New-York tribune., 1869-04-14
LETTER FROM LIEUE.GEM SIBERIAN.
THE SURRENDER OF GEN. J. r. JoHNsro,.


THE SURRENDER OF GEN. J. X. JOHNSTON.
To the Editor OF The Tribune,
SIR: In your issue of yesterday is a notice of Mr.
Heay's picture, representing the interview between
Mr.. Lincoln Gen. Grant Admiral Porter. and myself
! which repeats substantially the account published
some time ago in Wilkes Spirit Of the Tines explana
tory OF that interview, and attribuing to Mr. Lin
coin himself the paternity Of the terms to Gen John
stOns army at Durham, in April, 1866.
l am glad You have called public attention to the
picture itself, because feel personal interest that
Mr. Healy should be appreciated as one of our very
best American artists. But friends here think
by silence may be construed as willing to throw of
on Mr. Lincoln the odum of those terms. II there
be any odum. which doubt, surely would not be
willing that the least show of it should 90 to Mr..
Lincolns memory which hold in too much ven
GRAFTON to be stained by anything done or said
by me. 1 understand that the substance of Mr.
Wilkess original article compiled by him
after railroad conversation with Admiral Porter,
who present at that interview as represented in
the picture, and who made note Of the conyersa-
ton Immediately after we separated. lie would DO
more likely to have preserved the exact words used
on the occasion, than who made no notes, then
since. cannot now pretend to recall moro
than the subjects touched upon by the several par
ties, and the impression left on my mind after we
parted. The interview was in March, nearly
month before the final catastrophe; and it was
my part of the plan of operations to
mOve my army, reinforced by Schofcld,
then at Goldsboro' N. c., to BurkesvilIe Va, when
Lee would have been forced to surrender in Rich.
mond. The true move left to him was hasty aban,
donment of Richmond, join his force to Johnston's,
and strike me in the open country. The only ques.
tion was could sustain this joint attack till Cen
Grant came up in pursuit. 1 was confident could:
but at the very moment of our conversation Gen.
Grant was moving Gen. Sheridan's heavy force Of
cavalry to his extreme left to prevent this very
tngency. Mr. Lincoln, in hearing speak of final
bloody BATTLE which, then thought would fall on me
near Raleigh did exclam more than once that blood
enough had already been shed and he hoped that the
war would end without any more. We spoke of what
to be done with Davis, other party leaders, and
the Rebel army; and he left under the impress
sion that all he asked of was, to disspate these
armies and get the soldiers back to their homes any
how. the quicker the better, leaving him free tc
apply the remedy and the restoration of Civil
Law He (BIr Lincoln) surely left upon
my mind the impression warranted by
Admiral Porter's account that he had long thought
of his course of action when the Rebel armies were
out of his way and chat he wanted to get civil gov
ernments reorganized at the South the quicker the
better and strictly conforming with general sys
TEN.
had been absent so long that I presumed, Of
course. that Congress had enacted all the laws
necessary to meet the event of peace long expected
and the near approach of which must then have been
seen by the most obtuse; and all aimed to do was
to remit the Rebel army surrendering to ma
to the conditions of tho laws of the country they
then existed. At the time Of JohnstOn's surrender
at Durham, drew up the terms with my own hand.
Breckenridge had nothing at all to do with them.
more than to discuss their effect and he knew they
only applied to the military; and he forthwith pro-
ceeded to make his escape from the country,
that / believe Mr.. Lincoln wished that Mr. Davis
should have succeeded in effecting, well all the
other leading Southern politicians against whom
public indignation always turned with feeling far
more intense than against Gems. Lee Johnston, aud
other purely military men.
Irepeat that according to my memory, Mr. Lincoln
did not expressly name any specific terms OF surren-
der but he was in that kindly and gentle frame of
mind that would have induced him to approve fully
what did, excepting probably he would have inter-
lined some notifications such as recognizing his
several proclamatons antecedent, well the laws
OF Congress, which would have been perfectly right
and acceptable to me and to all parties.
dislike to open this or any other old question. and
do il for the reason stated viz lest be construed
as throwing off on Mr.. Lincoln what his friends
think should be properly borne by me alone.
II in the original terms had, as certainly meant,
included the proclamatiOns of the President, they
would have covered the Slavery question and all the
real State questions which caused the war; and had
not Mr. Lincoln been assassnated at that very mo-
ment, believe those terms would have taken the
usual course of approval modification. absolute
disapproval. and been returned to me- like hundreds
of other official acts without the newspaper clamor
and unpleasant controversies so unkindly and un-
pleasantly thrust upon me at the time.
| am truly yours, W. T. SHERMAN, General
Washington, D. O., April IL, 1862