, Ohio and
Illinois, of whom the first named was reputed the ablest of the "war
Governors" in the West, and on whom his army depended for recruits, now
combined in representations against him which could not be ignored.
Lincoln, who could not have personal acquaintance with the generals of
the Western armies as he had with those in the East, was, it should be
observed, throughout unceasing in his efforts to get the fullest and
clearest impression of them that he could; he was always, as it has been
put, "taking measurements" of men, and a good deal of what seemed idle
and gossipy talk with chance visitors, who could tell him little
incidents or give him new impressions, seems to have had this serious
purpose. For the first half of the war the choice of men for high
commands was the most harassing of all the difficulties of his
administration. There is no doubt of his constant watchfulness to
discern and promote merit. He was certainly beset by the feeling that
generals were apt to be wanting in the vigour and boldness which the
conduct of the war demanded, but, though this in some cases probably
misled him, upon the whole there was good reason for it. On the other
hand, it must be considered that all this while he knew himself to be
losing influence through his supposed want of energy in the war, and that
he was under strong and unceasing pressure from every influential quarter
to dismiss every general who caused disappointment. Newspapers and
private letters of the time demonstrate that there was intense impatience
against him for not producing victorious generals. This being so, his
own patience in this matter and his resolution to give those under him a
fair chance appear very remarkable and were certainly very wise.

We have come, however, to the end, not of all the clamour against
Lincoln, but of his own worst perplexities. In passing to the operations
further west we are passing to an instance in which Lincoln felt it right
to stand to the end by a decried commander, and that decried commander
proved to possess the very qualities for which he had vainly looked in
others. The reverse side of General Grant's fame is well enough known to
the world. Before the war he had been living under a cloud. In the
autumn of 1862, while his army lay between Corinth and Memphis, the cloud
still rested on his reputation. In spite of the glory he had won for a
moment at Fort Donelson, large circles were ready to speak of