The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-02-19
Grant and Lincoln at Petersburg.

AS March 81, 1866. drew near. the
president then at City Point. Va
knew that Grant was to make a gen
eral attack upon Petersburg, and grew
depressed writes w. H. Crook in Har-
per's. The fact that his own son was
with Grant was on source of anxiety.
But the knowledge of the loss of life
that must follow hung about him until
he could think of nothing else. On the
3lst there was, of course, no news.
Most of the first day of April Mr.. Lin
coin spent in the telegraph office, re-
celVlng kilograms and sending them
on to Washington. Toward evening he
came back to the River Queen, on
which he had sailed from Washington
to City Point.
On the morning of April a mes
sage came from General Grant asking
the President TO come to his headquar-
tiers, some miles distant from City
Point and near Petersburg, It was on
Sunday. We rode out to the intrench-
ments, close to the battle-ground Mr.
Lincoln watched the life and death
struggle for some time, and then re-
turned to City Point. In the evening
he received a dispatch from General
Grant telling him that he had pushed
Lee to his last lines about Petersburg.
The news made the President happy.
He said to Captain Penrose that the
END OF the war was now in sight. He
could go to bed and sleep now
ON Monday, the Sd, a message came
to the President that Petersburg was in
possession of the federal army, and
that General Grant was waiting there
to see him. We mounted and rode over
the battlefield to Petersburg As we
rode through Fort He'll and Fort Dam
nation-as the men had named the out
posts of the two armies which faced
each other, not far apart-many of the
dead and dying were still on the
ground. 1 can still see one man with
bullet hole through his forehead and
another with both arms shot away.
At the end of fifteen miles we reached
Petersburg and were met by Captain
Robert Lincoln of General Grants
staff, who, with some other officers,
escorted us to General Grant. We
found him and the rest of his staff sit
ting on the piazza of a white frame
house. Grant did not look like ones
idea of a conquering hero. He didn't
appear eXultant, and he was as quiet
as he had ever been. The meeting be-
tween Grant and Lincoln was cordial:
the President was almost affectionate
While they were talking 1 took the op-
poIlunlIy TO stroll through petersburg.
1t seemed deserted, but 1 met few of
the inhabitants. They said they were
glad that the Union army had taken
possession; they were half starved.
They certainly looked so. The tobacco
warehouses were on fire and boys were
carrying away tobacco to sell to the
soldiers.
L bought ffve-pound bale of smok-
ing tobacco for % cents. Just before
we started back little girl came I'D
with bunch of wild flowers for the
President. He thanked the child kind
ly, and we rode away. Soon after we
got back to City Point news came of
the evacuation of Richmond
In the midst of the rejoicing some
Confederate prisoners were brought
aboard transports at the dock near us.
The President hung over the rail and
watched them. They were in a pitia-
bic condition. ragged and thin: they
looked half-starved. When they were
on board they took out of their KNAPP
sacks the last rations that had been
issued to them before capture. There
was nothing but bread, which looked
as if it had been mixed with tar. When
they cut, it we could see how hard it
was and heavy; it was more like cheese
than bread
Poor fellows!' Mr.. Lincoln said.
It's hard lot. Poor fellows"