Headquarters Army Of The Potomac, October 31, 1864.
I have reason to believe you are in error in imputing any
sympathy on the part of Grant with my detractors. It is true he has not exerted
himself to silence or contradict them, but this arises from a very different
cause. Grant is very phlegmatic, and holds in great contempt newspaper
criticism, and thinks, as long as a man is sustained by his own conscience, his
superiors, and the Government, that it is not worth his while to trouble
himself about the newspapers. At the same time, he has always expressed himself
in the manner in which he did in the telegram I sent you. Differently
constituted, with more sensitiveness in his nature, I don't doubt he would
before now have taken some action, either in his official despatches, or in
some other way given publicity to such opinions of my services as would set at
rest these idle stories.
In our recent move we captured Peyton Wise, Lieutenant
Colonel Forty-sixth Virginia Infantry. You may remember him as Mrs. Tully
Wise's bright boy, when we were first married. I did not see him, as he was
taken to City Point before I knew of his capture, but I sent word to General
Patrick, the Provost Marshal, to treat him as well as possible and furnish him
with a little money. He wrote me a letter full of thanks, and expressing a
great deal of very proper feeling. I understood if our men had gotten a little
further into the enemy's works, they would have captured General Wise,1
as he was not far from the place where Peyton was taken.
Grant has required me to make some kind of a report of the
campaign, and I shall be very busy for some time.
_______________
1 Henry A. Wise, brother-in-law of Mrs. Meade.
SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George
Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 238-9
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