Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-07-10
THE GENERALS WIFE is NOW
THE GENERAL"

l
Grant and Hancock, although able
to command and hold in absolute
obedience hundreds of thousands oil
men, took back seats when they
were at home. Perhaps you do not
know how the unfriendly feeling
arose between Grant and Hancock.
1t is most interesting story, and
extends back before the war, when
Grant and Hancock were both
young men. Both were stationed at
st. Louis at the time / refer to, and
neither of them had been married a
great while. Mrs. Hancock came from
a Southern family. Her feelings
were all that way, while Mrs. Grant,
on the other hand, was intensely
Northern. At that time the Han
cocks moved in little better circles
than the Grants. TheIe never was
any good feeling between them, and
Mrs. Hancock snubbed Mrs. Grant,
fact which Mrs. Grant never for
gave.
After the war Grant came to
Washington with his family to es.
tablish his headquarters there.
They went to Wizards Hotel, but
the bills were too high for the Gen
erals purse, so he told his wife that
he would like to go to housekeeping,
and asked her at the same time to
select proper residence. Mrs. Grant
went out and finally decided that
Gen. Hancock and Mrs. Hancock
were occupying the house which she
would like. She went home and
told her husband aud he made out
the necessary order. You see Grant
Outranked Hancock aud was entitled
to the house according to precedent
and established usage. Mrs. Han.
cock, however, was not to be outdone
by Mrs. Grant, so she persuaded her
husband to write sharp note to
the General. Then came Mrs. Grants
turn. She made up her mind to
have that house or die, although
there were thousand other houses
just as good in the city, so she lnflu-
enced her husband to reply in kind
to Hancock. There was quite
correspondence, but Grant of course
came out ahead and got the house.
A few days afterward Grant and
Hancock met in the street. Grant
extended his hand as though moth
ing had happened, for he was not a
man to bear i'll will against another
for some petty foolish thing, but
Hancock deliberately turned his
back upon him.
When the assignments of diyi-
sions came later, Grant sent Han.
cock way up into Minnesota, where
he kept him six years. Meade was
given the Division of the Atlantic,
with authority to establish his head
quarters either at Philadelphia or
New York. AS Meade was a Penn
sylyanian he chose Philadelphia
After Mead's death Grant assigned
Hancock to the command OF the
Division of the Atlantic, with
authority to establish his headguar-
tiers either at Philadelphia or New
York, IN precisely the same language
as had been given to Meade. As
Hancock was also a Pennsylvania
the Philadelphia people supposed
that the headquarters would remain
where they were Mrs. Hancock,
however, remembered that the Phil
adelphians has given Meade a house
/ in that city, and that they had
neglected to similarly remember her
husband. She determined that the
headquarters should be transferred
to New York, and transferred they
were, and remain so unto this day,
Women have more to do with
national affairs than you have any
idQa ~ R0sfou Yrurefer
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