The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-04-09
ULYSSES S. GRANT,
EContinued from I'd page.1


their individual paroles not to take up against
| tho United States until properly exchanged, and
| each company or regimental commander to sign
| like parole for the men Of their commando. The
arms, artillery and public property to be packed
and stacked and turned over to the officers APP
| pointed by me to receive them. This will not EN-.
brace the sde-arns Of the officers nor their private
| horses or baggage. This done, each officer and
man will be allowed to return to his home, not to
they observe their paroles and the laws in force
| Gen. II. e. LEE. Lieutenant General.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NoRTHERN VIRGINIA.
GENERAL: have received your letter of this date
containing the terms Of the surrender OF the Army
are substantially the same as those expressed in
your letter of the sth instant they are accepted
will proceed to designate the proper ocersto carry
the stpulations into effect. X. e. LEE
| Lieut. Gen. U. s. GRANT General.
THE TWO COMMANDERS.
Much criticism has been made of Gen. Grants
campaign in Virginia, especially that portion OF
| 1t from the commencement of the advance OF
the Army of the Potomac up to and including
Cold Harbor, but it must be remembered that
the Lieutenant General when he met Lee found
| himself confronted by the ableSt General on
the Confederate side, who commanded an army
to which he had become thoroughly accustomed
| by three years of constant intercourse and
| handling. This Army of Northern Virg inia
was composed of the very flower of the Confed-
crate forces, and both officers and men had the
utmost confidence in their commander. This
army had become tempered to the highest de-
gree by its long experience, and was ready to
| respond promptly and to its utmost to any de-
| mand made upon it. Added to the advantage
| of possessing force whose capabilities and
| temper he so thoroughly understood, Lee pos
| sessed perfect knowledge of the country in
which he was operating, every foot of it being
| familiar to him, and, as he was acting mainly
on the defensive, he could select the best posi-
lions which the topography of the country
allowed.
Gen. Grant, on the contrary, was entering
| upon a campaign in region of which he was
acquainted only by the maps made by his en-
gineers. While he had large number of vet
eran troops, his forces were augmented to
great extent by new levies and he was COM
PEELED to learn by experience, in some instances
very costly, the full ability of the enemy and
his resources. The battle of the Wilderness, as
has been said, was not intended by him, and
yet. in his theory of hammering continu-
ousy," the two days action inflicted loss upon
Lee which that officer could i'll afford. When
Gen. Grant moved from the Wilderness to
Spottsylvania he made one stride nearer Rich
mond, which was his objective point, and as he
hammered Lee he again made him feel the
weight of his blows Grant could afford to lose
two to Lees one, for Lee could not replace
those that he lost, while the ranks of the Union
from the North. Grants object as well as the
taking of Richmond, was, as has already been
stated, the destruction of Lees army, and every
time he struck blow the Confederate killed
and wounded contributed to that end. The
move from Spottsylvania to Cold Harbor
brought Grant again nearer Richmond, and
here alone, if anywhere. there was perhaps
needless loss of life in the Union ranks by the
assaults made upon the impregnable position of
the enemy.
In his flank movements Gen. Grant displayed
high order of military ability, as all were
well conceived and admirably executed, and all
his manuvers subsequent to Cold Harbor are
highly praised by those who have written npon
the subject. All the criticism made upon his
movements cannot alter the fact that Gen.
Grant succeeded in the objects he had in view
when he assumed command of the Union forces
as Internationally viz, the capture of
Richmond and the destruction of the Army of
Northern Virginia.
The surrender of Lee at Appomattox caused
the greatest joy throughout the North, and Gen.
Grant was bailed as under President Lincoln,
the savior of the Union. After the details of the
surrender had been completed Grant marched
his army into Richmond and took possession of
the Confederate Capital. Then came the sur
render of Johnston to Sherman, and the war
was over.
Then came
THE GRAND REVIEW
of the two great armies-that of the Com
mander in Chief which had conquered the
Army of Northern Virginia and compelled the
capitulation of the ablest of the rebel Generals
and that Of Sherman, which had captured At
lanta, and then made the famous march to the
sea-in Washington, and then the thousands of
Union soldiers were mustered out and returned
to their homes to again engage in the voca-
tions Of peace from which they were drawn to
defend the life of their country.
SECRETARY OF WAR.
After the war Gen. Grant fixed his head9uar-
tiers in Washington, and on July 25, 1866, was
commissioned General Of the United States
Army, the rank having been created for him.
On Aug. H. 1867, when President Johnson sus-
pended Secretary Stanton from Office, Gen.
Grant was made Secretary of War adj interim,
which position he held until Jan. IA, 1868,
when he returned it to Mr.. Stanton the Senate
having refused to sanction the removal. The
President wished Gen. Grant to retain the office
notwithstanding the action of Congress, but
Grant replied in letter, which contained the
following forcible sentences:
cannot but regard this whole matter from the
beginning TO the end, attempt to involve me
in the resistance of law for which you have hest
tated TO assume the responsibility in orders and
thus destroy my character before the country. |
am, in measure, confirmed in this conclusion by
your recent orders directing me to disobey orders
from the Secretary of War, my superior and your
authority to issue the orders am to disobey.
ELECTED PRESIDENT
Gen. Grant was unanimously nominated for
President of the United States at the National
Republican Convention held in Chicago, May
~, 1868, and Was elected in November follow
ing, he and Hon. Schuyler COlfax, the nominee
for Vice President, receiving 214 electoral
votes against 80 votes for Seymour and Blair,
the Democratic nominees Grant was inaugural
ed on the 4th of March, 1869. and signalized his
first term of office by completing the recon-
struction of the States lately in rebellion; by
proclamation that there should be no reduction
of wages paid to Government employees in con-
sequence of the reduction in the hours of labor
which Congress had enacted; the advocacy of
the annexation of Santo Domingo as Territory
of the United States; the signing of the treaty
growing out of the labOrs Of the Joint High
Commission" on the subject of the coast fish
cries, river navigation and Alabama claims, in
dispute between this country and Great Britain;
the suspension Of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus in South CorOlina, under the
provisions of the Ku- Klux BILL and the appoint
ment of a Civil Service Commission.
REFLECTED PRESIDENT.
Gen. Grant was renominated by accamation
at the National Republican Convention held i'm
Philadelphia, June 5, 1872, and Henry Wilson
was nominated Vice-President. They had rs