Evening star., 1896-02-15

rMk {J the hands OF ltS COM
HNl mander and nothing
couiu urb the faith with which he
waited the order for that great army
to move upon the defcnses Of Peters,
burg. He had but one fear, and that
was the possible escape OF Lees army. 1t
was this fear that caused him to make a
flying visit to Gen. Grant at City Point
about the middle of March, 1866, and to
urge him to make a finsh-to capture Lee.
1t was Gen. Lee that the Secretary often
said was the power Of the rebellion. On
the return of the Secretary. in speaking of
the coming movement of Gen. Grant he
salG that Lee-would be captured in the cap
ture Of Petersburg
While the Secretary was at Gen. Grants
headquarters, Gen. Meade, at the front,
proposed to the Secretary to witness a re-
view or the fifth corps. and invited the
other distant commanders and their staff
oftloers to he present. The e!femy in the
detenses at Petersburg, expecting from this
movement OF troops battle, formed in
line and massed in front of the review A
lew days after this review Gen. Grant be-
coming apprehenSive that Lee would try to
JON Gen. Johnston in North Carolina sent
10 Gen. sheridan, then at the White House
OF the James, with his great cavalry force
TO come TO the front as soon possible.
Lincoln at the Final Struggle.
The President, sharing the confidence of
Secretary Stanton, started with Mrs Lin
coin for Gen. Grants headquarters on the
I'D In the fast man-of-war Bat" at / p.
m, and the carriage with the Secretary and
MRS Stanton rolled up to the arsenal wharf
to see the President and Ms. Lincoln off
just as the Bat" was moving out One
hour after the President left hurricane
swept over the city, unroofing houses
wrecked vessel n " cd n
,hackman and his team by a flying roof
while down the river the steamboats, and
sailing craft were dashed about with great
violence. That night l heard the Secre-
tary express much concern for the safety
of the President. Gen. Grant, at the front
kept the President at City Point advised of
the battles, and the President kept the Sec
retary informed, ard he advised the people
through Sen. Dix of New York.
Early on the morning Of the 25th the
President reported little rumpus up the
lire with the enemy. For the capture of
Petersburg the army, on the 31st, at day
Ugh. commenced the movement. Gen.
Grant, with the finest equipped and best
fed and best cared-for army that ever was
niarshaled for battle, 5000 effective men.
vas to capture city defended by army
estimated by Gen. Grant at 10000 men and
defensive works greater than ever were
captured with such defending army. On
that day and for the succeeding nine days
Secretary Stanton was happy, and each
day anJf night he kept the people of the
north wild with the excitement of joy by
the news from the front
Lee the Dread of the War DEPARTING ent.
The tension with which Gen. Lee had for
four years held the War Department in
dread and in doubt had now for the first
time been relaxed. For the first time in the
War Department there was no danger felt
for the nations capital. For the first time it
was felt that Lincoln had come to save,
| hill oil ole trr,n1 of dos cfr,ya
On the 29th, at night. the Secretary told
the President that all eyes were eagerly
bent to the James river and to Petersburg.
and asked him to stay and see 1t out, that
his presence would have great influence in
| inducing exertions that would bring Lee
and Richmond; compared to that no other
| duty could weigh a feather. Against for
| midable barriers and defended lines the
| Army OF the Potomac was soon to sacrifice
! 10 600 men in the decisive battles
! On the 31st the President reported much
| hard fighting that morning, the enemy driv-
! ing our left of the line and that Grant was
| o'clock that day the President reported that
! the enemy had been driven back, and that
| Grant occupied the ground from which Lee
! had advanced in the morning: that fou,
| flags had been captured, and that Grant ha d
| moved his headquarters forward ore mile
On Sunday. the 2d of April, the President
reported that Sheridan, with his cavalry
| ard the fifth corps, on another field had
| captured three brigades of infantry. sew
| eral batteries and a train of wagons, the
prisoners amounting to several thousand.
| The President also reported that on that
| morning Grant had ordered an attack alone
| the whole line. Later in the day the Presi.
dent reported that the troops of Generals
| Wright and Parke had got through the
enemy''s intrenched lines: that the battle
was then raging furt :lsy; that General
| Sheridan with his cavalry, the fifth corps
and Miles division of the second corps was
! then sweeping down from the west: thai
General Ord was fighting at another par,
| of the front and that all then looked highly
| favorable for the capture. of PETERSBURG.
Reported by the President.
Another dispatch from the President re-
ported that our lines were gaining at every
point, that Generals Parke, Wright anG
| Ords lines had all broken through the
enemy's intrenched lines and works TAX
| ing forts, guns and prisoners; that Sheri
, dan with his cavalry, the fifth and part ot
| the second corps was coming in from the
west on the enemy's flank, and that Wright
| was tearing up the Southside railroad A
2 pm the President reported that every
thing had been carried from the left of the
ninth corps; that the sixth corps alone can
tured more than 5000 prisoners that tn,
second and twenty-fourth corps had cap
| tured forts, guns and prisoners: that til,
army was then closing around the works O.
the line Immediately enveoping Petersburg
that Grant had moved his headuuarter:
| three miles southwest of Petersburg. an(
that all looked remarkably well.
At 8 Pm. the President reported Gen
| Grant as saying: I'VE are now up an(
have a continuous line of troops, and in :
few hours will be intrenched from the AID
pomattox below Petersburg to the rive
| above. The whole captures since the arm,
started out will be- not less than 12.OE
men and probably fifty pieces of artillery
ard that a portion of Fosters division o
the twenty-fourth corps made a most gal
liant charge this afternoon and capture,
a very important fort from the enemy
with it's entire garrison. All now seem
well with us, aud everything is quiet Jus
| now.
The Secretary did not go home to Dime
that day, and when this last telegram cam
he said to those who were with him: "Thi
has been a blessed day for the country.
On the Sd at $50 am, the President tele
graphs: Gen. Grant reports Petersbur,
| evacuated and that he is confident tina
| Richmond also is He is pushing forwar,
to cut off, if possible, the retreating rebe
| army.
On the 4th the President went to Rich
Inond, but not as conqueror. On tho 5tl
the President returned to City Point an
frt m there on the 9th sent Gen. Weitzel
at Richmond. a permit for the assembling
of the Virginia legislature to take step
for the restoration of that state to tn