outhern States was conducted with
perfect good order; a free ballot and a full count were secured
under the supervision and protection of the army--a thing supposed
to be so dangerous to the liberties of a free people. This and
many other examples in the history of this country, from the time
when Washington surrendered his commission to the Continental
Congress down to the present time, show that a "free people" have
nothing to fear from their army, whether regular, volunteer, or
militia; the soldiers are, in fact, among the most devoted and
loyal citizens of the republic, and thoroughly imbued with the
fundamental principle of subordination of the military to the civil
power.

HARMONY IN THE WAR DEPARTMENT

With General Grant my relations while in the War Department were
of the most satisfactory character. As a candidate for the
Presidency, and as President-elect, he naturally desired to be as
free as possible from the current duties of his office as general
of the army, and he was absent from Washington much of the time,
his chief of staff, General Rawlins, remaining there to promulgate
orders in his name. Thus it devolved upon me to exercise all the
functions of "commander-in-chief of the army"--functions which it
is usually attempted to divide among three,--the President, the
Secretary of War, and the general-in-chief,--without any legal
definition of the part which belongs to each. Of course "the
machine" ran very smoothly in the one case, though there had been
much friction in the other.

In compliance with the wish of General Grant, I remained in office
under him for a few days, for the purpose of inaugurating the system
which he hoped would end the long-standing controversy between the
War Department and the headquarters of the army. The order which
was issued assigning General Sherman to command the entire army,
staff as well as line, was prepared by me under General Grant's
instructions, and the draft of the order was approved by him as
expressing the views he had maintained when he was general-in-chief.
As President he very soon yielded to the opposite views, and caused
the order to be amended accordingly.

That General Sherman then entertained views of his authority which
were too broad, as General Grant had also done, is no doubt true;
but it ought not to have been very difficult to correct such errors.
It was easier to take away all administrative a