The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-05-27

tender; ne naU nOStS OF Enthusiastic
friends he had done us no wrong; and
yet such a man is pistoled in Washing
ton as if he were the greatest enemy of
the human race. We may boast of our
civilization, but there is surely some
thing wrong in the society which pro-
duces such villains as Booth, and such
crimes as Lincoln's assassination"
OPPOSED TO WAR.
To my question, " DO you think the
war is over ?'' he replied, very emphat-
ically: Yes, sir; and had it not been
for politicians it would never have COM
menced. was opposed to the war at
the beginning; l wept when / heard of
the bombardment of Fort Sumpter. l
sought retirement so that / might not
hear or see any of the leaders, the great
end and aim of whose craftsmanship
was to precipitate the havoc that subse-
quently swept our fields and cities. But
when Virginia, my native state, Sc
coded, there was only one course for me
to pursue, and that was to go with my
people,"
GENERAL GRANT.
General Lee next adverted to the
character of General Grant, of whom he
spoke at length in the most enthusiastic
terms. He ascribed to him the posses
sion of The grandest attributes of Amer
lean manhood, and said that he pos
sessed the military talent requisite for
the organization of armies. In the gen.
erous terms accorded the impoverished
South, of which he spoke several times,
Grant had won for himself imperishable
| I ,;eI, .a,1 Ga,,o,o1 + m
"to do simple justice to General Grant
when / say that his action toward my
army is without a parallel in the annals
of history. When my poor soldiers with
famished faces, having neither food nor
raiment, hungry and footsore, came be-
fore him in the hour of surrender, it
was then that General Grant immedi-
ately issued the humane order that ten
thousand rations should be given them.
And that was not all was giving or
ders to one of my subordinate officers,
who was making out the list of things
to be surrendered. / told him to include
the horses. AT that moment General
Grant, who seemed to be paying no at
tention to what was going on, quickly
rose from the camp stool and said
No, no, General Lee; no surrender of
the horses. Not one, not one. Keep
them all. Your poor people will need
them for the spring cropsp 1t was a
scene never to be forgotten" AS Lee
spoke he paced the room, and with tears
streaming down his cheeks repeated
two or three times this incident of the
surrender. | then asked him whom he
thought to be the greatest of federal
soldiers. Indeed, sir, Judged by Ma
pOleon's test of Who did all that p
General Grant is the greatest of living
American or European soldiers" Gen
eral Lee having mentioned the name OF
Napoleon, l ventured the opinion that
"There was much in Napoleon to
awaken admiration, but his humanity
was not to be compared with Grants.
Napoleon's chief object was glory, mere
glory. Grants action is distinguished
by his simplicity and strong sense OF
duty. Napoleon did not hesitate to sac.
rifce thousands of lives for his owr
personal qualification. General Grant
seems to be a man of self-abnegation
having no end in view but the safety Of
the cause he defends. The courage o.
Napoleon cannot maintain a minutes
comparison with the calm heroism ant
sublime magnanimity exhibited by
Grant toward my troops and myself
There is one thing about General Gran
which have noticed as peculiar to him
self. He never complains of advers,
and unmanageable circumstances, bu
seizes the materials as they are pre-
scented and masters them" | repeated
a saying of Grants which | heard in tn
campaign against Vicksburg. Some o
his friends asked him if he would no
run for president. Grant answered
| "The only office | desire, when thi
cruel war is over, is to be elected super
visor of Galena, so that l can improv
the streets near my house." eyes,
replied General Lee, smiling, " Gran
t resembles in this respect the Duke @
$ Wellington, and not Nelson, who, o
t the eve of the battle of Trafalgar, said
g Tomorrow will give me grave i
Westminster Abbey or peerage.
SHERMAN AND SHERIDAN.
The conversation then turned to Shel
a man. The southern papers had bee
, criticising very bitterly the mare
a through Georgia and the Caroinas, an
5 | asked General Lee his opinion of tn
& famous tanker. There is he sale
: g no character so uniformly bright a
i not to possess some dark stains; BIT
: while this observation is generally true
n charity should lead us to believe thu
! there are no hearts so darby vicious q
d not to be illumined by beams of virtue
/ To suppose Sherman an exception t
e this rule would be illiberal. The III
h bounded license which he allowed HI
n soldiers has greatly aggravated the hol
e rors of this dreadful war. But as
S strategist and commander Sherman Ia
displayed the highest order of ability
Throughout his recent campaign, whe
he had to pass through an unknow
country, to cross rivers, and supper
his troops, he has certainly displayed
: simpleness of purpose, a fertility of r.
II sources which will forever win for hil
= high place among the soldiers of hi
t. tory. He seems to be cool, yet arden
= cautious without being dilatory patier
y without being dispirited: and doubles
= his name, next to Grant, will remain a
y the greatest of the generals upon tn
" federal side in the history of the war.
: He also spoke of Sheridan as brilliar
= and dashing soldier.
h CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF
: THE SOUTH.
: To the question, " What, Genera
a 4 III Al r..l.