Head-quartees Armies Of The U. S.
CitY Point, Va., Aug. 10, 1864.
Mrs. LYdia Slocum:
My Dear Madam:—Your
very welcome letter of the 3d instant has reached me. I am glad to know that
the relatives of the lamented Major-General McPherson are aware of the more
than friendship existing between him and myself. A nation grieves at the loss
of one so dear to our nation's cause. It is a selfish grief, because the nation
had more to expect from him than from almost any one living. I join in this
selfish grief, and add the grief of personal love for the departed. He formed,
for some time, one of my military family. I knew him well; to know him was to
love. It may be some consolation to you, his aged grandmother, to know that
every officer and every soldier who served under your grandson felt the highest
reverence for his patriotism, his zeal, his great, almost unequaled ability,
his amiability, and all the manly virtues that can adorn a commander. Your
bereavement is great, but cannot exceed mine.
Yours truly,
U. S. Grant.
SOURCE: Phineas Camp Headley, The Life and Campaigns of General U. S. Grant, p. 518
No comments:
Post a Comment