Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant · Chapter
Arrival of the Peace Commissioners—Lincoln and the Peace Commissioners—An Anecdote of Lincoln—The Winter Before Petersburg—Sheridan Destroys the Railroad—Gordon Carries the Picket Line—Parke Recaptures the Line—The Line of Battle of White Oak Road explained
Grant recounts the arrival of Confederate peace commissioners at City Point in late January 1865, his instructions to detain them, and Lincoln's subsequent meeting at Hampton Roads where he insisted on Union preservation and abolition of sl
What happens
Grant recounts the arrival of Confederate peace commissioners at City Point in late January 1865, his instructions to detain them, and Lincoln's subsequent meeting at Hampton Roads where he insisted on Union preservation and abolition of slavery. He shares an anecdote about Lincoln's humorous remark on Stephens's overcoat. Grant then describes the quiet winter before Petersburg, his fears of Lee's escape, the Confederate conscription of boys and old men, and Sheridan's destructive raid on railroads and canals. He notes the capture of beef cattle by Wade Hampton and reflects on the arithmetic of Confederate depletion through desertions and losses.
Themes in this chapter
Reconciliation and Magnanimity
Lincoln's generous spirit toward Southerners and Grant's respectful treatment of the peace commissioners reflect a desire for reunion without vengeance.
The Horrors and Cost of War
Grant reflects on the immense bloodshed and waste, Confederate conscription of the very young and old, and the arithmetic of attrition.
National Union and Constitutional Crisis
Lincoln's insistence on preserving the Union as a whole and the peace negotiations highlight the central constitutional crisis of the war.
Slavery and Racial Justice
Lincoln's demand for abolition as a non-negotiable condition for peace underscores the centrality of slavery to the conflict.
Characters to notice
- Ulysses S. Grant
Narrator; hosts peace commissioners at City Point, confers with Lincoln, and anxiously awaits spring campaign.
- Abraham Lincoln
Meets peace commissioners at Hampton Roads; insists on Union preservation and abolition; shares anecdote about Stephens's overcoat.
- Philip H. Sheridan
Operating north of James River; defeats Early, destroys railroads and canal, moves toward White House with cavalry.
- Robert E. Lee
Grant fears Lee's escape from Petersburg; Confederate army's situation described as desperate.
- Benjamin F. Butler
Quoted remark about Confederate conscription 'robbing both the cradle and the grave'; earlier conversation about difficulty of raising more men.
- Wade Hampton
Leads Confederate cavalry raid capturing Union beef cattle east of Petersburg.
- George A. Custer
Commands one of Sheridan's cavalry divisions during the raid.
- Wesley Merritt
Acting as chief of cavalry under Sheridan during the operations.
Key passages
“General Butler, in alluding to this conscription, remarked that they were thus 'robbing both the cradle and the grave,' an expression which I afterwards used in writing a letter to Mr. Washburn.”
Butler said the Confederacy was drafting children and old men, a phrase Grant later repeated in a letter.
Illustrates the extreme measures the South took to fill its ranks.
“It was a mere question of arithmetic to calculate how long they could hold out while that rate of depletion was going on.”
Grant believed the Confederacy's losses through desertion and casualties made its collapse inevitable by simple math.
Shows Grant's strategic confidence in attrition.
“I was afraid, every morning, that I would awake from my sleep to hear that Lee had gone, and that nothing was left but a picket line.”
Grant feared waking to find Lee had escaped Petersburg, leaving only a skeleton force behind.
Highlights Grant's anxiety about Lee's potential breakout.
“He always showed a generous and kindly spirit toward the Southern people, and I never heard him abuse an enemy.”
Lincoln consistently treated Southerners with kindness and never spoke harshly of his foes.
Emphasizes Lincoln's magnanimity even amid war.
