The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-01-30
GRANTS TALK.
Anecdotes of Lincoln. and Ho. the
Statesman Impressed the General

a Graht about those who took Il bigh MAC
III Inc civil administration of the wn
ana especially about Lincoln. OF ri,
d coin The general always speaks with re,
"a ereDce AMI esteefn II never saw IN
< president, said the general, until h
"a gave me my commission as lieutenan
e general. Afterwards ! saw him oft4I
either in Washington or at head0nar,t.rs
a. Lincoln, may almost say, spent the las
"a day oil his life with me. I often rccal
Inose days lie came down to Cit,
- Folnt IN the last month of the war. AM
{ was with me all the time lie lived q,
5 adispatch boat in the river, but was al
f ways around headquarters. lie was
hne hnrSenan, and rode nay horse Gin
clhnaiI- We visited the different camp,
anu did all could to interest him
!, ne was very anxious about the war clos
o ing, was afraid We could not stand a ne,x
campaign. and wanted Ia be around
when me crash came have no doubt
lhat Lincoln Will De the conspicuous
ugure OIL the war, one of the great figures
vi history lie was Il great man. a very
great man The more / saw of him. the
more this impressed me. He was in.
Goniesiaoly the greatest man 1 ever knew.
mat marked him especially was his
sincerity, his Kindness, his clear insight
into affairs. Under all this he had n
firm will and clear policy PronIa
used to say that Seward swayed him. or
Chase, or Stanton. This was a mistake.
ne might appear 10 go Stewards way
one day, ana Stanton's another but ali
The tlme he was going his own course
ana they with him 1t was that GENTLE
hrmness In carrying out his own will
~lhout apparent force or friction, that
loiLlieu inc OASIS OF his character He
| was u wonderful talker and a teller of
/ Il
! er. nave heard of them but I never
heard Lincoln use I'm improper word or
| phrase have sometimes, when hear
MS memory called in question, tried TO
recall such thing but cannot I al.
ways found him pre-eminentlv.a clean
I minded man. | regard these stories as
eAagSefatiohs- Llncoln'S power of illus
iralion, his humOr, was inexhaustible
ne Hau STORY or an illustration for cy
erythIng. l remember, as an instance
When stephens, of Georgia, c;tm- on the
zen Davis peace commission to CITY
I"lhi stephens did not weigh more
imam eighty pounds, and he wore an over.
coat tAat made him look like a man of
TWO hundred pounds. As Lincoln and
came Stephens took OFF his coat. Lin
com sad, after he had gone, 4 saw.
Grant dId you notice that coat Aleck
stephens Woreg' l said yes. Did Won
eyer see SAID Lincoln, such a small ear |
Oh corn IN so big shuckY These illus-
tratlons were always occurring in his |
conversation. ans
The darkest day of my life" said the |
general, was the day when | heard of
Lincoln S assassination. | did not know
what II meant. Here was the rebellion
put down in the field and starting mn in
the cutters; we had found it as war
now we had to fight it as assassination
Lincoln was killed on the evening of the
I4th OF April. Lee surrendered on the
2th OF April arrived in Washington
on the 18th. | was busy Sendinr ont or
ders to stop recruiting, the purchase of
supplies, and to muster out the army.
Lincoln had promised to go 10 the thea
iic, anu wanted me to 90 with him.
" ME was with the president. a note
came from Mrs. Grant, saving she must
leave Washington that night. She want
ca to go to Burlington To see our chill
ureh; some incident of Il tritiing M
lure ilad made her resolve to leave that ;
evening l was glad to have the note.
Us aid not want To go To the theatcr ,
% L made my excuse 10 Lincoln I
and at the proper hour we storicJ :
Tor The train. As we were driving I
along Pennsylvania avenue. a ,
horseman drove past us on gallon 8
ana back again around our carriage, q
looking into it, Mrs Grant said sThEra 9
. the man who sat near us at lunch To- g
lay, with some other men, and tried to q
lFerhear our conversation. He was so 1
,uue lh"t we LETT the dining-room. Here il
ne Is now riding after us | thourht IL | n
vas only curiosity, but learned aftcrward
nat the lorseman was Booth. 1t seems
was 10 have been attacked and Mrs
Irants sudden resolve to leave derano
d the plan \ few DAYS later | received =,
IN anonymous letter from man. saving =
he had been detailed TO kill me, that he Il
ODE on my train as far as IIavre de :
trace ana as my car was locked he ~
QUO not get IN. He thanked God he N
lad tailed. l remember the conductor n
Dcked our car, but how true the letter II
'as cannot say. I learned of the as 4
lsslnallon as / was passing through ~
Philadelphia. | turned around. took n +
pecial train, and came on to Washing ~,
IN. 1t was the gloomiest day of nv NJ
A question WAS asked as to whether III
!ncoln's presence was in connection w
ith the army direction. Not at ALL" it
nd the general. Il merely told him in
NAT had done, not what | meant TO o.
0. was then making the movement M
the left, which ended in The surrender 2e
Lee. When l returned to Washing tb
m, Lincoln said, General, l half suS. in
ected that movement of yours would ed
Ill the business, and wanted to ask Won. an
IL l dld not like to- OF course. | II
'uld not have told him, if lie had asked Gu
e, because the one thing Il general in in
,hmand OF an army docs not know, is M
MAI the result of Il battle is until it is tn
ught. l never would have risked NV or,
putatlon with Mr.. Lincoln by any such of
ophecies. As matter of fact. how. wi
or. my mind l. /
what the effect of the movement br,
Ould be- | was only waiting for Sheri- of
N to finish his raid around Lee to ge,
axe 1t. When Sheridan arrived of
I'm that raid, and came to nv a 1
arters, L asked HIM to take walk. COS
we were walking, / took out his or of
rs and gave them to him. They were to
iers to move ON the left and attack OO(
e. II the movement succeeded he thi
IS to advance. If it failed, he was TO rer
IKE his way into North Carolina and i'm
n Sherman. When Sheridan read on,
IS part, he was, as l saw, disappointed. of
5 countenance fell. Hehad lust made der
ong march, severe march, and now in
idea of another march into North for
rollna would dlsconcert any com cat
inder-evcn Sheridan. He however, ing
q nothing l said: Sheridan, al st.
'ugh L have provided for your retreat bee
"a Gamma III lilt event OF ! ted
iurc, nave no idea that you will fail, 600
iue' ihdl you VIII 20 to Carolina. | catl
an an W emu ms business right here ing
srIuan'S eyes lit up, and he said, with an ,
husIasm, That's the talk. Let us CON
the business here But of course |
to think of the loyal north, and if
failed IN striking Lee, it would have
shed the north for Sheridan to 90 to -
Carolinas- The movement, however any
ceeded, and my next news from pr0,
rldan was the battle of Five Forks NAL
OF the finest battles in the war. dav
| am always grateful" said the gen dres
/, that Mr.. Lincoln spent the last, or n
ost the last days of his life with me. cIotl
coming was almost an accident. advi
OF my people said one day WHY men
t you ask the president to come trou
N and visit your | answered that the
president was in command of the over
v ana could come when he wished inc
'as then limited that the reason he did bi5d
come was that there had been so mos
IA talk about his interference with mn :,
erals in the field that he felt delicate cres,
at appearing AT headquarters. M and
!, 'apheu Mt. Lincoln that il cry /
Ia give me the greatest pleasure to dnre
llm, and 10 have him see the army. dare
came at once. He was really most two
ous to see the army, and be with it era
: 8 i III az struggle 1t was an immense goes
4 TO him 10 be away from Washing 1erb
lie remained at my HEADQUARTERS ands
Richmond was taken He entered dav i
''A'i'O' anu went after Lee" throI
Til
is related of well known merchant wear
neighboring city that, after making hlhe'
will and leaving large property to wear
stee for his son, he called the yonng tney
IN, and after reading the will 10 aleh
,.o,r-..,. - 49, "ltSlatiou feel r