Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 04.djvu/390

 GRANT

GRANT

victorious army ou the tield and on April 10 he started for Washington to hasten the disbanding of the armies and stop needless expense to the government. He left Washington to visit his family on the morning of April 14, and conse- quently vras not in the city on the night of the assassination of the President and the attempted assault on members of the cabinet. He went to Raleigh, N.C., upon learning of Sherman's unac- ceptable terms for the surrender of Johnston's army and after consulting with General Shei'man allowed that commander to renew negotiations and receive the surrender in modified terms, April 26, 186.J, when Sherman paroled 31,243 of Johnston's army. General Canby captured the de- fences of Mobile, Ala., April 9, and the city was evacuated on the 11th leaving 200 guns and 4000 prisoners, after 9000 of the garrison escaped. Wilson's cavalry operating in Alabama captured Selma on April 2, Tuscaloosa ou the 5th, occupied Montgomery the capital on the 14th, captured West Pomt and Columbus, Ga., on the 16th and Macon, Ga, surrendered on the 21st. The com- mand of Kirby southwest of the Mississippi sur- rendered on the 26th and the rebellion was ended. The people of the whole country were anxious to see and do honor to the liero of Appomattox and lie visited the northern states and Canada in June, July and August, 1865, and was every- where received with civic, military and social honors. The A citizens of New

f^, -'■'- <^ ^<'.e^^^ York city wel-

comed him in November by a banquet and reception in which the en- thusiasm knew os»...s,„c»....o<..»T.«;.ts. jjQ bounds. In

December he made a tour of the southern states and his observations made the basis of the recon- struction laws passed by congress. He defended the riglits of paroled military officers of the late Confederacy against the action of the U.S. courts in oases of indictment for treason, and claimed that the conditions of surrender placed such oflticers outside the jurisdiction of civil courts. In this he opposed the administration, and when it became a personal matter between himself and the President he declared his intention to resign his position in the army if the armistice granted by him should be disregarded by the courts or the President. This decision resulted in the abandon- ment of the position taken by the executive and judicial branches of the government. He visited Buffalo, N.Y., in June. 1866, and there took effect- ive measures to stop the invasion of Canada by Fenians, accredited citizens of the United States

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in sympathy with Irish patriots. On July 25, 1866, he was made general of the U.S. army, a grade higher than had ever before existed in America and created by act of congress as a reward for his services in the suppression of the rebellion. President Johnson in his official posi- tion of commander-in-chief of the army ordered General Grant to proceed on a special mission to Mexico and subsequently to the far west, both, of which orders Grant disregarded as not included in his duties as a military ofHcer and not suggested for the benefit of the army or of the country, but made in a spirit of pique because he had refused to aj^prove the policy of the President toward the south. On March 4, 1867, the 39th congress, in order to protect General Grant in his action, passed an act providing that "all orders and instructions relating to military operations shall be issued through the general of the army," and further provided that the general of the army should " not be removed, suspended or relieved from command or assigned to duty elsewhere than at the headquarters at Washington, except at his own request, without the previous ap- pro\'aI of the senate." The clause was attached to the army appropriation bill which received the signature of the President under protest against this claii.se. The attorney-general declared the clause unconstitutional and the President under- took to send out this opinion to the district commanders thi-ough the secretary of war, who refused to distribute the opinion, and the President issued it through the adjutant-general's office. General Sheridan in command of the 5th military district sought the advice of the general of the army who replied that a " legal opinion was not entitled to the force of an order, "and therefore he was at liberty " to enforce his own construction of the law until othei-wise ordered," and in July congress passed an act making the orders of district commanders "subject to the disapproval of the general of the army." In this way Grant became superior to the President in sliapmg the affairs of reconstruction in the soutliern states and the President met the situa- tion by removing General Sheridan immediately after the adjournment of congress and apiiointmg Gen. W. S. Hancock in his place. Subsequently some of the orders of Hancock were revoked by the general of the army and this causeil some bitterness between the two officers, whicti, how- ever, was not lasting, as when congress undertook to muster Hancock out of the U.S. service for his acts in Louisiana, Grant opposed the measure and it was defeated, and he soon after recommended Hancock to promotion to the rank of major- general in the regular army and secured his appointment. On Aug. 12, 1867, President John- son suspended Secretary of War Stanton and