, 1866-05-28

His Fjr1v~ t,ll tftc Southern People A1ll
What f;ttx cesf-1ketnltii~ccnces OF
1jl&. Rebellion

ktGA taf1FH VII lite &0M1hefn fGH1iEG N1lI
Whit f;.rx Need "Reminiscences Of
lIle Rebellion.
L. The editor OF the Lewiston Fails journal
now at Washington. recently sreat an hour
in The studio OF the Maine artist Siiuauts, in
conversation with ten. Grant, and gives an
Interesting statement OF the opinions OK
pressed by the leading. man OF the country
upon 81 men and measures" Wemakc few
extracts:
The General, who was dressed III plain,
black, civilian suit, had hardly removed his
Int from Ills head before he took i cigar from
his pocket, lighted it ant! began to putt ont
wreaths Of smoke. am breaking oil from
in the held smoked eighteen nr twenty
cigars day, but now 1 smoke only uiue or
ten.''
The conversation turned to the Virginia
campaigns of 1861 and 1876. {. / notice.
remarked General Grant, 'tliat Mr. swim
in the Did Dominion, in which lie takes
ground that 1 gained nothing, but IN tic
contrary, lost many valuable lives uselessly
ny t'5Eln:: my army from the Raridan direct
! toward 1:iclmond, rather than by taking i:
I around ~, wafer to tue Peninsula, as Nc
Clcllan did. This" observed tue General.
| ''is q revival Of the exploded theory {rytur.
ring 10 tue Mcclellan policy Of snbuuins
the rebellion by peace measures. 4 half d
lnllliun Of troops might have been kept
!
| and the rebellion would have llourishcd more
and more vigorously day BY day. Fighting,
hard knocks only, could have accomplished
the work. The rebellion must be overcome,
II overcome at all. by force; It's rvsourccs d.
stroycd; Its tightin. material obliicra.cd,
t before peace could H. ottaiuel.s
''Tlere were but 1Wu failures In tho Vir~
1:inIa campaign uf "a which ought to have
been successes" said Grant, ''attl those were
t'le failure to capture Petersburg when We
cro.sed ti's Janes, aud afier~ard at thc mine
explosion" ''Isut,'' ad1el Grant, tit was
all fur the best that VT failed In those two
Instances, for. had We succeeded at either
time Ice would harc at once been Obliged to
abandon Richmond, and would have been
able TO secure a safe retreat into The interior
OF the South. where he would lave prolonged
the contest for ycar>s Our failures tl.cn, and
the determination oil tue rebcls to hold on to
I their capital gave us time to extend our LEFT
S.u1hward, TO bsin. up Sherman lro,n
Georgia, and thereby made II impossible Tor
Lee to escapes
In rcply to question rs to whether he was
not surprised as to tho sudaenncss Of the col
lapse of the rebellion, Grant said that le was,
alihoue1, he Ind always supposed that whcn
: II did break down it would 60 nil st once. ~
thought, however," he remarked, ttthat il
| would hold ont another season anil am moi
sure" be added, ''but that II would have
, been better for the country If II had. Thcre
were some parts Of the country where ou'
armies never trod, particularly Texas, wl'irl
nctacd 10 feel the ulirhtiug effects OF war Il
bring their people to realizing sense Of III
= euor1nIty Of their crime and tue necessity .
{ thorough repentance. ilnd,s' said lle, "tlla
e those parts Of tir South which have not fcl
the war, and particularly those which hay
:, been within our lines and have therefor
1 escaped tho rebel CONSUMPTION and taxcs, ar
E much less disposed to accept the situation Il
good faith than those portions which hay
tecn literally ovcrrun with fire aud sword
Referring to tue temper Of the Soutlcr1
{ people, he remarked that they arc much lcs
= disposed now to bring themselves to til
i proper frame Of mind than they were On
d wear sincc. "A year ago,' said lie, "the,
n wc1c willing to do anything; now they ri
:. gard themselves as masters Of the situation
II Sumo Of tho rebel Generals, !" he aided, e. At
behaving nobly. and doing all they can to II
tudices and to conform their course to ii
d d ShanGed condition Of things. johnson an
q DICK Inylor particularly arc cxcrcisin. goo
:. influence, but," he added. "Lee Is bchaytn
:: badly. He Is conducting himself very diHe
e. entity from what had rcason, frol
surrender, to suppose he would. No man :,
ts the South Is capable oil exercising u tent
ay pnrt of the Influence Tor good that he is. b1
Il, Instead Of using it. he Is setting m cxamp
.. Of forced acquicscencc 50 grudging and rc
nicious In Its effects rs to be hardly realized
1.-THE men who we're In the rebel arnies
saia Grant, "acquicsce in tue result mu.
V. better than those who stayed at home. II
6y women are particularly bitter against Il
OF Eniou and Onion men" "Of course"
H. added, "thcre is some bitterness OF feclil
among all classes, but aM satisfied 1t wou
~ soon die out if their leading men had n
~ ~ somehow got tue idea that treason after
WIS not Tcry bad. ana that the tSoutae