t touching
scene by the grave in St. Louis? The brave young priest, the very
image in character, even more than in face, of his great father,
standing alone, without another of the priests of his church, and
daring, without ecclesiastical sanction or support, to perform the
service for the dead prescribed by his church for those who "die
in the Lord." "Worthy son of a noble sire!" What man dares to
pass judgment upon him who so mightily helped to save his country
from ruin, and to strike the shackles from millions of slaves, or
to say that he was not worthy to be numbered among those to whom
the Divine Master has said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"?

The subject of this volume being limited to events of which I have
had personal knowledge, and it never having been my good fortune
to serve in the field with General Grant, it would be inappropriate
to make herein any general comments about his military operations.
But I cannot close this account of events so closely connected with
my own official life without making acknowledgment of my obligations
to that great-hearted man for the justice, kindness, and generosity
which he invariably manifested toward me whenever occasion offered.

GENERAL GRANT'S RECOGNITION OF SERVICES

It was General Grant whose voluntary application, in the winter of
1863-4, relieved me from the disagreeable controversy with partizan
politicians in Missouri, and gave me command of an army in the
field. It was upon his recommendation that my services in that
command were recognized by promotion from the grade of captain to
that of brigadier-general in the regular army and brevet major-
general for services in the battle of Franklin. It was Grant who,
upon my suggestion, ordered me, with the Twenty-third Corps, from
Tennessee to North Carolina, to take part in the closing operations
of the war, instead of leaving me where nothing important remained
to be done. It was he who paid me the high compliment of selecting
me to conduct the operations which might be necessary to enforce
the Monroe doctrine against the French army which had invaded
Mexico. It was he who firmly sustained me in saving the people of
Virginia from the worst effects of the congressional reconstruction
laws. It was he who greeted me most cordially as Secretary of War
in 1868, and expressed a desire that I might hold that