Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-18

buttons to the history
of that great event, and the men who recited
them were active participants in the drama
that reached its elimination on that April
day.
Major General o. o. Howard was greeted
with genuine Yankee shouts when he was
introduced. He said it did him good to be
there. He wasn't at Appomattox. He
was with western friends in North Carolina,
who had come through South Carolina But
they heard Of Appomattox down there,
and no one could imagine the inspiration of
that news. He remembered Sherman's let
tiers to Grant. Roads are heavy and bad
down here" wrote Sherman, but under the
inspiration Of your news we can march
twenty-five miles day
Gen. Howard said AppomattoX always
suggested to him the real meaning of an
objective point. 1t was part of a soldiers
education TO understand objective points.
There We're many in the south. Cairo was
an objective point, so were Nashville and
Chattanooga, Cumberland Gap and Knox
vile. Then Richmond was another and great
one. but 1t got into the head OF one man that
the main objective point to be considered
was the Army of Northern Virginia, under
Gen. Lee. They had noticed how Grant had
made 1t his sole idea. That was his objective
point.
Gen. Robinson, on the platform here"
SAID Gen. Howard. was sent in and was
knocked to pieces. and so were other brave
and earnest and valiant men, but We kept
on. Grant continued that course with sin
gular and splendid persistency We will
fight it out on this line if it takes all sum-
mer. That persistency ended in success,
and the objective point disappeared at APP
pomattox."
Lees Last Letter to Grant.
Gen. James D. Brady created much enthu-
siasm by referring to Gen. Howard in his
opening remarks as the Havelock of the
American army. Concerning Appomattox,
Gen. Brady said he was the Union officer
VINO received the last letter that General
Lee wrote to General Grant on the night
before the surrender. He had been ordered,
with Major Marlin, to take out a few men on
the old Richmond stage road. and it was
on that road: about 1880 o'clock. that he
net Major Mason of Fitzkugh Lees staff,
VINO delivered a letter to him for Gen Grant
Brady gave it to Marlin, who took it to- Gen
Miles, whence 1t was transferred through
Gen. HUMPHREYS to Gen. Grant He said
that Major Mason and himself waited there
Tor some time, when Major Marlin brought
back a verbal message that Gen. Grant
would meet Gen. Lee next day on the other
end of the line. Gen. Brady declared that
the surrender should have been made to the
Army OF the Potomac, and to the first
division or the second corps which had
been In the lead at Sailors creek and in all
the fighting before the surrender
Gen. E. W. Whitaker followed Gen.
Brady and gave a most valuable contribu-
tlon to the story of Appomattox Gen
Whitaker had the honor Of receiving the
nag OF truce that was sent into the Union
lines by Gen. Lee, and he told his story of
that episode and what followed in a simple
and graphic manner. Capt. S. r. Stratton
spoke on the theme "Daybreak at Apo
mattox."
A Live Adjutant General.
Commander McElroy came forward and
said every man in the army had heard on
frequent occasions Of that awful, terrible
parsonage known as the adjutant general
Even great commanders bowed in humility
at the sound Of the very name of adjutant
general. and a good many soldiers who
mad never seen a live adjutant general
probably thought that 1t was some mon
strous being of fearful aspect. II there
were any such present he wished to dis
abuse their minds of such ideas by intro
ducing to them no less a parsonage than
the adjutant general of the United States
army. At this Gen. Ruggles stepped for
ward and said that he had not prepared a
formal address, but would gladly give his
rrecollec tons of Appomattox. Appomattox,
ne said. with great significance, was
Grant. He had known Grant for seven
years before Appomattox. He was sta
toned out in Minnesota, and among the
of1cerS out there who had served in
Mexico and never tired of talking about the
campaigns In that war were ALI Sully and
Fred Steele They never spoke of Mexico,
he continued. without speaking of Sam
Grant, and when the occasion came for him
10 be ordered down to st. Louis they con-
graduated him upon the trip and cheered
him with the information "Now you'u
meet Sam Grant"
On reaching st. Louis, Gen. Ruggles said,
he did meet Sam Grant. He had resigned
from the army and hard fate had over
taken him. He had little place outside
of st. Louis. and he used to bring loads of
wood that he cut himself into the city. He
remembered him well as he first saw him.
He was short, with stubby beard, dressed
IN coarse gray clothes and wearing cowhide
shoes. He was sitting sideways on q load
OF wood. and the harness that was on tho
morse attached to the load was tied I'D with
string and cord. Grant in those DAYS would
bring this wood into ST. Louis and stand
In the market place until 1t was sold. and
then buy some coffee and sugar and such
provisions and take them back out to his
humble home
In those days, said Gen. Ruggles. Grant
had not five cents to buy a newsnaner
and seemed to know nothing Of the coun
try's affairs. when we met I would in
y1te MIN In to take little refreshment
that we soldiers sometimes favor, or ask
him to have cigar. But he never accented
the compliment because he knew that he
could not return it in turn. When I used
TO meet him he would talk of AIf Sully and
Fred Steele. Those men and a few words
about Mexico were apparently his cole
stock of conversation. Shortly after tbis
he moved up to Galena, ILL.,, and on one oc
casion business took me over there Grant
talked to me about ALT Suly and Fred
Steele. p
Grant at City Point.
at was ordered to Washington from the
west. The war had broken out and in
course of time was assigned to duty as the
adjutant general Of the Army of the Poto-
mac. Il went down to City Point and
Grant was there His cabin was pointed
out to me, and I knocked at the door.
Come in said a voice, and entered to see
man sitting at a table with his hand 90
Ing like lightning. 'Hullo,' he said, putting
his hand into his vest and then extending
1t to me, Take cigar. am writing some
dispatches to Sherman l accepted the
smoke and looked at Grant, and 1 thought
TO myself that those dispatches would be
carefully revised and gone over by the adj
1utant general before they were sent out
He concluded his writing in a short time,
called an orderly handed him the dis
patches, and then commenced to talk about
ALI Sully and Fred Steele"
Gen. Ruggles then sketched the advance
on the Army of Northern Virginia and the
persistence with which Grant hammered
away at Lee. He created much enthusiasm
by declaring that the famous orders of the
10Th of March, 1865. were all in the hand
writing Of Gen. Grant himself, occupying