The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-06-03
LlNCOLN'S TERMS OF PEACE.
Interesting War Stories Told By the
Late Mr.. Garrett.
Andy .JOhDson's Determination to Arrest
General Robert E. Lee for Completely
In the Assassination - General
Grants Interference.
New YORK SUM

New York Sum-
When the late Mr.. Garrett, President OF
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,
wished for little rest or recreation he was
in the habit of causing his private car to be
attached 20 one OF the trains running west or
south, and with his wife and perhaps another
friend or two he made excursion. At
such times Mr.. Garrett left his Business be.
hind him, and, though deemed man not
given to much conversation, yet he then
often narrated some Of his experiences, es-
pecialy st the time OF the war and immeds
atGly subsequent thereto, in manner that
wss sbsorbiI ely interesting
Two years ago the writer met Mr.. Garrett
upon one OF these occasions. The converse
ton turned upon the South, its risks and its
Losses entailed by inaugurstirg civil war,
and as some OF Mr.. CARROTS "reminiscences
have special interest just st this time,
have written out from notes made soon after
the conversation what he said. In speaking
OF M. Lincoln, President Garrett said:
81 never travel through the South without
thinking what a dreadful climax for the
South President Lincoln's assassination was.
During the war often met Mr.. Lincoln on
business pertaining 10 our railroad, snd in
the latter part of his administration he used
sometimes to speak TO me of what ought to
follow the return of peace, which he saw
could not long be delayed. Had Mr.. Lin
| coin been able to carry out his policy, and
! think that the man who proved equal
| to that would have been equal to
| all that followed, there would have been real
| peGcs, snd an early revival OF prosperity in
/ IL N-kr 80 rt,@f fri
! tribubon that followed the murder of Lin
| coin; but, after oil, l think, IS look ii all
! over that il was In one sense the result of
| the short eightedness of some OF the leaders
| Of the ConfedeTacy. l mean that Ril that
happened after Lee surrendered, including
/ the assassination OF Lincoln, could have bsen
avoided had the Confe6sracy not failed to
| make terms a. the peace conference at Fort
Iess MoDrce. Every man of capacity in the
| South knew at the time of that conference
/ what the inevitable was to be, excepting Mr..
Davis. Now, / know it to be 8 fact, that
when Mr. Lincoln ives asked respecting the
tern OF peace that would be demanded by
the Federal Government, ne just tore sheet
| of paper in two and wrote across the top of
| it just these words:
ION the part of the United states:
"The Union preserved
Slavery abolished.
Then pointing to the blank space beneath
he said: There let them write their own
terms underneath that
Mr.. Garrett said that many of the South
EN- leaders felt that the Federal Government
could properly ask no less than that, and
that the Confederscy could ask no more for
iuelf. Peace ought, they felt, II have been
established then. General Lee, with whom
Mr.. Garrett was on terms of special Intimacy
after the war, grieYed greatly because the
peace conference was failure, tor he coaid
only lcok forward to useless shedding of
| ffcr hot n orf Mr
ret, "Gensral Lee, like General Joe John
ston. realizsd, as a military man, that after
the tall of Atlanta the end OF the Conted-
e-scy was near at hand. Like Johnston and
every other great General IN the South, Lse
understood that with the defeat at Gettys-
burg and the surrender of Vicksburg, the
only military policy left for the South was
that of defence long enough to obtain terms
of peace that would not be humiliating.
With the fall of Atlanta, ii was plain to
Lee that the terms of peace would be just
what the Federal Government chose
10 make them, and as mill
tary man, General Lee told me that he
oiieD, though unoffcislly, protested to the
civil authorities that further prolOnging OF
tie war meant only unnecessary loss of life
and destruction of property. His pleas, how
ever, were wholly without avail Mr.. Davis
sesmed to be convinced that the Coniedsracy
would succeed in establishing itself. There
was much of the highest Importance OF tie
inner history OF the last year OF the reb5llion
that he's been lost By reason OF General Lse's
failure to write history. In the very last
interview / had with Lee he was q guest at
my house in Baltimore. He had been telling
me some of that inner history. shaving. in
his view, that the war had been unnecss'
sarily PROLONGED. / told hun that he ought
not to allow those facts 10 be lost to history
and that he ought at once to begin the prep
aIstion OF an account OF the war from bis
80 oh haf alofo
and should, without hesitation, tell the whole
truth. He told o that he fully intended to
write such book, but he thought that il was
too soon then to do 80. He had, he said,
much valuable matter, many documents
that would throw light, taken in connection
with other facts that he personally knew, bat
which did not appear OF record, on the last
year of the war. 1 urged him not to lose g
moment, but to begin the work at once, and
before he left me he promised to get about ID
soon as possible. 1t was not long alter that
he was stricken with bis last illness.
Il don't think" continued Mr.. Garrett,
that it was ever known how near Lee came
to being arrested as one of the conserators
10 the plot to sssassinate President Lincoln
and his Cabinet. / know that Andy john
SOD, in some unaccountable way got the idea
in his head that Lee was in that conspiracy.
Pomebody had told johnson something,
have some reasons for believing, that led
| him to think so. Johnson wanted Lee ar
IesIed at once, and know that he proposed
il Lee was found guilty to have him be-
headed. Johnson told me that Lee coaldn't
be hanged, shouldn't be shot, aud he would
: order him behesded. A warm friend Of
, mine and of Mr.. Johnsou's, who knew
what was going on, came to me in great
haste, knowing that bad long been par
t sonal friend OF General Lees, and was also {
warm friend of General Grant. This gentle
, man said that Lee was in great danger OF ar
. rest, and that in the then excited state OF the
country it was hard to say what might hap
pen. / at once telegraphed to Genera
Grant to meet me, aud started for Washing
3 ton. met General Grant few moments
5 after my arrival there. 1 told him wha'
3 was in JohDson's mind. 1 have seen men
black with anger. but | never saw suct
anger as Giant then showed. He was no
3 passionate, bat he was terribly angry. Sac
/. he: This is Observation-Disclosures! / will
throw up my commission If there is th
8 slightest attempt to do it, and IL there be to
4 shadow OF a circumstance to justify even thi
: iaintest suspicion against Lee will throw
nm NV commission too. It's as imp0sslb