[CHAPTER XXVII.]
THE END OF THE WAR.
Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman at City Point—Surrender of Lee—Murder of Lincoln—Negotiations with Johnston—Stanton's Disapproval—An Outcry Against Sherman—The Grand Review—Sherman's Refusal to Shake Hands with Stanton—Farewell Address to the Army.
Soon after his arrival at Goldsboro, Sherman received a long letter from Grant warmly congratulating him on the successful completion of what was his third campaign since leaving the Tennessee River, less than a year before.
Grant cordially gave him a brief but comprehensive account of the situation of the Army of the Potomac and of Lee's Army, and of his own plans for the immediate future. He already pointed Appomattox as the place at or near which he hoped to bring affairs to a crisis. Sherman decided thereupon to go up to City Point and have a personal interview with Grant. He issued orders, leaving Schofield in command and giving general directions for the operation of the army in his absence. On the evening of March 27 he reached City Point and was welcomed with salutes from Porter's fleet. A number of officers met him at the wharf and escorted him to headquarters, where he met Grant for the first time since the memorable leave-taking in Cincinnati. Their meeting was characteristic of the two men and deserves to be made historic. Sherman spoke first: "How are you, Grant?" was all he said. "How are you, Sherman?" was Grant's reply. Then Sherman, looking around at the other officers who were assembled remarked: "I didn't expect to find all you fellows here." That was all. No more time was wasted in compliments, but the two generals in a few minutes were seated at a table poring over maps and planning the ending of the war just as at Cincinnati they had planned Sherman's Georgia Campaign.
Sherman quickly indicated on the map what he thought best to do. He would bring his army up to Weldon, where it would be within supporting distance of Grant, and where he could quickly either join Grant or move westward and head off Lee. Grant hesitated to have him come so near, fearing that it would alarm Lee and put him to flight before he could be captured. He told Sherman that he would best wait awhile while the Army of the Potomac moved up to Dinwiddie in the hope of forcing Lee to fight.
Then the two generals went to the steamboat, "River Queen," to see Lincoln, who was on board. A notable trio they made—Lincoln, the tall, round-shouldered, loose-jointed, large-featured, deep-eyed, with a smiling face, and dressed in black, with a fashionable silk hat on his head; Grant, shorter, stouter and more compactly built, wearing a military hat with a broad brim, a cigar in his mouth, and his hands in his trouser's pockets; Sherman, almost as tall, but more sineury than Lincoln, with sandy whiskers closely cropped, and sharp, flashing eyes; his coat worn and shabby, his hat shapeless, and his trousers tucked into his boot-tops. Sherman did most of the talking, speaking hurriedly and moving about, often gesticulating. Presently Meade and Sheridan joined them: the former tall and thin, stooping a little, with gray beard and spectacles; the latter the shortest of all the party, with bronzed face and quick, energetic movements.
It was several times suggested that some of Sherman's men, or some troops from the West, should be added to the Army of the Potomac, but this Grant would not listen to. He deemed it wisest that the Army of the Potomac should "finish up the job." They finally decided that Sherman should come up to the Roanoke River, near Gaston, and if not needed to head off Lee, make Johnston's army his objective point, prepared, above all, to keep Lee and Johnston from joining forces. Says Grant:
"I explained to him the movement I had ordered to commence on the 29th of March, that if it should not prove as entirely successful as I hoped, I would cut the cavalry loose to destroy the Danville and Southside railroads, and thus deprive the enemy of further supplies, and also prevent the rapid concentration of Lee's and Johnston's armies. I had spent days of anxiety lest each moment should bring the report that the enemy had retreated the night before. I was firmly convinced that Sherman's crossing the Roanoke would be the signal for Lee to move. With Johnston and Lee combined, a long, tedious, and expensive campaign, consuming most of the summer, might become necessary."