Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1865-07-05

| overland mar. from that point.
| Sir. Dubois-General Grant you cannot
| do that If you take this army back to
| Memphis, with all this array of gunboats
and transports and all your material of war,
| the effect will be disastrous on the country
| This Internal constitution in our State was
only defeated by superhuplan exertions.
! An other election is almost upon us, and
| the whole Northwest is on the verge of rev
| olution. II you 90 back you strengthen the
| hands Of the traitors and X. =. G.. at home,
| they will call your movement retreat, and
more loudly than ever assert that the south
cannot be conquered If you can do no
| better, you must storm NIcksburg. Ii 1t
costs the lives of forty thousand men If
must be taken 1t is a terrible thing to think
of, but it must be done.
General Grant replied that he would re-
/ feet upon the matter during the night and
| let Mr. Dubois know of his determination
! In the morning. When the morning came,
| General Grant met Mr.. Dubois with a
cheerful countenance, and the following con-
versati0n took place
General Grant-Uncl Jesse, you are 60
/ ing home to-day; tell Governor Yates and
the people of Illinois for me that [ will take
Vicksburg in sixty days.
Mr.. Dubois-General Grant am glad 10
| hear you say this; but all ask of you to al
low me to tell them is that you will take
! Vicksburg, [ don't care whether IN sixty
DAYS or six months.
! General Grant-I am bound to take 1t. |
| have decided on my plans. Will not tell
you what they are Even with the best in
| tentiOns you might disclose them to the det-
| riment of the movement.
! They parted and Gen. Grant detailed his
| plan to Gen. Sherman. wno protested in
writing. as detailed in the article, but plac-
| ed himself under the Generals orders.
! Auditor Dubois went home and told Gov.
! Yates that Grant would take Vicksburg
that he had no doubt Of it: that Gen. Grant
told him to tell him 50, and that he must
tell it to the PEOPLE as coming from General
! Grant. II viii be remembered that the
promise of Gen. Grant was published in the
papers at the time, and that Gov. Yates re-
| peated it from the stump.
! General Grant next movement was to
send for Gen. John 4, McClernand, and or
dered him TO march his corps from Milliken :
Bend to Grand Cult General McCler-
nand proposed some changes in the details
of the plan but General Grant cut him
short by saying that he had digested and
arranged the entire details for the move
ment and only required him. General Nc
| Clernand to execute his orders. General
| McClernand then said he would do that TO
the best of his ability, and departed on his
t expidition.
| And here it may be well to add, that at
! this time strenuous efforts were being made
at Washington for the removal Of General
| Grant Not only West Point was arrayed
| against him, but republican members OF
| Congress. some of them from this State,
went TO Mr.. Lincoln and urged his removal
taking back their former endorsements Of
him. Leading republican papers IN this
State loudly denounced him, and clamored
| for his supersedure At this time leading
republican and retired ofhceholdCr from
this State who had been down the river
| buying cotton, wrote a letter TO Mr.. Lincoln
| denouncing General Grant, predicting his
| failure, and urging the appointment OF Gen.
| Pope to command.
! he brought the letterto Hon O. VI Hatch,
| then Secretary of State, and one OF Mr..
| Lincoln's most intimate friends. and asked
| him to direct it, but did not show him its
contents. He represented to Mr. Hatch
| that Mr. Nicolay, who had been Mr..
| Hatch deputy clerk, seeing the handwrIt-
ing, would hand it to Mr. Lincoln. Hear
| ing of the occurrence, and Suspecting a trick
| Mr. Dubois made Mr.. Hatch write j letter
to the President, which both signed, and
| which urged him to do nothing against Gen.
and, so far as they had anything TO say in the
matter, they were perfectly satisfied with
hun.
Subsequently to the capture Of Ficksburg
Mr.. Dubois was In " Washington. to obtain a
sick furlough for his son, who had been at
the siege and was.then in a Memphis hospital.
Mr. Lincoln himself went 10 the War office
with aIr Dubois TO obtain the furlOugh.
Returning from the office, and while Mr..
Lincoln, Mr. Dubois and Mr.. ID. l.. Philips
were standing at the railing which separates
the War Office grounds from those Of the
White House. the following conversation, IN
substance, took place
Mr.. Dubois-Mr President, [ do rot
like Gen. Grants paroling those prisoners
at Vicksburg. We had better feed than
fight them.
Mr.. Lincoln, Strengthening himself up to
his full hight, and his countenance beam
ing with that peculiar smile which indicat-
ed that he was highly pleased: Dubois,
General Grant has done so well, and we are
all so pleased at the taking Of Niek.burg,
let us not quarrel with him about that mat
ter He also added. Dubois, placing
his foot upon the base of the railing, and
| taking less erect posture, do you know
| that. at one time, ! stood solitary and alone
here in favor of General Grant? Even =
| (meaning a member Of Congress from
| Northern Illinois,. came and told me that
| he Grant was not worth =, =, and that
/ would have to remove him. But remem-
| bered thatyou and Hatch and Others had been
| down there about the first OF April, and had
not said word TO me on the subject.
| OuiIp when requested to take time by the
| foreloct exnreSsed doubt VIII ther the