The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1867-12-20
GEN. GRANTS TESTIMONY BEFORE
THE IMPEACHMENT COMMITTEE.


GEN. GRANTS TESTIMONY BEFORE
| THE IMPEACHMENF COMMITTEE.
| have seen the President very fire.
| quently in reference to the condition of
affairs in the rebel States. When |
was asked to be at cabinet meeting,
| it was because some question was up
in which, as general of the army, / was
| interested. | am not aware of any in
| tervieW with the President on amnes-
| ty. | have occasionally recommended
a person for amnesty. | thought my
self at the time that there was no rea-
son why because a person had risen to
the rank of General he should be eX-
cluded from amnesty any more than
one who had failed to reach that rank.
| spoke on that point. / did not see
much reason for the $4,000 clause.
These are the only two points that |
remember to have spoken of at the
time. | afterward, however, told him
that | thought he was much nearer
right on the $780, 900 clause than [ was.
[ was present when the proclamation
was read in Cabinet, but my views
were not asked. / never gave any
opinion to the President that it would
be better at the time to issue proc
la,raoti1r1 of scIIcral StIuuCoty.
| frequently had to intercede for
General Lee and other paroled officers,
on the ground that their parole, so
long as they obeyed the laws of the
United States, protected them from ar
rest and trial. The President at that
time occupied exactly the same
grounds, viz: That they should be
tried and punished. He wanted to
know when the time would come that
they should be punished. / told him
not SO long as they oLeyed the laws
and complied with the stipulation.
That was the ground took. Itapplied
to every one who took the parole,
but that matter was not canvassed eX-
cept in case of some of the leaders; |
claimed that in surrendering their ar
mics and arms they had done what
they could not all of them have teen
compelled to do, as portion of them
could have escaped, but they surren-
dered in consideration of the fact that
they were to be exempt from trial SO long
as they confOrmed to the obligations
they had taken and they were enti-
tied TO that that is my view still; that
was my understanding Of an arrange
ment which | made voluntarily. Gen.
Lees army was the first to surren
der, and | believed that with such
terms all the rebel armies would sur
render, and we would thus avoid
bushWacking and a continuation of the
war in a way that we would make
very little progress with, having no
organized armies to meet. | cOnsid-
cred that like terms were given to all
the armies that surrendered after that.
| will here state that | am not quite
certain whether / am being tried or
who is being tried by the questions
asked. / have stated those views to
the President frequently, and, as have
said, he disagreed with me in those
views. He insisted on it that the lead
ers must be punished, and wanted to
know when the time would come that
those persons could be tried | told
him when they violated their parole.
| do not consider that that applied to
Jeff. Davis; he did not take any pa
role. 1t applied to no person who was
captured, only to those who were pa
rolled. The President cOntended that
General Lee should be tried for treas
on. | insisted on it that General Lee
would not have surrendered his army
and given up all their arms if he sup
posed that after surrendering he was
going to be tried for treason and hang
ed. | thought we got very good
equivalent for the lives of few lead
ers in getting all their arms and get
| ting themselves under control, bound
by their oaths to obey the laws. That
was the considerable which | insisted
upon we had rec2i ed. The President
afterward II II green with me on
/ that subie ] Aever claimed that the
parole &, : unese prisoners any politi-
cal right whatsoever. | thought that
that was matter entirely with Con-
/ gress, over which / had no control !;
that simply as General-in-chief, COM
manding the army, | had right to
stipulate for the surrender on terms
which protected their lives. This is
all claimed. The parole gave them
protection and exemption from punish