August 9, 1864.
I am delighted to see your letter is written in such good
spirits, and am truly rejoiced to hear I have so many and such warm friends.
The attempt to implicate me in the recent fiasco was truly ridiculous; still,
the public must in time be influenced by these repeated and constant attacks, however
untrue and unjustifiable they may be. Have you ever thought that since the
first week after Gettysburg, now more than a year, I have never been alluded to
in public journals except to abuse and villify me? And why this is I have never
been able to imagine.
I had a letter to-night from Cortlandt Parker, who has
recently seen George Harding. He says Harding told him he had recently seen
Stanton, who is an enthusiastic admirer of Grant, and that Stanton observed
that Grant had a most exalted opinion of me, and told him, Stanton, that when
he first came East he thought Sherman was the first soldier in the country, but
now he believed I was his equal, if not superior. I send you this for what it is
worth. I certainly think Grant has a queer way of showing his appreciation.
Grant has not until recently seen Stanton, since we crossed the Rapidan, so
could not have told him this; but Dana may have conveyed this information.
There was an awful explosion to-day at City Point of a
powder and ammunition vessel. It is said sixty were killed and one hundred and
fifty wounded.
I have been engaged for two days giving my testimony before
the court of inquiry that is investigating the Petersburg disaster. It will take
them a long time to get through, and I fancy active operations will interrupt
their proceedings till such time that the witnesses will be scattered. Grant
has not yet acted on my application to have Burnside relieved. The weather
continues awfully hot, but the army is in good health.
SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George
Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 220
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