![]() Unlike previous generals, Grant had the President’s confidence-and Grant showed his confidence in the President by sharing his plans. Lincoln on his plans - and President Lincoln gave Grant a similar warning. Henry Halleck had told Grant not to brief Mr. At the White House again, he met privately with President Lincoln. Grant left town as soon as possible, returned to Nashville, and then came back to Washington to visit President Lincoln. Lincoln, I have had enough of this show business.” 5 Lincoln would do me, but time is very important now-and really-Mr. Lincoln’s dinner without you, would be Hamlet with Hamlet left out.” Responded Grant: “I appreciate the honor Mrs. Lincoln responded: “But we can’t excuse you. General Grant briefly visited the Army of the Potomac and then returned to the White House, where President Lincoln attempted to convince him to stay for dinner. The crowd, enlarged beyond the norm tonight by the news that he would be there, fell silent as he entered, then parted before him to disclose at the far end of the room the tall form of Abraham Lincoln, who watched him approach, then put out a long arm for a handshake. He found himself being ushered up the steps, through the foyer, down a corridor, and finally into the brightly lighted East Room, where the reception was in full swing. “If he had known that the President’s weekly receptions were held on Tuesday evenings he would perhaps have postponed his call, but by the time he completed the short walk up the avenue to the gates of the executive mansion it was too late. “Word of his arrival having spread, he found on his return to Parlor 6 a special invitation to come by the White House, presumably for a conference with the Commander in Chief, whom he had never met although they both were from Illinois and were by now the two most famous men in the country,” wrote historian Shelby Foote. 3Īgainst his wishes, Grant came to Washington and was named General-in-Chief of the Army in March 1864, in which capacity he served until 1869. If there is anything wanting which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me know it.Īnd now with a brave Army, and a just cause, may God sustain you. I know that these points are less likely to escape your attention than they would be mine. While I am very anxious that any great disaster, or the capture of our men in great numbers, shall be avoided. You are vigilant and self-reliant and, pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any constraints or restraints upon you. The particulars of your plans I neither know, or seek to know. “Not expecting to see you again before the Spring campaign opens, I wish to express, in this way, my entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, so far as I understand it. I heard nothing direct from him and wrote to him to know why, and whether I could do anything to promote this success, and Grant replied that he had tried to do the best he could with what he had: that he believed if he had more men and arms he could use them to good advantage and do more than he had done, but he supposed I had done and was doing all I could that if I could do more he felt that I would do it.’ Lincoln said that Grant’s conduct was so different from other generals in command that he could scarcely comprehend it.'” 2 The President’s attitude toward Grant was summed up in a letter he sent the Union commander on April 30, 1864: Lincoln say, on one occasion: ‘General Grant is the most extraordinary man in command that I know of. He isn’t shrieking for reinforcements all the time….And if Grant only does thing down there-I don’t care much how, so long as he does it right-why, Grant is my man and I am his the rest of the war!” 1 Secretary of the Interior John Palmer Usher “heard Mr. Lincoln’s respect for Grant had grown during 18, On Jbefore he learned of the Union victory at Vicksburg, the President said of the western commander: “He doesn’t worry and bother me. Loyal to his subordinates, straightforward and simple in his dealings with others, he was calm, stubborn and determined in battle. His occasional lapses into liquor were controlled by his wife and loyal lieutenants like John Rawlins and William T. He reentered the Army with difficulty in Civil War, but after capture of Fort Donelson, he swiftly rose to command Army of Mississippi, leading it to the capture of Vicksburg. “Unconditional Surrender.” Union general who was a West Point graduate.
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