The Last Weeks of Abraham Lincoln

by David Alan Johnson

  Mary Lincoln returned to City Point aboard the steamer Monohasset on April 6. She had not seen her husband since April 1 and was alarmed by his appearance. He seemed to be more tired and anxious than ever—anxious over how soon the war would end and anxious over the reunification of the country after it finally ended. But her worries concerning the president did not prevent her from taking a grand tour of Richmond. She had been in Washington when her husband and Tad had visited the Confederate capital and missed the cheering of the freed slaves, and had missed seeing Jefferson Davis's house.

  Mary Lincoln wanted to see Richmond every bit as much as her husband, and decided to have her own tour of the city. Along with Senator Sumner, the Marquis de Chambrun, Robert Lincoln's girlfriend, and Elizabeth Keckley, Mrs. Lincoln saw everything worth seeing. As a biographer put it, “Mary Lincoln triumphantly toured the enemy capital.”4 The only person who enjoyed the sightseeing tour more than Mrs. Lincoln was Elizabeth Keckley, the former slave.

  Mrs. Lincoln's perspective of the capital was not much different than her husband's had been. “Hundreds of Negroes” welcomed her party with “loud enthusiasm;” from the doorways, “terrified white people peeped out;” and she discovered that Jefferson Davis's residence was “a fine building with beautiful parlors,” and also that the Confederate president “had carried away everything moveable in his hasty flight.”5 But Mrs. Lincoln also stopped at Libby Prison, which the president had decided not to visit during his tour of Richmond. The prison had once detained thousands of Federal inmates, but now housed about nine hundred Confederates. “Mrs. Lincoln was anxious to see them,” the Marquis de Chambrun explained. “Almost all these unfortunates rose respectfully; some few, however, hissed or whistled.” The marquis does not mention Mary Lincoln's reaction to this, or to anything else she experienced in Richmond, except that she had become angry and indignant when she learned of the mistreatment of Union prisoners. When she was informed that three thousand Union prisoners had been packed into the same space that now held nine hundred Confederates, he recalled that “our indignation overflowed.”

  About thirty five miles southwest of Richmond, General Ulysses S. Grant had his mind focused on a more immediate problem. General Robert E. Lee and his army had moved out from Amelia Court House during the night; Grant's forces were right behind the Confederates, doing their best to catch up with them. The army had been moving at a rate of thirty miles a day, sometimes more, past the discarded muskets and broken vehicles left behind by the retreating Confederates. General Lee was still moving westward, heading for the town of Farmville, a stop on the Southside Railroad. Lee was still trying for Danville and General Johnston's army in North Carolina. Grant was trying to stop him.

  The two sides finally met at Sayler's Creek. According to General Grant's laconic account, “a heavy engagement took place in which infantry, artillery, and cavalry were all brought into action.”6 He went on to explain that his men had the advantage of occupying the high ground, and also that they were able to fire more rapidly—as the enemy retreated, they had to turn to face Grant's men every time they fired, which slowed their rate of fire.

  Colonel Elisha Hunt Rhodes saw the battle from a completely different perspective. The first sign of the impending battle came during the afternoon, when Colonel Rhodes heard firing off to the right and front of his position. One of General Sheridan's senior officers said that Sayler's Creek was directly ahead of them, and that a Confederate wagon train was on the other side of it, guarded by a “Rebel corps” commanded by General Richard “Baldy” Ewell. The cavalry had stopped the advance of the wagon train. Colonel Rhodes's regiment, the Second Rhode Island Infantry, was ordered to attack.

  When he reported back to his regiment, a captain asked Colonel Rhodes, “Colonel, are we to fight again?” When Rhodes said yes, the captain responded, “This will be the last battle if we win, and then you and I can go home.”7 Along with everyone else in the Second Rhode Island, Colonel Rhodes certainly hoped this would be the last battle.

  Colonel Rhodes's unit moved down a hill, crossed the creek, and attacked the Confederate position. The Confederates retreated toward a patch of woods. When they came within fifty yards of the woods, a Confederate officer stepped out and shouted for the men to fire. “A long line of Rebels fired right into our faces and then charged through our line and getting between us and the river.”8 The Rhode Islanders regrouped and reformed, recrossed the river, and captured the Confederate wagon train. They also captured “about fifty Rebel officers,” and kept after the retreating Confederates until after dark. The day's fighting cost the Second Rhode Island forty-four men killed and wounded. One of those killed was the captain that had asked if the regiment would be fighting that day.

  The fighting at Sayler's Creek cost General Lee more than he could afford. “The enemy's loss was very heavy,” General Grant said, in an understatement.9 “Some six general officers fell into our hands in this engagement, and several thousand men were made prisoners.” General Grant realized that the fighting could not go on much longer, not at the rate that General Lee was losing men.

  One of the Confederate officers that had been captured was General Richard “Baldy” Ewell. In the course of the day, General Grant met a relative of General Ewell, a Dr. Smith, who told Grant about a conversation he had had with Ewell. According to Dr. Smith, General Ewell said that when General Grant's army crossed the James River in June 1864, “he knew their cause was lost.”10 Because of this, General Ewell was of the opinion that “the authorities” should have asked for an armistice at that time, “to make the best terms they could while they still had a right to claim concessions.” But now it was too late—“the cause was lost and they had no right to claim anything.”

  General Ewell had gone on to say “that for every man that was killed after this in the war somebody”—somebody in the Confederate government, he meant—“was responsible and it would be very little better than murder.”11 General Ewell's mind was clearly on bringing the fighting to an end, but he was not sure if General Lee would be willing to surrender his army without being able to consult with President Davis beforehand. General Ewell hoped that he would.

  President Lincoln first received word of Thursday's fighting at 11:15 that night. General Phil Sheridan telegraphed a brief report to General Grant; Grant forwarded it along to the president. The president forwarded it along to Secretary of War Stanton in the morning.

  General Sheridan sounded confident and enthusiastic in his account of the day's fighting. He began by stating simply that “the enemy made a stand,” but that he attacked with two divisions of the Sixth Corps “and routed them handsomely.”1 His listing of the Sixth Corps’ activities sounded more impressive: “Up to the present time we have captured Generals [Richard] Ewell, [Joseph] Kershaw, [Seth M.] Barton, [Montgomery E.] Corse, [Dudley] DuBose, and Custis Lee, several thousand prisoners, 14 pieces of artillery with caissons and a large number of wagons.” Sheridan ended with: “If the thing is pressed I think Lee will surrender.”

  Secretary Stanton immediately wired his congratulations to President Lincoln “on the glorious news of this morning.”2 He also let the president know that Secretary of State William Seward was recovering from his injuries, and that he was in good spirits. The communiqué concerning the results of yesterday's fighting was the main reason for Seward's high morale: “Your news stimulates him better than anything the apothecary could give.”

  General Sheridan's message had the same effect on Lincoln; it was the best news he could have hoped for. Later in the morning, he received even more encouraging news about Sayler's Creek. General Grant forwarded three telegrams from generals who had taken part in the fighting. The first was from General Andrew A. Humphries, commander of the Second Corps. “Our last fight just before dark at Sailors Creek gave us two (2) guns 3 flags considerable number of prisoners 200 wagons 70 ambulances with mules & horses to about one half the wagons & ambulances,” is the way General Humphries began his d
ispatch.3 He went on to detail that more than two miles of road “is strewed with tents baggage cooking utensils” along with other equipment that had been discarded by the retreating Confederates, and explained that “it will take some time” to clear away all of the debris. Even though his men had given a very good account of themselves during the battle, General Humphries apologized for the fact “that I cannot follow rapidly during the night.” He knew that the enemy was in full retreat and did not want to let up for any reason, even darkness.

  General George Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, also sent a report that was read by President Lincoln. General Meade was known as the “goddamn goggle-eyed snapping turtle” because of his short temper and sour disposition, but even Meade managed to say something cheerful about the results of yesterday's action. “At daylight this morning I moved the 2d 5 & 6th Corps along the R R in the direction of Amelia C.H.,” he started off, and went on to explain exactly how the many units of the three corps made their advance.4 After this exciting beginning, Meade became—for him, at least—nothing short of enthusiastic. He referred to the corps commanders as “distinguished officers,” and went on to pronounce, “it is evident todays works is going to be one of the most important of the recent brilliant operations.” Saving the best for last, General Meade said exactly what President Lincoln and General Grant wanted to hear: “The pursuit will be continued so soon as the men have a little rest.”

  The third telegram that Lincoln read was from General Horatio Wright, commander of the veteran Sixth Corps, who gave a detailed account of his experiences at Sayler's Creek. “I proceeded across toward a nearly parallel road on which the Enemy was moving,” he wrote, and “we swept down the road for a distance of about 2 miles.”5 There was also a second attack—“the Enemy had reformed his line on the opposite side where we attacked & drove him to a point a distance of a half mile further.”

  The major part of General Wright's lengthy account was a confusing combination of misspelled words and hard to follow phrases. But one particular sentence summed up the battle in a nutshell, plainly and concisely enough for anyone to follow: “The result has been a complete success.”6 The report went on to recount that “General Ewell & Curtis Lee & large numbers of other prisoners” were captured, but everything President Lincoln wanted to know was laid out in those seven words. All of the advancing and maneuvering against a heavily resisting enemy had ended in complete success.

  President Lincoln probably did not understand every detail of the reports he read, most of which involved troop movements and strategy, and he may not even have read all of the telegrams in their entirety. But all of the telegrams boiled down to one conclusion: General Lee was on the run, General Grant was right behind him, and the end of the war was now only a matter of days away. The last sentence of General Sherman's dispatch made a particular impression: “If the thing is pressed I think Lee will surrender.” At 11:00 a.,., Lincoln sent a telegram to General Grant that has become part of the Lincoln legend:

  Head Quarters Armies of the United States,

  City-Point, April 7. 11 AM. 1865

  Lieut Gen. Grant.

  Gen. Sheridan says “If the thing is pressed I think that Lee will surrender.” Let the thing be pressed.

  A. LINCOLN7

  Robert E. Lee was the subject of a good many conversations and discussions during the first week of April, along with the surrender of his army. “It is desirable that Lee should be captured,” Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wrote.8 Secretary Welles did not have much use for General Lee, an opinion he had in common with many individuals throughout the North.

  Welles was afraid that if General Lee managed to escape Grant, he would rally his “brigand force” and carry on a guerilla war in the interior. And Lee was “weak enough to try and continue hostilities,” in Welles's opinion.9 His “infidelity to the country which educated, and employed, and paid him shows gross ingratitude,” Welles thought. “His true course would be to desert the country he has betrayed and never return.”

  Lincoln was in full agreement with Secretary Welles on this last point. President Lincoln would have had no objections at all if General Lee and every other high-ranking Confederate officer, along with President Jefferson Davis and the entire Confederate government, left the country permanently. If Lee and Davis were to take up permanent residence in Cuba or Canada or somewhere in Europe, they would no longer be in any position to cause more trouble.

  But there were many throughout the North who thought that exile was too lenient a punishment for General Lee. They did not want Lee to be banished; they wanted to see him hanged. Lincoln did not approve of this point of view. The very last thing he wanted was to turn Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee into martyrs for the Lost Cause. He realized that he would have enough problems in trying to reunify the country without having Confederate martyrs to contend with.

  The president expressed this point of view to several guests during a gathering aboard the River Queen, a get together that included Julia Grant, Mary Lincoln, longtime friend Elihu Washburne, the Marquis de Chambrun, and several other friends. Someone brought up the subject of the surrender of General Lee and his army, and also mentioned the possibility that Jefferson Davis and his cabinet might also be captured. President Lincoln was not happy about the second possibility. He pointed out that the “untimely capture” of President Davis would be the cause of “difficulty and embarrassment” for the government—Davis would become a bone of contention between those who favored clemency for the South, including himself, and those who saw Davis as a traitor and wanted vengeance.10

  Another of the guests said of Davis, “Don't let him escape. He must be hanged.” President Lincoln's response to this was, “Let us judge not, that we be not judged.”11 Libby Prison was also mentioned—the Confederate prison with all of its horrors should make any attempt at mercy or sympathy toward the South impossible. The president calmly repeated his Biblical quote, which he had also used in his second inaugural address. His goal for reunification was charity for all, including Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.

  Julia Grant was also asked for her opinion on the subject: “What shall be done with the Confederate President Jefferson David in the event of his capture?”12 Mrs. Grant happened to catch the “friendly glance” of President Lincoln just as the question was being asked. After repeating the question slowly to herself, she very carefully replied, “I would trust him, I think, to the mercy of our always just and most gracious President.” She later recalled that this answer “won me not a few compliments,” and that those present said that it was “a most diplomatic answer.” Mrs. Grant did not mention what the president himself had to say about her response.

  Robert E. Lee was also on General Grant's mind, but for a completely different reason. The Confederate forces were still moving westward. General Phil Sheridan was right behind the retreating enemy and had made contact at the town of Farmville, a few miles to the west of Sayler's Creek. General Grant rode into Farmville later in the day, a few hours after the skirmish. General Sheridan sent a communiqué that seven trainloads of rations and provisions, supplies for Lee's army, had stopped at Appomattox, and that he was planning to capture them.

  General Grant could see that Lee was running out of time and realized that it would be only a matter of a few days before his army would be completely isolated. If Phil Sheridan could capture the Confederate supply trains at Appomattox Station, Lee's army would be deprived from receiving any rations for some time, perhaps for several days. This, along with the conversation he had had with Dr. Smith the night before, gave General Grant the idea of asking Lee to surrender. He sat down and wrote:

  HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,

  April 7, 1865—5 p. m.

  General R. E. LEE,

  Commanding C. S. Army:

  GENERAL: The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle.
I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the C. S. Army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.

  Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

  U. S. GRANT,

  Lieutenant-General, Commanding Armies of the United States.13

  The letter was given to an officer, who rode from Farmville toward the north bank of the Appomattox River with a flag of truce.

  General Grant spent the night in a small hotel in Farmville. He slept in the room that, he was told, had been occupied by General Lee the night before. Around midnight, he was awakened by a messenger with a reply from General Lee:

  APRIL 7, 1865.

  Lieutenant General U. S. GRANT,

  Commanding Armies of the United States:

  GENERAL: I have received your note of this date. Though not entertaining the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender.

  R. E. LEE,

  General.14

  “That was not satisfactory,” was General Grant's reaction to Lee's reply.15 But he had not really expected General Lee to surrender on the basis of one letter. Still, he considered General Lee's reply “as deserving another letter,” and decided to send him another surrender request in the morning, after he had a few more hours sleep.