Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-10-06
Grant on Hancock.

| puDlISneS tEC lClloTiDg lnteTViGT With Generel
Grant respecting the interview with Dr. G. N.
Fowler. published yesterday: "Ite reported
interview, said General Grant Though it is
IN most respects csrreo!, contains a'so many
mistakes SD makes ne say thiDgs il a way
not intended aud uses some language that
did not employ. The facts are these: Dr.. FoS
Ter called ct my house 10 Company Hith Dir.
Crapb to pay his respects, AID the CONVERSE
ton turned upon politics. talked freely with
cut sGspectiog for q moment that the colVerea.
ton vas ever to bo published. Some timo after
| DR.. Fowler, on Hhcs3 mind the conversation
had made somo impression. wrote to me saying
ho desired to publish it if did not otject. |
replied, saying l would ratbtr this would not
be done until ono Of our speakers who had the
sano facts, and waS verifying them from the files
Of tho war department. had made them public;
that as he was preparing tho facts carefully il
would hardly be fer to anticipate him. That
might imply permission to DR.. Fowler to pub
lish his report Ct tho conversation when the
speaker alluded TO lad msdo tho speech.
have rot noticad that he hos yet made it, but
ho probably has. or Df. Fowler would not have
published this article"
Observation-Disclosures is Tho statement Of DR..
| Fowler INCORRECT. Gentral!
| Gen. Gran.-Itis inaccurate in many respects.
Horcpor's mo ior iUstancs as follow: Down to
1861 be (tlaDcock) seemed like man ambitious
to do his duty as 90 officer, bus 10 1864, when
Mcclellan Was nominated, Hancock received
ooe vote. and that greatly excited ard charged
him. lie YES So delighted that he smiled oil
over. 1t c;tz,d him. B3ioro that sc got %
vel; after that he would hardly speak TO me.
1 | "a ~ h., lon soE
aud he vas working fer The presidency. Per-
haps Ic thought did not praise him cncuzh;
but any way be hardly snoke TO me-" | sid
substantially that up TO 1864 didn't SUPPOSE
Hancock had thought Of tho rresiieuoy, but
ct the democratic convention Of het year be
got vote, not ouc vote, Cs Dr.. Fowler has
il whioh makes me- imply that ho gcs tho sup
port cf but cc0 delegate. and from thu. time be
las had the pres initial bao in bis bonnet -
When met hin ef.crwara ti5 emiio
was So broad that ycu c,uld almost see it
Gbpu kii back Was turned. do not know that
| said he thought did 20! praise him enough,
| tbouoh possibly thtt mag be The fact. Hancock
| is man who likes to hear hmshif Erniacd and
sometimes c1mplgiaed that ha waa not compli.
mootcl highly enough.
Reporter about bis preIlGli,ns?
! General Grant, slated to Di. Fowler that
| Hancock H9s promoted 10 10 - hi;geGier and
m: or genctsl 10 tho regular army On ,sy
Recommendation. | recommended him aDd
| Sheridan at the Same time liacccck's ap
poatmeut was made OK oGc", but SheIidan's
was delayed fer timc. Gao Ct ll0rcsok's
prnmoiincs WIS made after The War, and tbiak
it Was atte7 tie Chc!go convention that no vas
maGo b,i9atisr. Wien reconmtr ded him
Tor major general no had been very c>!d towald
! krf,r IN maj | 1
never knew what WAS tho matter, unless he
ttought bad net cc3snltcd him 10 msking bis
assignments to duty When promoted he wrote
me manly letter, in which be said substantially
| TINT he bglicvtd he was entirely Indebted 10
me for it, though DO Esd thought | vas DOT
willing to 20 him juslic'. This convinced him
tina, no had been mistaken To was naan O
MI Or general when | was nsdn central. DR..
| Fowler dOas not get hold oil the points about
order No. iDcUec:'y. BY tho verious rcc2n-
slructon ncts Guneress Tor consistency . sake,
supposed, a,ripped no Of all authority over the
district commanders 10 their civil duties except
| 10 the matter Of the appointment and removal
of civil officers III the reconstructed States. As
| Was seti>r M authority was superior 10
| others. d.. Fowler quotes nc as Sayirg That
| the Louisiana Legislature psS'e law author.
| iz;pg the issue OF SI0O0.000 OF lcVco bonds.
This u,sy have said. but it l did i. vas mis-
tako, tho amount being $4,000 900. 10 regard
| to the statement also that tho LouisaDa oarn-
missioreis agreed to pay Rsverdy johnson ond
otder lawyers $3.50 600. | stalled what ], urdcr
stood and not lsoi within my oSn personal
Knowledge. rhe next paragraph Of Dr. Few
lsl's report is wide CT the mark. | an mado 10
cay "ao Dresden. Johnson) c,lied Hancock 20
Washington to instruct him in dcieaioG tho
laws Of Congress-" l of oGu;ao do not know
why Johnson called Hat cock. | c,ud only eur
mise. koow Hancock came. A mistake also
| occurs 10 tie following paragraph, wherein |
ON msds to say "be (Harcock) went South end
removed the Governor and commissioners that
General Sheridan hid appointed l Instantly
autographed him uCt 10 pppolnt TO tthc3 any
Nan who had been removed, and TO give bis
| rcssons By mail Tor removing the mon. When |
Hsrcsck went South published sp order pro-
Eibilirg him from appointing anybody 10 ofhco |
who ND been removed by his Predecessor |
Tits, suppose. ho did not like, bu: my object
was 10 prevent the possibility Of the men beiog !
put in psco WHO had arranged for the ncgoia |
liJn CT those bonds. even tor one hour. had |
Intended 10 tell llat cock eli sbou! it as ! had |
johnson, tut saeicg during my interview with |
him that he was not disposed to listen 10 my |
advice did not tell bin. After be had been |
down South some time be made pretty cloan |
sweep Of tho cffioers who lad boon appointed |
by General Sheridan. then tcleeraphed to
him to suspend bis orders Of removal and re-
port to me by ms There Vas an order ex-
issinp, if | remember Alright, prohibiting tho
use Of the telegraph when the msil could be
employed. He replied in Ve;y long dispatch,
costing, if remember correctly, abou. $3.50.
I informed him was not satisfied, tts if he had
any further rossons TO communicate to do so By
mail. He sgsin replied by telegraph but gsvo
nothing new, saying simply ths. his usefulness
would DO destroyed if no was not left flc, to act
and that unets ne YVES left free TO act ho should
ask to be relieved. I order him TO revoke his
order making removals snd to mako no more.
He then asked to be relieved aud relieved him.
always regarded his nero declaration in order
No. a that the military shoGld DO subordinate
10 the civil power IS something that everybody
accepted and nobody disputed. As officers we
were sworn 10 obey our superiors Congress
was our superior and had made the laws, and
theae laws made the military subordinate. We
Yere acting under Thorn, but his order made tho
10 ,ho, AZ n hio |