Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-02-12
Very respectfully yours,
ANDREW JOHN son .

further misunderstanding, To make the sim
pl c recital of facts.
Very respectfully yours,
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Gen. Grants response co this c0mmunica-
ton cannot we'll be abridged, and we give it
entire below
GENERAL GRANT TO THE PRESIDENT.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE {. S,
WASHINGTON. d. C.. Feb. >. 1865.
Io HIS Etcctleqcv Andrelc Johnson. President
of The United States
SiR i have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt Of your communication Of the
3l,t ulti1n0, in answer to mine Of the 2Sth
ultim0 After careful reading and com
parison Of it with the article in the National
Inteihgencer OF the 18th ultimo, the article
over the initials =. j B. $ in the New
York World Of the 9th ultmo., purporting
t. be based upon your statement and that of
the members Of the Cabinet therein named,
| find it only t. he bat reiteratioE, only
somewhat more in detail, of the many and
gross misrepresentation contained in these
articles, ana which my statement Of facts set
forth in my letter OF the 2sth ultlmO., was
intended t. correct and here reassert the
correctness of my statements in that letter
anything in yours in reply TO 1t to the con-
trary notwithstanding. | confess my sur
prise that the Cabinet officers referred to
should greatly mIsapprehcnd the facts in
the matter of adtaisslO alIeged 10 have pecu
made by use ut the Cabinet meeting on the
18th u!t., to suffer their names to be made
the basis OF the charges in the newspaper ar
tIcle referred to, or agree to the accuracy. as
YOU affirm they do, of your account of what
occurred at that meeting. You know that
we parted on Saturday, the 18th ult.. with
out any promise on my part, either expressed
or implied. to the effect that | would hold
on to the Office of Secretary Of War al interim
against the action Of the Senate. or. declin-
ing to 10 so myself, would surrender it to
vou before such action was had. or that |
would see You again, ut any fixed time, on
the subject. The performance Of the prom
ises alleged to have been made by me would
have involved resistance Of the law. and an
inconsistency with the whole history OF my
connection with the suspension of Mr.. Stan
ton From our conversation and my written
protest of August /. 1867, against the re-
moval Of Mr.. Stanton, you must have known
that my greatest objection to his removal
the fear that some one would be appoint
ed in his stead who would, by opposition to
the laws relating to the restoration Of the
southern states TO their proper relations to
the government. embarrass the army in the
performance of the duties especially imposed
upon it by the laws. and that it was to pre-
vent such an appointment that | accepted the
appointment of Secretary of War dd interim
land not for the purpose Of enabling you to
get rid of Mir. Stanton by my holding
it from him in opposition to the law, or, not
doing so myself, surrender to one who, as
the statement and assumptions in your COM
muncation plainly indicate, was sought ;
and it was to avoid this doubt, as well as to
relieve you from the personal embarrassment
in which Mr.. Stanton 5 reinstatement would
place you that | urged the appointment of
Governor Cox, believing that it would be
agreeable to you and also to Mr.. Stanton,
satisfied that it was the good of tie country,
and not the office, the latter desired. On the
18th ultimo, in the presence of General Sher-
man, | stated TO you that | thought Mr.
Stanton would resign, but did not say | would
advise him to do so. On the 18th did AGREE
with General Sherman to 20 and advise him
to that course, and on the 18th had an in
me to the conclusion that any advice to him
of this kind would be useless. and so in
formed General sherman. Before consented
! 70 advise Mr.. Stanton tn res ign, [ under
stood from him, in a conversation on the
subject, Immediately after his reinstatement.
that it was his opinion that the act of Con
gress entitled . An act temporarily to sunplv
Ndcducics IN tHe Executive department in
certain cases" approved February 20. 1868,
was repealed by subsequent legislation.
which materially influenced his action Pre-
Yious to this time had no doubt that the
law OF 1868 was still in force, and notwith-
standing nay action. a fuller examination of
the law leaves a question in my mind whether
it is or is not repealed. This being the case.
| could not now advise his resignation, lest
the same danger | apprehend from his first
removal might follow. The course YOU have
understood | agreed TO pursue was IN viola
ton of the law, and that without orders from
you, while the course | will pursue, and
which | never doubted you fully understood
was in accordance with law and not in DISC
bedience to any orders of my superior And
now, Mr.. President, where my honor as a
soldier, and integrity as Il man have been SO
violently assailed, pardon me for saving that
can but regard this whole matter from be
ginning to end as an attempt TO involve me
in the resistance of law, for which YOU hesi-
tated to assume the responsibility, in order
thus to destroy my character before the coun-
try. | am, in a measure, confirmed in this
conclusion by your recent orders directing
me to disobey orders from the Secretary Of
War. my superior, and your subordinate.
without having countermanded this authori
tv | am to disobey. With assurance, Mr..
President, that nothing less than vindica
ton Of my personal honor and character
could have induced this correspondence on
my part, have the honor to be, very res
pectfuly, your obcdient servant,
U. 5. GRANT, General.