soldiers, but the
troops at that time objected very seriously to guarding
negroes and there was a great deal of trouble in rela
tion to it. Finally Chaplain Alexander came to me and
said he believed, if I would let him have the arms, he

could organize two negro companies that would guard
that camp much better than the white soldiers. I
agreed to do this and, although I had absolutely no
authority for doing so, I gave him the arms and he
organized two companies of negroes, officering them
with some sergeants from my command. That action
caused a great deal of criticism but it worked admir
ably. Soon after I had armed these negroes, I re
ceived an order from General Grant to go to Wash
ington and to report to the Adjutant General. He
gave no reasons for my going there. I could not but
think that they were going to call me to account for
the action I had taken in arming the negroes, and
I went with a good deal of anxiety until I reached
Washington and reported to the Adjutant General, and
he informed me that the President wished to see me
and he 'made an appointment with President Lincoln
for me. I went in and met the President, who greeted
me very cordially, and learned from him that I had
been called there for the purpose of aiding him in
determining the location on the Missouri River where
the Union Pacific Railroad should have its initial point.
When I heard this it was a great relief to me. I sat
there with him and we discussed that question very
fully, and I saw he was thoroughly posted on the senti
ment of the country locally, as every town from Sioux
City to Kansas City was contending for the location.
You people who were citizens here at that time possibly
remember what a discussion there was in regard to

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where the initial point of the Union Pacific should be lo
cated. Prom an engineering point of view, I pointed
out clearly to the President where the line should
start and what our surveys had determined. He lis
tened and discussed this question with me for a long
time. I saw from his talk and his indication that his
views coincided with mine, and I have no doubt he
made his decision at that time, as remembered by me,
and soon after made this order:
I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
hereby fix so much of the western boundry of the State of
Iowa as lies between the north and south boundaries of the
United States township within which the city of Omaha is
situated as the point from which the line of railroad and tele
graph in that section mentioned shall be constructed.
This order was not considered definite enough by
the company and on March 7, 1864, President Lincoln
issued the second executive order as follows :
I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do,
upon the application of said company, designate and establish
such first named point on the western boundary of the State
of Iowa, east of and opposite to the east line of Section 10,
in Township 15, south of Range 13, east of the sixth princi
pal meridian in the Territory of Nebraska.
On March 8, 1864, he notified the United States
Senate that on the 17th day of November, 1863, he
had located the "Eastern terminus of the Union Pa
cific Railway within the limits of the township in Iowa
opposite to the town of Omaha." Since then, he says,
"the company has represented to me that upon addi
tional survey made, it has determined upon the precise
—17—

point of departure of the branch road from the Mis
souri River, and located same within the limits desig
nated in the order of November last." This point is
near where the Union Pacific Transfer now stands.
After my talk with Lincoln in relation to the fix
ing of the terminal, naturally the question of the build
ing of the Union Pacific came up. The law of 1862
had been passed but the promoters of the road had
been unable to raise a single dollar to build it; they
could not induce the capitalists to take hold of it, not
withstanding the fact that the United States had
loaned its credit — it having the first lien on the prop
erty while the company's bonds were only second mort
gage bonds. There was no one in the United States
then who had enough confidence in the future of the
Union Pacific Eailroad to buy second mortgage bonds
at any price. I discussed that question with him. I
thought that the Government of the United States
should build this road; it was too big a job for private
enterprise. He said the Government of the United
States had all it could care for then, but that he and
the Government were willing to do anything they could
to aid any company who would take this matter up in
earnest and raise the money and go forward with it.
He intimated that he was perfectly willing to have the
law changed so that the Government should take the
second mortgage and the promoters of the road take the
first. Prom my visit with President Lincoln, I went
to New York to see my friends who had organized the
—18—

Union Pacific road, Mr. John A, Dix, Mr. Hienry Far-
nam, T. C. Durant, Francis Train and others, and I
told them in a board meeting what President Lincoln
had said and they were greatly encouraged, and made
up their minds to take the matter up, and they went
before Congress and in 1864 they passed the law which
placed the mortgage bonds of the company ahead of
the mortgage bonds of the Government, and with the
Government's and other mortgage bonds they were en
abled to start the road, and by 1865 they had built
the road as far west as Fremont. When I came back
from the army in 1866 I took charge, and in three
years it was finished. It was the foresight, the nerve
and determination of Abraham Lincoln that forced
Congress to give the promoters of that road the first
mortgage bonds and the Government taking a second
lien that insured its completion. In discussing this
matter President Lincoln said it was not only a com
mercial necessity but a military necessity for the pur
pose of holding the Pacific coast in the Union.
I did not see Mr. Lincoln again until in 1864. I
was given confederate leave of absence at Atlanta in
August 1864. As soon as I was well enough to travel
General Grant invited me to visit him at City Point,
where his army was lying after the great campaign of
the Wilderness and the Potomac. I went to City Point
and spent two weeks with General Grant. I saw there
the finest of all our armies, the best equipped, the best
organized, and it had everything that a soldier could

-19—

need. Rufus Ingles took us up to their sample room
showing me the supplies they had ready to furnish
the soldiers. General Grant said, "Dodge, if you just
had this sample room it would be all you would want
for your corps." I met most of the corps commanders
of this army. I visited the Army of the James, and
I saw the effort of General Butler, who commanded
that Army, to break through the enemies' line into
Eichmond. I was greatly impressed as I saw the
troops move up to the enemies' works and stand so
steadily and receive the destructive fire of the enemy
without taking cover. In the West, under the same
conditions, our men would have gone to cover when
they saw there was no possibility of carrying the works
before them, but here they seemed to wait for an or
der and my anxiety for them was such that I could
not help expressing my surprise that they did not eith
er charge or go to cover, but they stood and took
the murderous fire until the command to retire was
ffiven. In the West, during the time they stood there,
our whole line would have found shelter behind trees
or buried themselves.
In the evening, we would sit around the camp fire
at City Point and General Grant, in that comprehen
sive and conversational way he had of describing any
affair when he felt at liberty to talk freely, and which
is shown so plainly in his memoirs, told me of his cam
paigns from the Wilderness to City Point; of many
of his plans that failed to materialize for various rea-

-20-

sons which he gave. After listening several evenings
to the discussion of these matters, I asked General
Grant, very innocently and naturally, who was respon
sible for the failure of these plans, and looking at me
in a humorous way, which was in his disposition, he
said, "That, General, has not yet been determined."
I said, "If it had been in the West, some of us would
have lost our heads." General Grant was never known
to publicly make a criticism of an officer.
I want to say that these were the darkest days of
Grant's career in the East, for the country had com
menced to talk about his campaign as not being a suc
cess, his great battles as butcheries, and there was a
great deal of criticism of them. There was about as
many men deserting from that army — drafted men— -as
there were recruits coming to him, but General Grant
was certain that his next campaign would be a suc
cess. When I was starting back to my command, General
Grant requested me to call on President Lincoln. He
did not give me any reason why I should go, but, of
course, a request from him was an order, and I went
to Washington on his steamer. There was on board this
steamer, General Eufus Ingles, the Quartermaster of
his Army, and Major-General Doyle, Commander of
the British forces in Canada. Major-General Doyle
was an old, gray-haired man. I was a young man
and the one thing that troubled the General was that
he could not understand why I, so young, could have the
—21—

same rank as he did — an old man sixty years of age.
When I arrived at Washington and went to the
White House to call on President Lincoln, I met Sena
tor Harlan of this state in the ante-room and he
took me in to see the President. It happened to be
at the hour when the President was receiving the
crowd in the ante-room next to his room. Senator
Harlan took me up to him immediately and presented
me to him. President Lincoln received me cordially
and said he was very glad to see me. He asked me
to sit down while he disposed of the crowd. I sat
down and waited; I saw him take each person by the
hand and in his kindly way dispose of them. To an
outsider, it would seem that they all got what they
wanted for they seemed to go away happy. I sat
there for some time, and felt that I was over-staying
my time with him so stepped up and said that I had
merely called to pay my respects and that I had no
business, so would say goodbye. President Lincoln
turned to me and said, "If you have the time, I wish
you would wait; I want to talk to you." I sat down
again and waited quietly until he had disposed of
the crowd. When he was through, he took me into
the next room. He saw that I was ill-at-ease, so he
took down from his desk a little book called "The
Gospel of Peace." I think it was written by Artemus
Ward and was very humorous. He opened the book,
crossed his legs and began to read a portion of a chap
ter, which was so humorous that I began to laugh and
— 22—

it brought me to myself. When he saw that he had
gotten me in his power, he laid the book down and be
gan to talk to me about my visit to the Army of the
Potomac and what I saw. He did not say a single
word about my own command or about the West, show
ing his whole interest was in the Army of the Potomac.
While we were sitting there talking we were called to
lunch. During the meal he talked about the Army
of the Potomac and about Grant, and finally led up
to the place where he asked me the question of what
I thought about Grant, and what I thought about his
next campaign. Just as he asked the question, we got
up from the table. I answered, "Mr. President, you
know we western men have the greatest confidence in
General Grant; I have no doubt, whatever, that in
this next campaign he will defeat Lee— ^how, or when
he is to do it, I cannot tell, but I am sure of it."
He took my hand in both of his and very solemnly
said, "You don't know how glad I am to hear you
say that." I did not appreciate then what a great
strain he was under — ^not until reading Welles' Celebrat
ed Diary, showing that Lincoln had no person around
him to advise him, that everything he did was from his
own thoughts and initiation. It is a wonder to me that
he ever got through the War so successfully. I did not
know then that Lincoln's table was piled with letters
demanding the change of Grant, declaring that his
campaign was a failure and wanting to have a differ
ent commander sent, etc. When I was ready to leave.

-23-

I thanked President Lincoln for what he had done for
me and asked if there was anything I 'could do for
him. He said, "If you don't care, I would like to
have you take my respects to your Army."
On leaving President Lincoln, I returned to my own
command, or as near to it as I could get, expecting
to go to the command of my corps under Sherman. I
was still, phj'sically, not verj' strong and Sherman said
that he would not take me with him as he did not
think I could stand the trip. Therefore, I was assigned
to a command at A^icksburg, Mississippi, with a view
of taking a command to the ¦ rear of Mobile when
Sherman marched to the sea, expecting, with the aid
of General Canby and the fleet to capture that place.
When I reached Cairo on my way to Vicksburg,
I received a dispatch from the War Department to
proceed immediately to St. Louis and relieve General
Rosecrans, and as soon as I was in command to notify
the War Department. I learned from a private dis
patch that I received from General Grant that he had
requested General Rosecrans to be relieved and I to
take his command, because he and the War Depart
ment did not consider that General Rosecrans had
made a proper use of- his command in defeating the
movement of Price into Missouri, as Price had a force
much smaller than that of General Rosecrans. I as
sumed command of that Department and Army on the
second day of December. I found that there had been
a great many dispatches sent to General Rosecrans to
—24—

send all the troops he could spare to General Thomas
who was in a death struggle with General Hood in
Nashville. I received a similar dispatch from General
Halleck, at the end of which he quoted a part of
Grant's dispatch to him giving the order, which was:
"With such an order. Dodge can be relied upon to send
all that can properly go." I learned afterwards that
President Lincoln was present when this order was
given, and that it was he who suggested to General
Halleck that that portion of Grant's dispatch should
be added, saying, it might induce Dodge to make an
extra effort to help Thomas out.
When I received this dispatch, I looked my com
mand over. There were no organized Rebel forces in
Missouri, nothing but guerrillas and partisan bands
who were robbing and killing, not fighting anyone, and
I made up my mind that there was really no necessity
for any federal troops in Missouri ; therefore, I gathered
together every organized regiment in that state and
sent Thomas some fifteen thousand men, including two
divisions of the 16th A. C. under the command of
Major-General A. J. Smith. At the Battle of Nash
ville, this force turned Hood's left and started the
defeat and destruction of Hood's Army.
I found in Missouri a state of affairs existing in no
other state in the Union. It was one-half Rebel and
one-half Union. It was brother against brother and
father against son. There had been a great many mur
ders in the state and they were continually being com-

mitted. President Lincoln took a great interest in Mis
souri. The fact that Blair, Lyons, Siegle and the Ger
mans had held the State of Missouri in the Union
against all the efforts of its Rebel Government, made it
very interesting to him, and he had been endeavoring
for a long time to bring it back under its ovm civil gov
ernment. He assigned General Schofield, a very fine
soldier and executive officer, to the command of the
department, with a view of his carrying out this policy,
but he had failed. General Schofield's policy did not
satisfy either side, it was too conservative for the
radicals and too radical for the half -Union men ; there
fore the War Department relieved him. But President
Lincoln believed in General Schofield and when he left
there he made him a Major General, but the State
of Missouri was strong enough to stop his confirmation
in the United States Senate and it was one year before
he was confirmed. President Lincoln said he saw his
opportunity when he received a dispatch from General
Grant in 1864, asking to have General Schofield sent
to the command of the Department of the Ohio at
KJnoxville, Tennessee, and he said he then put the
pressure right on the Senate and they had to come
to time and confirm him.
As soon as I had gotten well settled in the De
partment of the Missouri, President Lincoln wrote me
a long letter. It was in no wise an order or a sug
gestion that I was obliged to carry out. It was sim
ply his views of the conditions in the country; also

—26 —

what he thought, not what he thought I ought to do,
and as I looked the country over I came to his views —
that there was absolutely no necessity for any military
forces in the State of Missouri. That state had just
elected Colonel Fletcher Governor. Colonel Fletcher
had been a good soldier in the service and I made up
my mind that if it was in my power I would turn
over the Civil Government entirely to him, but as soon
as my policy was Icnown, both sides were opposed to
it; one side because they were afraid of the guerrillas
and the other side because they did not want to go
under a Union soldier as a Governor. I was in a
great dilemma, and wrote the War Department that
I had made up my mind to give it a trial, and sent
to General Halleck at Washington my plan — that was,
to withdraw all the federal troops from the small
towns and railroad lines and relieve them from all
civil duties and concentrate them at the prominent
strategic point in the state where I could handle them
as a body and call on the citizens of the counties to
take care of themselves. I did not get a very hearty
response from General Halleck. His response was
something like this: "If you do this and succeed, al
right; but if you do this and fail, you must not charge
any of it up to us."
Before doing this. President Lincoln thought I
should consult and get the consent of the Governor of
the state; this, I had expected to do. I had to strug
gle with the Governor quite a long time but he finally
—27—

consented. He did not feel like assuming the respon
sibility of enforcing the law without a large military
force behind him. There were some eight or ten thou
sand State Militia that had been mustered into the
United States army for service in the state, and I
proposed that this force should be used by the Gov
ernor to do the work which the federal troops had been
performing. I issued an order that citizens of the state, of south-
em sentiment must hereafter comply with the Civil
authorities, and those who could not or would not would
be forced to leave the state. I gave them permission
to go through the lines south or north. This order
also provided that any citizens of the state who har
bored a guerrilla, or where any of the bands of guerrillas
camped upon their land, or where they had any knowl
edge of any being present, must, within twenty-four
hours, notify the nearest federal post. If they did not,
they would be arrested and shot. This was a very
drastic order and was complained of bitterly by the
citizens of southern sentiment. A few days after the
order was issued, a Lieutenant of one of the com
panies, discovered a citizen harboring some guer
rillas and he took him out and shot him. This, of
course, he had no authority to do. He should have
arrested the man and reported the fact to the com
manding officer and given him a trial, but the fact of
the prompt execution of the order struck terror
throughout the state, especially to those of southern

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sentiment, and they felt that their lives were not safe,
and thousands of them emigrated immediately to Idaho
and Montana, while others who remained entered pro
tests to the War Department, and there was a general
complaint and denunciation of the order. I was called
upon immediately by the War Department for an ex
planation of this officer's acts. Before I had gotten
the order, however, I had investigated the case and
found that the party he had killed was without ques
tion guilty, and I wrote the War Department that,
while it was a lack of judgment on the part of the
officer — ^he thought he had the right to kill the man
immediately — still, it had been of great beniefit in
bringing peace to the state, and I felt that it was not
necessary to take any further action in the matter and
assured them that it would not be repeated. It was
wonderful how quickly the state quieted down and how
many reports went into the different posts of guerrillas
or partisan bands, or even people suspected, so that as
soon as they found that they did not have the support
of the southern sympathizers and could not quarter
upon them without being reported, they immediately
left the state.
These complaints, of course, finally reached Presi
dent Lincoln but it was a long time after they oc
curred. In the meantime Governor Fletcher, who was
taking great satisfaction in the rapidity with which
the state had been brought under Civil Government,
had written a letter to President Lincoln stating that
—29—

the order had had a wonderful effect, and that the
state was then as quiet as any other state in the
Union. Some of the members of Congress from Mis
souri called on President Lincoln, quite a long time
after this occurred, and still demanded a repeal of
the order but President Lincoln showed them Gov
ernor Fletcher's letter and he said that, under the con
ditions, he would not interfere in the matter.
Years afterwards when I went West, to the station
opposite Boise on the Union Pacific Railroad, where
they were investigating the question of putting in some
irrigation works, and while my car was standing on the
siding one day there came up from the Boise Valley
a delegation of citizens, who loaded my car with
fruit. I was absent and did not see them, but they
told the station agent that they were citizens whom I
had driven out of Missouri and that at one time they
would have hung me if they could have gotten hold of
me, but now they were thankful for the movement,
and brought me this fruit with their compliments.
Within thirty days I had left the Department in
perfect peace and had gone on to the plains to make
the Indian campaigns.
While I was in command of the State of Missouri,
there was hardly a day passed but what I saw some
evidence of President Lincoln's kindness. The appeals
that would go to him from the people whose sons or
themselves were in trouble, would always have his at
tention and he would give them one of his cards, with

—30-

a little note written on the back to me, asking if
something could not be done for this person. He dis
liked to have anyone executed, shot or imprisoned.
When I went into Missouri, I found the prisons full
and over-flowing with prisoners of War and citizens
who had been taken up for treason, etc. I therefore
proposed to send them through the line or to release
them and I so notified the War Department. In my
letter to them I said it was a good deal easier to fight
them than to feed them, but they seemed to think
that the policy that .had been maintained there of
holding these citizens in prison should be continued.
When the Indian campaigns began, some of these pris
oners made known to me that they were willing to
enlist in the army to go on the plains. I reported
this to the War Department and received authority
to organize five regiments known as the United States
Volunteers, kno\vn on the plains as the "Reconstructed
Rebs." This emptied the prisons. Nearly all of the
confederate prisoners of war were willing to enlist to
fight Indians and only took the oath for that purpose,
declining to take it to fight against their own people
and we did not require it of them. These regiments
served up the Missouri River, in Minnesota against
the Indians there and were in the campaigns on the
plains in 1865 and 1866. They made splendid soldiers
and endured great hardships. Afterwards a great many
of them went down on the Union Pacific and into the
States of Idaho and Montana, where there are now a

—31-

great many of the members of those regiments, many of
whom are prominent citizens.
The night before the assassination of President Lin
coln, a lad}' called upon me who had been to Washing
ton to see President Lincoln. Her son had been ar
rested and tried for murder as a guerrilla. He had
been in one of the guerilla bands which had been
caught and it was proved that he had murdered two
or three convalescent Union soldiers. He was sen
tenced to be hung in a very short time. This lady
obtained an interview vsdth President Lincoln and the
night before the day of the assassination, she came to
my office with the President's card, with a little note
on the back of it to me, which said, "My dear General
Dodge : Is it possible for you to do anything for this
poor woman who is in so much trouble?" I took
the card, but I did not see my way clear to comply
with her request. If I had commuted the sentence
of that guerrilla, after the great number of men who
had been murdered by these guerrillas, it would have
brought down upon me a great criticism from the
Union people in the State. But I treated the lady
nicely and told her that I would consider it. She
thought that card was an absolute pardon for her son,
and was very indignant and said she would communi
cate with the President immediately.
That night about midnight I received a dispatch
from the War Department notifying me of Lincoln be
ing shot. I was also cautioned about making arrange-
—32—

ments so that there would be no uprising in the State.
They felt that such a tradegy might cause an upris
ing of the Union men against the citizens of southern
sentiments on account of the bitterness existing there.
I brought into the city of St. Louis, such troops as
were near and issued an order suspending all business
and ordered all the citizens, both Federal and Rebel,
to remain in their houses and prohibited any gather
ings or crowds on the streets. I found that the south-
em people were as greatly distressed as those of the
North. The streets of St. Louis were deserted for two
days and there was nothing but sorrow exhibited on
both sides.
The lady called the next day and asked me for the
card, she desiring to keep it as a memento, and no
doubt giving up all hopes for her son, but I did not
have it in my heart, after Lincoln's death, to carry
out the order of the court and therefore commuted
the sentence to imprisonment.
At the time of Lincoln's funeral, I was ordered to
go to Springfield with my staff and troops. I went
to Springfield on the day of the funeral and took my
position in the procession. It was the saddest sight of
my life. Those streets were lined with thousands and
thousands of people, evidently in great distress and sor
row, and at every step we could hear the sobs of the
sorrowing crowd and every little while a negro would
come out and drop dovm on his knees and offer a
prayer. There was hardly a person who was not in
—33 —

tears, and when I looked around at my troops I saw
many of them in tears. As we paid the last rites to this
great man the sorrow was universal, for it was one of
the greatest calamities of this or any other nation.
Among all the public men in the funeral proces
sion, no grief was keener than that of his War Secre
tary, Edwin M. Stanton. None of them had tested, as
had Edwin M. Stanton, the extraordinary resources of
the strong chief. It was fitting, therefore, that he, as
passed the strong heroic soul away, should pronounce
its eulogy: "There lies the most perfect ruler of
men the world has ever seen." Why the most perfect
ruler the world has ever seen? Because he was the
perfect ruler of himself.
Now, in closing I am going to read you a letter
that has never been published, which shows the part of
Lincoln that has often been discussed :
Executive Mansion,
Washington, Sept. 4, 1864.
Eliza P. Ourney,
Mt Esteemed Feiend : — I have not forgotten — probably
never shall forget — ^the very impressive occasion when yourself
and friends visited me on a Sabbath afternoon two years ago.
Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever
been forgotten. In all, it has been your purpose to strengthen
my reliances on God. I am much indebted to the good Chris
tian people of the country for their constant prayers and con
solations, and to no one of them more than to yourself. The
purposes of the Almighty are perfect and must prevail, though
we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in
advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible
war long before this, but God knows best and has ruled other
wise. We shall acknowledge His wisdom, and our own error
—34—

therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light
He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the
great ends he ordains. Surely he intends some great good to
follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make
and no mortal could stay.
Your people — the Friends — have had, and we are having, a
very great trial. On principle and faith, opposed to both war
and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by
war. In this hard dilemma some have chosen one horn and
some the other. For those appealing to me on conscientious
grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can
in my own conscience under my oath to the Lord. That you
believe this I doubt not, and believing it I shall still receive
for our country and myself your earnest prayers to our Father
in Heaven. Your Sincere Friend, A. Lincoln.
A more beautiful letter it would be impossible to
write. When the second nomination of Lincoln was about
to be made, the people who were dissatisfied and dis
gruntled at what he had done, many who thought he
was not radical enough or aggressive enough in the
War, called a convention to meet in Cleveland in May
of 1864. The movement was supported by men of promi
nence in the party, dissatisfied and disappointed with the
conducting of affairs, and their action caused much
anxiety. This convention nominated for President
John C. Fremont and for Vice President John Coch
ran, and instead of there being thousands in attendance
at the convention, as was expected, there were only
about 400.

A friend of Mr. Lincoln seeing this, hastened to
the White House to impart it. Lincoln, thereupon,
reached for his well thumbed Bible and opening it at
First Samuel 22; 2, read: "And everyone that was
in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and every
one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto
him and he became a Captain over them, and there
were with him about four hundred."
Even the London Punch, that criticised and ridi
culed Mr. Lincoln during his administration, changed
and after his death said it was sorry and regretted its
course, holding that it was a remarkable man who
could indict in a car on a train on his trip to Gettys
burg that remarkable tribute so strong in English, so
expressive, eloquent and sympathetic, and said that his
Gettysburg speech had changed their whole course and
opinion of Lincoln.
Lincoln was a man of keen vision, of almost pro
phetic ken. He penetrated almost intuitively the thin
veneer of patriotism which often covered pelf. He was
not deceived by the wretched shams and pretexts be
hind which men, under the pretense of serving their
country, sought upon to see, in all its naked deformity,
the utter selfishness of self, and yet, notwithstanding it
all, he believed and rightly believed, that in the main
and on the average the plain people wanted to be, in
tended to be, and were, right.
With his trained reasoning faculties, he reached con
clusions which were far in advance of the general

—36—

thought of the people; hence, in thought, in speech, in
the discussion of great fundamental principles Lincoln
was a radical; and yet in administration, in the dis
charge of executive duties, where he was called upon
to act for others, he was a conservative. He said to
Greeley, Chase and Stevens and others of like fiery
temper and spirit, "You are theoretically right but
practically wrong. If I am to lead these people I
must not separate myself from them. Whatever my
individual thoughts may be, whatever the logical con
clusions of my mind, based upon the premises which
I admit to be sound and true, nevertheless I must not
separate myself from the people. If I am to lead,
I must stay with the procession."
Lincoln embodied in the mind of the people two
great issues that were really only one — the preservation
of the American Union and the abolition of slavery.
At the root of both there lay a moral principle and
both appealed with overwhelming force to sentiment.
They were so plain, so vividly defined, that no sophis
try could obscure them, no shrewd debater reason them
away. And so, back of him were the masses of the
people, their eyes fixed with pathetic faith and loyalty
upon that tall, gaunt, stooping, homely man, who to
their minds meant everything that makes a cause
worth dying for.
Lincoln's great ability, his pure administration, his
kind but firm hand has disarmed all criticism, and to-
—37—

day no one names him but in words of respect and
love, and his name the world over, is coupled in the
trinity — Washington, Lincoln and Grant, the creators
and saviors of the Union.

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