ST. LOUIS, Nov. 8, 1885.
Dear Brother: . . . I have been importuned from every quarter to
write or say something about the "Depew" revelations,1 but
have steadily refused anything for publication. But a few days ago Blaine wrote
me confidentially, as he wanted information in the preparation of his second
volume. I have answered him, sending copies of letters and papers from my
private files, which I believe established these points. The attempt to send
General Grant along with Lew Campbell to Mexico in October, 1866, had no
connection with Congress's final quarrel with President Johnson, which did not
happen till after January 14, 1865, and then only because Grant allowed Stanton
to regain his office as Secretary of War, after forcing him to contend for it
in the courts. Indeed, Grant served in Johnson's Cabinet during Stanton's
suspension, viz., from August, 1867, to January, 1868, and was, to my personal
knowledge, on friendly terms with Johnson. The real cause for their quarrel was
that article in the "National Intelligencer," January 14, 1868, when
four members of the Cabinet accused Grant of prevaricating and deceiving the
President. I was present when Grant made his explanation of the whole case to
Johnson, and I understood the latter to express himself as satisfied. But the
newspapers kept it up, and made the breach final and angry.
I do not believe
that Johnson ever contemplated the use of force against Congress, and am
equally sure that Grant, at the time, had no fear or apprehension of such a
thing....
1 This refers to an interview with Mr. Depew
referring to the Johnson-Grant difficulty at the end of the war.
SOURCE: Rachel
Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between
General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 368-9
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