The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1869-04-22
Letter from Lieut.. Genera
Sherman.

Letter from Lieut.. Genera
Sherman.
THE SURRENDER OF GEN. J. E. JOHN
sToN.
Tot Editor of the Tribune:
SIa:--ln your issue of yesterday
is notice Of Mr.. Hcaly's picture,
representing the interview between
Mr.. Lincoln, Gen. Grant, Admiral
Porter, and myself, which repeats
substantially tho account published
some timo ago in Wilkes Spirit Of the
Times, explanatory of that interview,
and attributing to Mr.. Lincoln him
self the paternity of the terms to
Gen. Johnston's army at Durham, IN
April 1865.
| am gladyou have called public
attention to the picture itself, be-
cause l feel a personal interest that
Mr.. Healy should be appreciated as
one OF our very best American artists.
But some friends here think by 81.
lence l may be construed as willing
to throw off on Mr.. Lincoln the
odium of those terms. If there be
any odium, which / doubt, surely
would not be willing that the least
show oft should go to Mr.. Lincoln's
memory, which I hold in too much
.veneration to be stained by anything
done or said by me. | understand
that the substance of Mr. Wilkes or
iginal article was compiled by him af.
ter railroad conversation with Ad-
miral Porter, who was prcsent at that
interview as represented in the pic
ture, and who made note of the
conversation Immediately after we
separated. would be more likely
to have preserved the exact words
used on the occasion, than l who
made no notes, then or since. l can.
not now even pretend to recall more
than the subjects touched upon by
the several parties, and the impress
sion 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 cd
erations tomove my army reinforced
by Schofeld, at Goldsboro' N. c., to
Burkesville, Va, when Lee would
have been forced to surrender in
Richmond. The true move left to
him was hasty abandonment of
Richmond, join his forces to John
ston's, and strike me in the open
country. The only question was !;
could sustain the joint attack till
Gen. Grant came up in pursuit? l
was confident could but at the
very moment Of our conversation,
Gen. Grant was moving Gen. Sheri-
dams heavy force of cavalry to his
extreme left to prevent this very con.
tingency. Mr.. Lincoln, in hearing
us speak Of final bloody battle,
which l then thought would fall on
me near Raleigh, did exclaim more
than once, that blood enough had al
ready been shed, and he hoped that
the war would end without any more.
We spoke OF what was to be done
with Davis, other party leaders, and
the Rebel army; and he left me un-
der the impression that all he asked
Of US was to dissipate these armies,
and get the soldiers back to their
homes anyhow, the quicker the bet
ter, leaving him free to apply the
remedy, and the restoration of the
Civil Law. He (Mr. Lincoln) surely
left upon my mind the impression
warranted by Admiral Porter's &C
count, that he had long thought of
his course Of action when the Rebel
armies were out OF his way, and that
he wanted to get civil governments
reorganized at the South, the quicker
the better, and strictly conforming
with our general system.
had been absent so long that l
presumed, Of course, that Congress
had enacted all the laws necessary
] to meet tho ovvnUp vf r>~.., 80 l~..s
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 sur
rendering to me to the conditions of
the laws of the country as they then
existed. At the time of Johnston's
surrender at Durham, drew up the
terms with my own hand. Breckin-
ridge had nothing at all to do with
them, more thai to discuss their eff
feet, and he knew they only applied
to the military and he forthwith pro.
ceeded to make his escape from the
country, o course that l believe Mr..
Lincoln wished that Mr.. Davis should
have succeeded IN effecting, as we'll
as all tho other leading Southern
politicians, against whom public in
dignation always turned with a feel
ing far moro intense than against
Gen. Lee, Johnston, and other pure.
~ military men.
l repeat that, according to my
memory, Mr.. Lincoln did not ex
pressly name any specific terms of
surrender, but he was in that kindly
and gentle frame of mind that would
have induced him to approve fully
what I did, excepting probably he
would have interlined some moditi-
cations, such as recognizing his sew
eral proclamations antecedent, as
well as the laws of Congress, which
would have been perfectly right und
acceptable to me an d to all parties.
dislike to open this or any other
old question, and do it 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.
lin the original terms l had, as
certainly meant, included the procla-
nations of the President, they would
have covered the Slavery question
and all the real State questions which
caused the war and had not Mr.. Lin
coin been assassinated at that very
moment, I believe those "terms"
would have taken the usual course
Of approval, modification, or absolute
disapproval, and been returned to
me, ike hundreds Of other official
acts, without the newspaper clamor
and unpleasant controversies so un-
kindly and unpleasantly thrust upon
me at the time.
lam truly yours,
w. T. SHERMAN. General.
Washington, d. G. April II, 1869.