The examiner., 1885-06-13
GEN.. GRANTS HISTORY.
INTERESTING EXTRACTS FROM HIS
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

AL IO6IO1f1AFFTTs
 The Story of AppOmattox-Lee's Sur.
 render to the Victorious General
 Fact, Fiction and the Apple
 Tree of History-Shiloh.
 NEW YORK, June 9-Gen. Grants hook, 10 be published in 8 few months, will con tain the following reminiscence of Lees sur rander:
 q found Gen. Lee had been brought into OUT line and conducted to a house belong ing to a Mr. Mclean and was there with one of hi; staff officers waiting my arrival The nead of his column was occupying hill, a portion of which was apple orchard, across the little valley from the courthouse s eridan's forces were drawn up in line ot battle on the crest of the hill on the south side of the same valley.
 Before stating what took place between Gen Lee and myself I will give all there is of the narrative of Gen. Lee and the famous apple tree. Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed. The war of the rebellion was fruitful in the same way. The story of the apple tree is one of those fictions with a slight foundation of fact
 s'As 1 have said, there was an apple orchard on the side of the hill occupied by the Confederate forces. Running diagonally up the hill was wagon road, which at one point ran very near on the trees, so that the wheels on that side had cut off the roots of the tree which made little embankment. Gen Babcock reported to me that when he first met Gen. Lee he was sitting on this en- bankment with his feet in the road and lean ing against the tree. It was then that Gen. Lee was conducted into the house where l first met him. I had known Gen. Lee in the old army, and had served with him in the Mexican war, but did not suppose, owing to the difference in our ages and rank, that he would probably remember me; while would remember him more distinctly because he was the chief engineer on the staff of Gen. Scott in the Mexican war. When had left camp that morning had not expected the result so soon that then was taking place, and consequently was in rough garb and, believe, without sword, as l usually was when on horseback on the field, wearing soldiers blouse for coat, with shoulder straps of my rank to indicate who I was to the army.
 "When I went into the house found Gen. Lee. We greeted each other, and after shaking hands took our seats. What his feelings were do not know. Being man of much dignity and with an impenetrable face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come
 
 was too manly to show it. Whatever his feelings were they were entirely concealed from observation; but my own feelings, which had been quite apparent on the re- ceipt of his letter, were sad and depressed. felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of foe who had fought so long and gallantly and had suffered so much for a cause which I believed to be one of the worst for which a people ever fought and fhoT> Of, ha 1ooC Ct I do not question, however, the sincerity of the great mass of those who were opposed to Us.
 ''Gen. Lee was dressed in full uniform, en- tirely new, and wearing a sword of consider able value, very likely the sword that had been presented by the state of Virginia. At all events it was an entirely different sword from the one that would ordinarily be worp in the field. In my rough travelling suit, which was the uniform of private, with the straps of general, must have con- traSted very strangely with a man so hand somely dressed, six feet high and of faultless form But this was not a matter that l thought of until afterward.
 Gen. Lee and soon fell into a converse tion about old army times. He remarked that he remembered me very we'll in the old army, and told him, as a matter of course, remembered him perfectly. but owing to the difference in years-there being sixteen years difference in our ages-and our rank, thought it very likely had not attracted his attention sufficiently to be re- membered after such a long period. Our conversation grew so pleasant that I almost forgot the object of our meeting. Gen. Lee at that time, was accompanied by one of his staff, Col. Marshall 1 had all of my staff with me, a good portion of whom were in the room during the whole of the interview.
 ''In an article on the battle of Shiloh, which wrote for The Century Magazine, stated that Gen. A. McD. McCook, who commanded a division of Buelrs army, ex- pressed some unwillingness to pursue the enemy on Monday, April 2, because of the condition of his troops. Gen. Badeau, in his history, also makes the same statement on my authority. Out of justice to Gen. McCook and his command must say that they left a point twenty-two miles east of Savannah on the morning of the 9th. From the heavy rains of few days previous, and the passage of trains and artill cry, the roads were necessarily deep in mud, which made marching slow. The division had not only marched through this mud the day before, but it had been in the rain all night without rest. It was engaged in the battle of the second day and did as good service as its position allowed. In fact, an opportunity occurred for it to perform conspicuous act of gallantrY, which eicited the highest con- mendatlOn from division commanders in the army of the Tennessee. Gen.rShermaQ, in both his Memoirs and report makes mention of this fact Gen. McCook himself belonged to family which furnished many volun- teers to the army refer to these circum- stances with minuteness because did Gen. McCook injustice in my article in The Century, though not to the extent one would suppose from the public press. am not willing to do any one an injustice, and if convinced that have done one I am always willing to make the fullest admis- sion
 ''The Vicksburg newspapers which we re- ceived regularly (while before Vicksburg) through the courtesy of the rebel pickets, said prior to the 4th, in speaking of the Yankee boast that they would take dinner in Vicksburg that day, that the best receipt for cooking rabbit wasl 'ketch your rabbit first The paper at this time and for some time previous was printed on the plain side of wall paper. The last number was printed on the 4th and announced that we had caught our rabbit have no doubt that Pemberton commenced his correspon- dence on the 3d with two-fold purpose First to avoid an assault, which he knew