The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-06-03

IL
months at most must have commanded
/ tile recognition OF the leading govern.
inents OF Europe. and thus made war
for the subjugation OF the South utter
ly lmpracticable.
The Gcttysburr Cnmpalgn.
Another subject upon which desired
Information was as to tho Gettysburg
campaisn 1t was against the whole
policy OF the Confederacy even when
It's army was stronger than i!ien. 1t
was the decisive battle of tho war, as
AppomattoX was simply the echo OF
Gettysburg. He answered that It wna
regarded as an important militnrv
movement with every prospect OF sue.
cess after the defeat OF the Union army
~ Ghnhcellorsville, and IT would doubt.
Tess nave settled the recognition NJ
the Contcderacy abroad had yctorv
oeeh obtained. / aslAed him whether
General Lee had advised It az mil.
tary movement. but he answered
eNasively that 1t would not hive been
uiidertaRen If Lee had not nnnrovci
r,a spent half the day with presfdan,
. .uined with the most renerous Ne
p =, Our conversation fnallv lad
a ar Ioes'd ,n Lincoln. and he was very
in.lncoln's personal attributes and MI, bl
NC ana private actions when Presilapi
OF OF the United States. He said ds'd tHnt
coin col sa as =. h h greatly misjudged Lin.
man when he was called to the ' nrest-
aency and in the fierce passions ~
Ii",l conflict every disgracefui attri.
v V;nlIe OK character was readily and
iinilnutely about the actions and express.
Stops OF Lincoln. as / had been in very
, wan Ia, relations with him: and he
t nns s whi,sS delighted had when told him
suss every phase and feature OF the
war, had never heard him utter a
single sentence Of resentment against
h hiwg IN Nam 1ne south south; that had heard
and other leaders Of the South. and
always with the highest personal re.
s spec f9 }r, them. told him how l had
at the very violent accusations made made
against him in the South during the
war. charging him with being a pro-
zane and obscene Jester. a bloody
butcher, and guiltless of either manli-
ness or craftsmanship. and that had
heard Lincoln repeatedly say when
Speaking CT these expressions which
srieved him soreiy, that If the South
only understood him better there would
be more hope OF peace.
Told of LincOlns Offer.
I told him of the conversation had
with Lincoln In August, 1861. when
Lincoln was a candidate for rc-clcc.
ton and when he showed me in his
own handwriting his proposition to.
pay the South 100000, 900 to close the
war and accept emancipation; of Lin
coins expression at the time that the
war II continued for four months would
cost the sioo,00o.00O. with the additional
loss OF life and property, and that then
the South would simply be commu-
nifty of implacable hostiles, unwilling
10 accept the reunion of the States.
asked him whether he had any knowI-
edge OF Lincoln,s Willingness to pay
for slaves IL peace and the abolition of
slavery We're accepted. He said he
had simply heard of 1t. but that there
was no public or official expression
Ing fol, him to act upon. then asked
him whether. II he had known LincoIn's
willingness to end the war in that
way. he would have restricted Vice
Lincoln ut the City Point conference.
to consider peace only on the basis of
the perpetuity of the Confederacy. His
answer was logical. and then for the
first time appreciated the omnipotence
OF the sentiment of States rights.
He said that Lincoln. representing a
centralized government, could make
such proposition to the Confeder-
acy; but that he, President Of the Con-
federaey. whose corner stone was the
nothing but maintain the integrity of
the Confederacy until peace on the
basis OF reunion was proposed by one
or more sovereign States. While he
to meet Lincoln at City Point that tho
military power of the Confederacy was
absolutely broken, his sworn duty as
the President of the Confederacy was
to struggle for It's maintenance until
1.-THE sovereign States called for peace
He was much gratified at the many In
stances of Lincoln's kindly feeling to
the South, and I shall never forget tho
earnestness and pathos OF the express
sion which closed the conversation on
that subject. He said:
/ Next to the day of the fall of the
Confederacy, the darkest day the South
has known was the day Of the assassi-
nation Of Abraham Lincoln"
| The Capture of Davis.
I speak advisedly when say that
Jefferson Davis would never have been
captured at the close of the war had
/, Lincoln been alive. was present at
a very earnest discussion Of the sub
iect between General Butler, Colonel
Forney and some others in Lincolns
room few months before the close of
the war. Butler was violent against
with him, and both demanded the Sc
verest punishment Of the Southern
leaders. 4 asked Butler whether as a
I! lawyer he could assume that Davis
WIZ iidt Ucell III The TPan a govern
ment that beleaguered our own cap
Ital for nearly four years, and that
had been recognized by the civilized
Ecvernments of the world and practi-
I cally by ourselves, as a belligerent
power. could be punished for treason
i Ills answer was that he could be nun.
fshad because he was sworn officer
OF the United States when the war be
gan. IT was legal fallacv. of course
and we had quite discussion on the
: Il
!, Lincoln listened patiently. ana he
/ finally closed the conversation Nv tell.
' y, The story of.the Western drunker
Hagrant, who had been gathered UP Ii,
ms friends into a temperance societS
repeatedly, only to fail again, and who
llau finally gotten back into the TEN.
perance association and into the church
} wien he decided to make n desperate
! n pnt,ta 10 i've Il sober life; but his ap,
M'lle was stronger til an llilnsalf. anC
when calling for glass OF soda he in,
n n"t q, whether ,ie the server could no
knownst TO him" He said: "If Ties
: men shall get away nnhakno1wnst t.
~