The weekly union record. [volume] (Oroville, Calif.) 1864-1866, 1865-12-30
General Grants Report on the Condition
of the South.

To His Excellency, Andrew Johnson,
President Of the United States-Sir
In reply to your note Of December 10th,
requesting report from me giving such
information as | may be possessed Of,
coming within the scope Of inquiries
made by the Senate Of the United States
in their resolution Of December 18th,
have the honor to submit the following:
With your approval and that Of the
Secretary Of War, l left Washington
City, on November 9th, for the purpose
of making tour of inspection through
out some of the Southern States lately
ia rebellion, and to see what changes
were necessary in the distribution of the
military forces Of the country, how these
forces could .e reduced and expenses
curtailed, and to learn, as far as possible,
the feeling and intentions Of the citizens
of those States toward the General
Government. The State Of Virginia
being so accessible to Washington, and
information from this quarter being
readily obtained, | FASTENED through,
without conversing or meeting with It's
citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina,
l spent one day in Charleston, South
Carolina, two days in Savannah and
Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both
in travelling and while stopping, saw
much and conyersed freely with the
citizens of those States, as well as with
officers of the army who have been sta
toned among them. The following are
the conclusions come to by me: | am
satisfied that the mass Of thinking men
Of the South accept the present situation
of affairs in good faith. The questions
which have hitherto divided the senti-
m2nts Of the people Of the two sections
slavery and State rights (or the right
of a State to secede from the Union -
they regard as having been settled for
ever by the highest tribunal that man
can resort to. l was pleased to learn
from leading men whom met that they
not only accepted the decision arrived at
as final, but now that the smoke of battle
has cleared away, and time has been
given for reflection, think this decision
has been a fortunate one for the whole
country, they receiving the like benefits
from it with those who opposed them in
the field and council. Four years of
war, during which the law was executed
only at the point Of the bayonet in the
States in rebellion, have left the people
possibly in a condition not to yield that
ready obedience to civil authority that
Americans have generally been IN the
habit Of yielding. This would render
the presence of small garrisons through
out these States necessary until,such
time as labor returns to its proper chan
mel, and the civil authority is fully
established. | did not meet any one,
either those holding places under the
Government or citizens of the Southern
States, who thought it practicable to
withdraw the military from the South
at present. White and blacks require
the protection of the General Govern
ment. There is such universal acqui-
.escence in the authority of the General
Gorernmentin the entire country visited
by me, that the mere presence Of
military force, without regard to num-
bers, is sufficient to maintain order.
The good Of the country requires that
force be kept in the interior, where there
are many freedmen. Elsewhere in the
Southern States, than at forts on the
.seacoast, no force is necessary. They
should all be white troops, and the rea-
sons for this are obvious, without men
tioning many of them. The presence
of the black troops, lately slaves, de-
maralizes the laborers, both by their
advice and by furnishing within their
camps a resort for freedmen for dis
tances around. The white troops gen
orally excite no opposition, and therefore
a small number Of them can maintain
order in a given district. The colored
troops must be kept in bodies sufficient
to defend themselves. Itis not thinking
men who would do violence to any class
Of troops sent among them by the Gov
ernment, but the ignorant in some places
might and doubtless do. The negro,
imbued with the idea that the property