The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-04-28

and unalterable determination. Peters
burg the revelation of his genius. But
at Appomattox he was Gram the Mag
unanimous, who spoke for reunion as
he had fought for union, and turned
from grim warrior TO the ambassador
OF peace. lie could neither hate nor
humiliate. and in the very glow Of sur
passing triumph he could not be TN
gracious or inconsiderate.
In that supreme moment of victory,
with union saved at unutterable cost,
he seems to have surveyed the many
disappointments, the measureless sac
rifices and the understandable sorrows.
He felt the assurance of the nation
preserved. and yet the one sweeping
uttcrance from his great heart was
Let US have peace"
Undoubtedly the task OF reconstruc-
ton was lightened because OF Grants
moderation At the height OF the
struggle he would accept the capitu-
lation OF Fort Donelson only on con-
ditions Of unconditional surrender.
but when the fighting was over. he
changed from severity TO moderation
and generosity. In the conclusion Of
his report TO the Secretary OF Wars
some months after Appornattox he
first paid his tribute TO the valcr OF
the armies he had commanded. and
then concluded with this sentence.
Let them hope for perpetual peace
and harmony with that enemy. whose
manhood. however mistaken the
cause, drew forth such hsrculean
deeds Of valor.'' as1gfnt
cannot but feel that there is for
us lesson In the concluding sem
fences of the note in which he pro-
posed TO receive the surrender OF the
Army of Northern Virginia. Those
sentences read'
"rhe armies, artillery and public
property TO be parked and stacked
and turned over to the Officer APP
pointed by me to receive them. This
will not embrace the side arms OF the
officers. nor their private horses or
baggage This done, each ott!cer and
man will be allowed to return to their
homes, not to be disturbed py United
States authority so long as they OBJ
serve their paroles and the laws in
force where they may reside"
TO that he added the verb@. agree
suen with Gen. Lee that every man
of the Confederate army who claimed
to own q horse or mule should be per-
mitted to take the animal home.
Gen. Lee conserved that these condi-
hts army. Within q few hou.s after
the capitulation had been signed.
lerg ally by reason OF the generosity OF 7
its terms the men of the two sscnlies
were freely fi.aternizing, and the cap
tured supply trains of the Ccnfed-
crates had been placed again a.. their
disposal. in order that the hal..fam-
ished soldiers might be properly fed
Describing this incident in. his me-
moir, Gen. Grant wrote
n II said Din talking With General Leo
took. IL that most of the men in
the ranks We're small farmers. The
whole country had been so raided
by the two armies that it was doubt
full whether they would be able TO
put in a crop to carry themselves and
their families throughout the next
winter without the aid of the horses
they We're then riding. The United
States did not want them, and
would, therefore. instruct the officers
that / left behind to receive the
paroles OF his troops to let every man
of the Confederate army who claimed
to own "a horse or mule take the ami
mai 10 his home. Lee remarked again
that this would have n happy effect
In making such conditions. i'm thus
recognizing the vast difficulties of
consolidating the peace won through
years of, suffering and privation, there
spoke the great, true heart Of the
man who could see into the future and
realize its problems.
Many years later. when his life
was cbbing, and he struggled to the
end of his memoirs, all the American
people knew of his brave fight. and
the inevitable outcome. and the man
u 1,f .nIf
cipient of a genuinely nationwide
sympathy. Ills acknowledgment in
the closing paragraph OF his excep-
tional book reveals the soul Of a great
life. Concerning these kindly ex-
pressions he wrote. at the very con-
clusion of his memoirs:
II am not egoist enough to suppose
all this significance should be given
because / was the object of It. But
the war between TIE States was a
very bloody and a very costly war.
One side or the other had TO yield
principles they deemed dearer than
life before il could be brought to an
end. T commanded the whole OF the
mighty host engaged on the victorious
side. ] was. no matter whether de-
servediy or not, q representative of
that side of the controversy. IL IS a
significant and gratifying fact that
Confederates should have Joined heart
lily in this spontaneous move. I hope
the good feeling inaugurated may con-
tinue to the end"
He saw union follow disunion.
but II was not his to live to see COM
plete concord where discord had
flourished. wish he somehow
might know that in the more than a
third of Il century since his one and
only surrender the indissoluble ties
of union have been more firmly riv-
eted, and In the shared burdens and
triumphs of American progress we
have indeed continued at peace at
home. Geographical sectionalism is
only q memory now. and Mason and
Dixon's line remains only n historical
record, where an ambiguity in the
Federal Constitution was wiped out,
and tho nation resumed the onward
march on its destined way.
Seemingly. II was long time in
which TO reestabiish concord so
manifestly essential TO the nations
greater achievements. bit the under
standing of the magnificent Lee was
not universal Throughout fbc Coufh