At the Cabinet, the President read dispatches from General
Grant, General Butler, General Sherman, and some others. I had previously seen
some of these dispatches. They were all in good and encouraging tone. There
have been some conflicting doubts in regard to General Wadsworth, who is
undoubtedly slain, and his body is, I think, in the hands of the Rebels. Few
nobler spirits have fallen in this war. He should, by good right and
fair-dealing, have been at this moment Governor of New York, but the perfidy of
Thurlow Weed and others defeated him. I have always believed that Seward was,
if not implicated, a sympathizer in that business. No purer or more
single-minded patriot than Wadsworth has shown himself in this war. He left
home and comforts and wealth to fight the battles of the Union.
A scout came in this P.M. with dispatches from General
Grant. He brings information that General Sedgwick was killed yesterday by a
sharpshooter. He was among the good and brave generals, though not of the class
of dashing officers, and was ever reliable and persistent. The death of no
general officer during the war could be more depressing, I apprehend, than
this, and his loss at this juncture will be felt by the army and country.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 —
December 31, 1866, p. 27-8
No comments:
Post a Comment