I am most truly yours
R. E. Lee
To me, Ulysses S. Grant has always been a gigantic figure. He is probably the greatest general this country has ever produced. Nowhere are his simplicity and greatness better shown than in his letters. For some reason they are not yet appreciated at their proper worth, but the time will come when their extraordinary merits will be recognized. They are written in a direct style, free of all elaboration, not unlike Lincoln’s, but without his peculiar felicity of phrase. They are the words of a soldier, not a statesman. Two of the letters which I have are, it seems to me, without parallel for conciseness and beauty. The first, written at the beginning of the war, is to his father:—
May 30th, 1861
Galena, Illinois
Dear Father:—
I have now been home near a week, but return to Springfield today. I have tendered my services to the government and go today to make myself useful, if possible, from this until our national difficulties are ended. During the six days I have been at home, I have felt all the time as if a duty was being neglected that was paramount to any other duty I ever owed. I have every reason to be well satisfied with myself for the services already rendered but to stop now would not do.
Yours truly,
U. S. Grant
GRANT’S TELEGRAM TO STANTON ANNOUNCING THE
SURRENDER OF LEE