peninsula, in front of Vicksburg. But all that time the true movement was the original movement, and every thing approximating to it came nearer the truth. make any retrograde movement. Why? ple at the North were too noisy.

But we could not Because your peo

"We could not take any step backward, and for that reason we were forced to run the batteries at Vicksburg, and make a lodgment on the ridges on some of the bluffs below Vicksburg. It is said I protested against it. It is folly. I never protested in my life-never. On the contrary, General Grant rested on me probably more responsibility even than any other commander under him; for he wrote to me, 'I want you to move on Haines' Bluff to enable me to pass to the next fort belowGrand Gulf. I hate to ask you, because the fervor of the North will accuse you of being rebellious again.' I love Grant for his kindness. I did make the feint on Haines' Bluff, and by that means Grant ran the blockade easily to Grand Gulf, and made a lodgment down there, and got his army up on the high plateau in the rear of Vicksburg, while you people here were beguiled into the belief that Sherman was again repulsed. But we did not repose confidence in everybody. Then followed the movements on Jackson, and the 4th of July placed us in possession of that great stronghold, Vicksburg, and then, as Mr. Lincoln said, ' the Mississippi went unvexed to the sea.'

"From that day to this the war has been virtually and properly settled. It was a certainty then. They would have said, 'We give up;' but Davis would not ratify it, and he had them under good discipline, and therefore it was necessary to fight again. Then came the affair of Chickamauga. The Army of the Mississippi, lying along its banks, were called into a new field of action, and so one morning early I got orders to go to Chattanooga. I did not know where it was, hardly. I did not know the road to go there. But I found it, and got there in time. And although my men were shoeless, and the cold and bitter frosts of winter were upon us, yet I must still go to Knoxville, one hundred and thirteen miles further, to relieve Burnside. That march we made. Then winter forced

us to lie quiet. During that winter I took a little exercise down the river, but that is of no account."

General Buell has since published a lengthy reply to this speech, showing, by official documents: I. That as early as the 3d of January, 1862, he himself proposed to General Halleck the identical plan of operations that was subsequently followed; II. That General Halleck had at that time neither formed nor adopted any plan of operations for the ensuing campaign. General Buell also endeavors to prove that the delays which occurred in the execution of the plan were not chargeable to him.

The prime object of General Sherman's remarks, however, was simply to award credit which he supposed due to one who had become his enemy. To that end he stated the facts as they came within his knowledge, and could hardly have been expected to be cognizant of the confidential dispatches quoted by General Buell.

From St. Louis, General Sherman went to Chicago, Columbus, and other places, on his way home, everywhere heartily greeted by the people and the returned soldiers, and everywhere compelled, in spite of himself, to satisfy the desire of the crowd for a speech.

After his return to St. Louis, General Sherman was present, with General Grant, at a banquet given to a party of English capitalists, consisting of Mr. James McHenry, the Hon. T. Kinnaird, Sir Morton Peto, and others, at the Southern Hotel, on Thursday night, September 14th, 1865. General Grant, who was present, having been in vain called upon to reply to a toast, General Sherman said :

"GENTLEMEN-I regret exceedingly that my commanding general will not respond to the sentiment. As a citizen of St. Louis, rather than as an officer in the army, I will thank these gentlemen for the kindly mention they have made of General Grant, the whole army, and myself. I believe it is sincere. I believe they appreciate and realize the fact that General

Grant, as the representative of the Army of the United States has had, from the beginning to the end, but one single purpose in view. He has not sought to kill, slay, and destroy, but resolved on the first day of the war that this country should live one and inseparable forever. He felt as we all should feel, prepared for this very occasion, when honorable gentlemen may come from abroad, and not have occasion to blush that the sons of Englishmen permitted anarchy and downfall in the country intrusted to them. And notwithstanding the spirit of the press at one time in England, I believe then and now every true Anglo-Saxon, every Irishman, and every Scotchman rejoiced, and rejoice now, that we are men, and that we did not permit our country to break in two or many sections. And, moreover, I believe every foreign nation-France, Spain, Germany, and Russia-have as much interest in our national existence as we have ourselves; and now, that peace is once more attained, these gentlemen come of their own accord, generously and kindly, to see for themselves whether we merit the assistance which they have in abundance to develop the resources of our country, yet new, with forests still standing on nine-tenths of it. They seem to be impressed favorably, and I have no doubt, in their influential stations abroad, they will induce thousands and millions to think and feel as they do. They have seen this day the iron-clads stripped of their armor. They have seen your levee for three miles lined with peaceful steamboats loaded with corn and oats to go to that Southern country with which we have been at war. They see the lieutenant-general of all our armies dressed as a citizen at this table, and they will carry abroad a perfectly comprehensive, clear, and mathematical intelligence that we are at peace, that we want peace, and that we will have it, even at the expense of war.

"But I am well assured that there is no nation that desires war with us; that every question that can possibly arise can be adjusted by statesmen, by merchants, by men of intelligence and public citizens, assembled together just as you are, discussing just as you would the affairs of the Pacific Railroad,

or any thing else-adjusting differences, striking the balance, and paying it out in bank when called for. Therefore, gentlemen, I am glad to see you among us, and I know the people of St. Louis are glad to see you. You can see in one hour what you could not procure by reading one thousand columns of closely printed matter in the London Times. There are things seen, things felt within, which cannot be described. Even Shakspeare fails to convey a full and intelligent description of many thoughts, and no author can convey a description of a place or locality that will give you in a month of reading what you acquire to-day by simply running back and forth by our city, and traversing it right and left in carriages.

"You have seen the streets of the city and the form and manner of building, and the character of the buildings; and you have seen where but a few years ago there was nothing but a wild prairie, and where, as has been stated, forty years ago there was but a French village of four thousand inhabitants, and you find yourself in a palace-in a room which will compare favorably with any on earth. From these facts, you can arrive at conclusions in regard to the future. Whether vivid or not, it is for the future. The present you have seen for yourselves. You have seen the material resources of the country. The people of the country have heard the kindly words which you have spoken, and I know we receive it in the plain British meaning. I, therefore, simply, gentlemen, beg to assure you of my respect-a respect which all educated officers in the army bear to England, and all nations that act fairly, manfully, and without concealment."

CHAPTER XXXVII.

CONCLUSION.

WHEN Count Segur, in giving his graphic account of Napoleon's great Russian campaign, declared it was impossible to comprehend the great events of history without a perfect knowledge of the character and manners of the principal actors, he disclosed a profound knowledge of his art. Such knowledge of Sherman, however, can only be had by being associated with him both at home and in the field. If we form our estimate of General Sherman's character and manners from his brilliant but hasty letters and military reports alone, or from the record of his military career, or from such descriptions of him as have been given by army correspondents, or from all these sources of information together, we will be likely to have a very imperfect idea of the man. The country, however, and the world will probably agree in according him military genius of a high order. Indeed, this judgment can hardly be withheld without obliterating the most brilliant achievements of the war, still fresh in the memory of all.

It has been the fortune of but few eminent men like General Sherman, to receive both the applause and abuse usually accorded to greatness, in the short space of four years. It is too early to write his history. Fifty or a hundred years hence he will be better understood than now, and more appreciated.

In personal appearance and manners, General Sherman is not essentially different from other men of American education and culture. At this writing, he is past forty-five years of age, of tall and commanding form; and a stranger, introduced to him for the first time, without any previous knowledge of his