At twelve o'clock, the portals were thrown open, and in poured the people in a continuous stream. For two hours did they pass steadily along, a living tide, which swept in, eddied around the President and his wife, and then surged into the East Room, which was a maelstrom of humanity, uniforms, black coats, gay female attire, and citizens generally.
Vice-President Hamlin kept open house at his residence on F Street, and the Secretaries were all at their homes. At Governor Seward's, Mrs. Fred Seward did the honors, assisted by Miss Seward and a friend from Auburn, while at Governor Chase's his recently married daughter, Mrs. Senator Sprague, and Miss Chase welcomed many friends. Mayor Wallach entertained his visitors with old Virginia hospitality, and at many private residences there were the traditionary bowls of egg-nog and of apple-toddy.
The friends of General Grant in Congress urged the passage of a bill to revive the grade of Lieutenant-General of the army. It met with some opposition, especially from General Garfield, who opposed the bill mainly on the ground that it would be improper at that stage of the war to determine and award the greatest prize of the conflict in the way of military preferment to any one of the distinguished Generals of the army. It would, he thought, be far more fitting for Congress to wait until war was over, and see whose head towered above the rest in the army, and then give this crown to the one whose head had risen highest.
Notwithstanding this opposition, the bill was passed by both Houses, approved by the President on the 1st day of March, 1864, and the next day he sent to the Senate the nomination of Ulysses S. Grant, which was confirmed immediately, and General Grant was summoned to Washington in person. He wore a plain, undress uniform and a felt hat of the regulation pattern, the sides of the top crushed together. He generally stood or walked with his left hand in his trousers pocket, and had in his mouth an unlighted cigar, the end of which he chewed restlessly. His square-cut features, when at rest, appeared as if carved from mahogany, and his firmly set under-jaw indicated the unyielding tenacity of a bulldog, while the kind glances of his gray eyes showed that he possessed the softer traits. He always appeared intensely preoccupied, and would gaze at any one who approached him with an inquiring air, followed by a glance of recollection and a grave nod of recognition. It was not long after his arrival before Secretary Stanton realized that he was no longer supreme, and the Army of the Potomac, which had virtually dictated to its successive commanders, found that the time had come when obedience was imperative, no matter what the loss of life might be.
When General Grant called on the President, he met with a hearty reception, and Mr. Lincoln, taking him into a private room, repeated to him a story from a comic article by Orpheus C. Kerr, satirically criticising the conduct of the war. It was a story about Captain Bob Shorty and the Mackerel Brigade and the Anaconda Policy— something about generals in the field being hampered by a flood of orders. When he had finished his story, he told General Grant that he did not care to know what he wanted to do, only to know what was wanted. He wished him to beat Lee. How he did it was his own lookout. He said he did not wish to know his plans or exercise any scrutiny over his operations. So long as he beat the rebel army he was satisfied. The formal presentation of the new commission as Lieutenant-General was made in the presence of Cabinet officers and other distinguished guests, and was in all respects a notable historic scene.
On the 4th of March, General Grant ordered a forward movement, and General Meade crossed the Rappahannock with the Army of the Potomac one hundred and seventeen thousand strong. It was understood that soon after the forward movement was commenced, General Meade hesitated about crossing the stream, under a heavy fire, but General Grant peremptorily ordered him to move forward. This was alluded to in a letter sent to a Philadelphia newspaper by Mr. Edward Crapsey, a native of Cincinnati, who had been reputably connected with several leading journals. He said in his correspondence: "History will record, but newspapers cannot, that on one eventful night during the present campaign Grant's presence saved the army and the nation, too. Not that General Meade was on the point of committing a great blunder, unwittingly, but his devotion to his country made him loath to lose her last army of what he deemed a last chance. Grant assumed the responsibility, and we are still 'On to Richmond!'" When the newspaper containing this paragraph reached the Army of the Potomac, General Meade issued an order that Mr. Crapsey be arrested, paraded through the lines of the army, with a placard marked "Libeler of the Press," and then be put without the lines and not be permitted to return. This humiliating punishment was carried out in the most offensive manner possible, and Mr. Crapsey, after having been escorted through the camp on horseback, bearing the offensive label, was sent back to Washington. The terrific battle of the Wilderness followed, and General Grant telegraphed for recruits, saying, "We have ended this sixth day of very heavy fighting. The result at this time is very much in our favor. Our losses have been heavy, as well as those of the enemy. I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer."
General Lee, wishing to force General Grant back to the defense of Washington, ordered a corps under General Early to attack the Union capital, which was thought to be guarded only by a few regiments of heavy artillery and by a home brigade of quartermasters' clerks, improvised by Quartermaster-General Meigs. On the 12th of July, 1864, the advance-guard of the Confederates, commanded by General Breckinridge, came within the defenses of Washington, where they were, to their great surprise, confronted by the veteran Sixth Corps, under General Wright, and after a few volleys had been exchanged they precipitously retreated, and hurriedly recrossed the Potomac. This brief engagement was witnessed from the parapet of Fort Stevens by President Lincoln, who would not retire until an officer was shot down within a few feet of him, when he reluctantly stepped below. Sheltered from the sharp-shooters' fire, Cabinet officers and a group of society ladies watched the fortunes of the fight. It was no mock-battle that they witnessed on the outskirts of the national metropolis. Stretchers soon conveyed the dying and wounded to the hospital in the rear of the fort, and the graves remain there of those who fought and fell, with the President of the United States and his competitor at the preceding election on opposite sides, interested spectators of the scene.
Meanwhile Mr. Chase, provoked because the President overruled him, had resigned his position as Secretary of the Treasury, and Mr. Fessenden had been appointed in his place. Mr. Chase desired the Presidential nomination, and an organization was formed with Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, at its head to secure the election of Chase delegates to the next National Republican Convention. Meanwhile Chief Justice Taney died in October, 1864, and Mr. Sumner immediately urged the President to appoint Mr. Chase as his successor. There was then much dissatisfaction with Mr. Lincoln's Administration, and the friends of Mr. Chase were openly and secretly urging his nomination.
When Mr. Sumner came to Washington he renewed his request that Mr. Chase be appointed, and he had several interviews with Mr. Lincoln on the subject. One day Mr. Lincoln proposed to send for Mr. Chase and frankly tell him that he wanted to nominate him as Chief Justice, that he would make the greatest and best Chief Justice the country had ever had, and that he would do so if he would only give up all idea of being elected President. Mr. Sumner replied that such a statement, however frank it might be, would never answer, as it would not only expose the President to criticism as attempting to purchase an opponent, but it would be offensive to Mr. Chase, as an attempt to extort from him a pledge that he would never be a candidate for the Presidency. Mr. Lincoln, who was quick-witted, saw the force of Mr. Sumner's argument, and pleasantly said: "Well, take this card and write on it the name of the man you desire to have appointed." Mr. Sumner wrote "Salmon P. Chase," and Salmon P. Chase was promptly nominated on the 6th of December, 1864. Mr. Sumner urged the immediate confirmation of the appointment, and having carried it, hastened from the Senate Chamber to congratulate the new Chief Justice. As he came out of the room in which he conveyed the news he met Mrs. Kate Sprague, who shook her index finger at him and said: "And you, too, Mr. Sumner? Are you in the business of shelving papa? But never mind, I will defeat you all!" Mr. Sumner used to relate this incident as showing how he had been rewarded for what he regarded as one of the most praiseworthy acts of his life. Besides, Mr. Lincoln was not the only candidate for the Presidential chair who would lose a rival by the appointment of Judge Chase. Mr. Sumner had strong aspirations in that direction, but I doubt if he regarded the bench of the Supreme Court as a stepping-stone to the White House. Had the Senate found Mr. Johnson guilty on the impeachment charges, and had Ben Wade thus become President, Mr. Sumner would have been his Secretary of State, and I am not sure that this did not influence Mr. Fessenden in his vote of "Not guilty." Had General Grant offered Mr. Sumner the same position it would have been accepted with the understanding that he was to direct the foreign policy of the country untrammeled.
[Facsimile] Joseph Hooker JOSEPH HOOKER, born at Hadley, Mass., November 13th, 1813; graduated at West Point, 1837; served in the Mexican War; resigned, but re- entered the service as Brigadier-General, May, 1861; Major-General, 1862; Corps Commander, September, 1862; Division Commander, December, 1862; Commander of the Army of the Potomac, January, 1863; transferred to the West and served from Lookout Mountain to Atlanta; commanded the Northern Department, September, 1864, to July, 1865; retired October 15th, 1868; died, 1879.