The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-12-06
COLONEL MOSBY.
His Recollections of the Days That
Followed tho Civil War.
HIS RELATIONS WITH GEN. GRANT.
Refused a Parole by Stanton Because
He Was a 'Guerilla"--An Interest
ing Chapter of "reminiscences by the
e1.confcderate Leader.

house, in company Win senator IoIH
F. Lewis. OF Virginia. At that time my
home was in Warreuton, Va, and / fire.
ouently visited Washington. l had
never before been in the white house.
When walked with my son into the
room where Grant was sitting, his
presence inspired something of the awe
that Roman provincial must have felt
when first entering the palace OF the
Caesars. His manner soon relieved me
of embarrassment and restored my sell
confidence. lie Immediately began
telling me how near l came to captur-
inr him on the train when he went up
to take command OF the army OF the
Potomac. laughed and said: well,
Mr.. President, ii l had caught you
things might have been little differ
ent now. You might have been calling
on me-" He answered.: Eyes, perhaps
So" During Grants second term was
frequently at the white house. never
failed to see him but once. He was
then in the hands OF dentist. He APP
pointed a good many OF my friends IN
Virginia to office Just to obtiSe me. and
he never once asked question about
their politics. Some OF them had voted
against him.
the war that would wound the most
sensitive southern man. he once re-
marked to me that il he had been
southern man he would have been
southern soldier. OF his old army COM
rades who took the confederate side he
always spoke in tho most atIectionate
way. :,
once said 10 me: jackson was the most
conscientious human being ever knew.
II YOU could have persuaded him that 1t
Was his duty to put his head into 4 can
mons mouth and have it blown oH-and
il would not have been hard 10 convince
bim~he would have done it without
hesitation" ~.
He once appointed worthless Vir.
giniau to office, and expressed sur
prise that he should have done It. lie
said that he appointed the fellow oe-
cause he had represented himself as
brother Of q Confederate general who
was killed in the war, and who was his
instructor at West Point. told him
that it was not true, and that the man
had lust been released from the chain
gang for whipping his wife, Grant
laughed heartily at the TICK and re-
yoked the appointment
Dan Voorhees, once said TO me that
the virtues that made Grant lovabIe in
private life were the source OF the great
mistakes->tfe made as a public man.
And this was very true. His very
failinps leaned to virtues side" No
man had a more trying place to fill. He
found the south in a state OF anarchy,
the whole country seething with the
nassion of war. "Steep and craggy,
saws Emerson, "are the paths OF the
on the night before he left Washing.
Ton on his tour around the world
called to bid him goodbye. At parting
/ said: General, l hope to see you
President again" He was silent.
We next met at Hong Kong. He was
then a private citizen, and by curious
turn Of the wheel OF fortune was rep
resenting the United States. When tire
SIGNAL gun was fired that announced
that his steamer was in sight went out
in boat to meet him in company with
an old Virginiau, who, having gone 10
Hong Kong before the war, was stu
unreconstructed and was never really
convinced that the war was over until
he saw me shake hands with Grant.
He and Mrs. Grant were standing on
deck at the head OF the gangway as |
walked up. l said:
general, want to introduce to you
the last rebel, DR.. Loo head, OF Peters
burg, Va. He says he is willing to
surrender to the man that General Lee
surrendered to-" Mrs. Grant spoke
mn: ~ bespeak liberal terms for the
doctor" Grant said: "Well, doctor, l
now parole you, and hope you may be
q loyal citizen"
he spent some days in Hong Kong as
the guest of the governor, Sir John
Pone Hennessey, and made q trip up
the river to Canton. The Chinese could
not be made to believe that he was not
still q great potentate.
One morning at breakfast at the gov
eminent house he was describing Pales-
tine. and said: 1.-THE road from Joppa
TO Jerusalem is. believe, the worst in
the world; certainly the worst l ever
travelled"
opposite side of the table, and re-
marked:
general, think you have travelled
one rougher rode than that"
He asked me where. replied:
"From the Rapidnn to Richmond.
He laughed and said: "Well, l be-
lieve there were more distractions on
that road"
guese colony, aboutforty miles fromHong
KONG. By invitation Of the governor,
/ went with him on his steam launch
10 the United States man-of-war Ashue-
lot, that carried Grant and his party up
the China coast. Just as We started to
return to the shore. the Ashuelot be-
gan firing a royal salute OF twenty-one
guns in honor OF the governor as rep
resentative OF the crown, The launch
stood still until it was through. The
general and Mrs. Grant remained all
the time on the deck OF the man'ot-
war. When the guns ceased firing we
steamed away-I raised my hat as a last
farewell and General Grant raised his.
never saw the great soldier again.
An incident occurred while he was
in Japan that strikingly illustrates his
Distinguishing characteristics-fdelity
TO his friends. An American in Japan
asked one OF his travelling companions,
in General Grants presence, if he had
met "Mr." Mosby at Hong Kong. Gem
eral Grant, quickly detecting the sheer
that lurked in the question, said to
him: "My friend, Colonel John 5
Mosby," laying emphasis on my mill