The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1881-07-08


1 wonld have most certainly made COM
mon property Of the mCst important
military movements IN advance OF their
execution. lie did not seem 10 have the
sllghestIlea
oF THE NECESSITY sECREsY.
"Mr. Davis says ia his book that
your answer 10 his Telegram whether
you would surrender Atlanta without
a fghr, was not ouly eyasiVe, but indi-
Gated the contingency OF the surrender
Of Atlanta, on the gsound that the Coy
ernor Of the State had not furnished,
as was expected, sufficient State troops
to defend the city while the army was
giving battle outside.
''THIs Is ABSURD,
And utterly without truth. | never
had any intention Of surrendering At
lanta withouta fight, as all my state
ments to Gen. Hood will show. When
| took command Of the Army after Col
um.Lia fell, all that was to be done was
to confer with Gen. Sherman upon
some military basis of peace that would
be equitable to both the %contending for
ces. Ii was not alone the surrender of
the amyt but the basis of peace that was
most important"
"Were you forced to meet Gen. Sber-
mau to treat for peace?"
about twenty-five miles west Of
Raleigh, N. c., we were alone IN II lit
tie room in wretched hOvel, when We
talked owe the basis of surrender. !
never shall forget that meeting. Be-
fore we proceeded TO the discussion Of
the terms Of equalization Gen. Sher-
man handed me q dispatch from Mr..
Stanton, then Secretary Of War, stating
that
MIR. LINCOLN HAD BEEN.ASsAsSINATED.
wal greatly shocked at the announce
ment, az was Gen. sherman, for 1t
seemed to MS both to bear with great
force upon important events that called
him and | together. Gen. Sherman at
that time told me that he had been call
ed to City Point not many days before
TO confer with Mr.. Lincoln upon the
terms Of surrender and peace, which
was agreed upon between Gen. Sher-
man aud myself at that time, were such
that Gen. Sherman understood Mr..
Lincoln had himself suggested to him.
The question how his death would ar-
feet them was discussed and both
thought as President johnson retained
Mr.. LincOln's Cabinet, that it would
carry out Mr.. Lincoln's plans for my
surrender, as stated by Mr.. Lincoln
himself"
MAHoNE On JEFF DAVIS.
The following interesting extracts
are fran Il Herald interview with Sen
ator Malone, who wasa rebel officer of
distinction, Oh JEFF Davis book:
"Did Gen. Lee or any other PROM
nent man in the ~COnfederacy agree
with Dir. Davis in his plan of retreat
ing to the mountains and prOlonging
The war by a running fght?"
''NOt that | can recall. know Gen.
Lea did not, andall appeared TO rccog-
nize the fact that when Richmond fell
the war would be ended. The state
mcnt that Gen. Lee never contemplated
Il surrender is not true. He has not
only thought Of surrender, but
PROPOSED IT TO MIR. DAVIS.
| had a conference with Gen. Lee in
his tent at AppomattOX Immediately af-
ter the surrender. He said to me dur
ing that interview that some time dur
ing the winter he had urged uEon Da-
Wis the desirability, if not the necessity,
of making terms with Gen. Grant. He
detailed to me some of the talk between
him and Davis, who had said that he
would not listen to making terms, but
insisted that he must fight to the last.
General Lee said that he explained 10
Davis the situation of the two armies
that Grants forces were greatly supe-
rior to his, as within nine miles of
its base of supplies, aud fully equipped
with transportation and fresh cavalry
and artillery horses. That even then
it would be impossible in the crippled
condition Of his transportation to re-
treat, and that in the spring when Gen.
Grant came down upon him,
A%sURRENDER WOULD BIZ INEVITABLE.
His idea was that duty called him to
make terms without further blood, he'd.
Mr.. Davis refused, and the result is
history. Yes, Gen. Lea wanted to end
the war when he saw that further figll-
ting was a useless sacrifice Of life.
That 1t was not ended was not his
fault, as his statement to me IN this
memorable interview show, | told MIN
that his officers
WOULD HAVE SUSTAINED HIM,
And so they would, for he had the con
fldence and heart of not only the Off
GERS aud men, but of the whole South
crn people, to a greater degree than :
any man and q thousand fold more
than Davis, who was neither n popular
nor d IaOdel President.
A Great Enterprise.
The Hop Bitters Manufacturing Com