his army to disband of its own volition. Buckner surrendered the Confederate remnant on May 26th. Thus disappeared the last organized Confederate force from the territory of the United States. Every man who had borne arms against the government was a prisoner of war. The number paroled, between April 9th and May 26th, was 174,223 men.

History does not record so speedy and complete a collapse of such a gigantic rebellion. It was due, more than anything, to the culmination of Grant's plans as he had shaped them from the start, which brought all his forces to bear upon vital situations, and to gradually close like a vice, literally forcing surrender or annihilation, as well as to the chivalric terms embraced in his articles of capitulation and surrender. The break at Appomattox was conclusive and final. All else of the Confederacy stood aghast and paralyzed, confronted and overshadowed, unable to turn or to defy. And yet those termsof which Pollard, the Confederate historian, says: "He (Grant) conducted the surrender with as much simplicity as possible, avoided sensation, and spared everything that might wound the feelings or imply the humiliation of a vanquished foe. Such conduct was noble. Before the surrender General Grant had expressed to his own officers his intention not to require the same formalities as are required in a surrender between the forces of two foreign nations or belligerent powers, and to exact no conditions for the mere purpose of humiliation”— those terms, forbearing and generous in all their provisions, covered all the causes of war. Arms were laid down. Secession was abandoned. The old sovereignty and flag were acknowledged. The new Confederate sovereignty was repudiated. Abolition of slavery was acquiesced in. Political reinstatement was sought. Amnesty asked.

There was acknowledgment everywhere, North and South, at home and abroad, of the unexampled skill and puissance of Grant's leadership, and of the wisdom and chivalry of his

final dealings with the vanquished foe. He had made war earnest and severe. He had fought and beaten every leading Confederate general. He had conquered, captured and annihilated armies. He had never been driven from the field, and had never taken a backward step in a campaign, except when he withdrew from Holly Springs to find another way to Vicksburg. He had ever been daring in his strategy, quick in his actions, terrible in his energy, and crushing in his blows. Yet he was never exultant, never ungenerous. And for this his foes now admired him. This helped them to bear the humiliation of defeat; this reconciled them to a new destiny; this taught them that in their conqueror they might find their most unswerving and safest friend. So they joined their voices of praise with that of the North and the world, and helped to magnify that character which was the modest, placid centre of a wider admiration, deeper respect, and more unbounded confidence, than any other in military history.

All that had been in Grant's career, up to and including Chattanooga, was an earnest of what came about when the country resolved to place its fortune in the hands of a Lieutenant-General. So all that made up the career of that high and potential official was a prelude to a destiny which, if not so marked and exciting, was even wider, more intricate, and fraught with deeper care. He had commanded millions of armed men, had invented policies, had foreseen and forced results, had made his cause triumphant, had dismissed his foes without anger, had conquered and appeased, won and not estranged. All the while he had grown in the confidence of those who trusted him, and in the respect of the open foe. No man had ever graduated in a more thoroughly practical school with higher honors. It would seem as if Providence had been raising up one for the great emergency of peace which, now that it was on, was to be made enduring only by the exercise of many of the qualities which gave brilliancy and decisiveness

to field campaigns, and drowned rebellion in the floods of final victory. Two years of halting, distrustful, unsatisfactory, almost discordant peace, made the country long again for a leader of catholic spirit, generous impulse, original force, firm purpose, consistent conviction, knowledge of situations, dignity of character, freedom from faction, and supreme trustworthiness. And such an one was already in the foreground.

The period immediately after the suppression of the rebellion, which should have been one of rest for General Grant, was really one of labor and anxiety. The gathering of a strong force under Sheridan to bring the Confederates west of the Mississippi to terms, involved far more. The attempt to establish a foreign Empire in Mexico, under Maximilian, at a time when the back of the United States was turned, and its hands bound, was regarded as an act of open hostility. Grant took high ground in this matter, and the prompt avowal of his sentiments, together with the threat involved in Sheridan's movement, did more to bring about a peaceful solution of the Mexican question than any diplomacy between the two countries. He may justly be regarded as the savior of our neighboring Republic from monarchical dynasty at a time. when it was helpless in itself.

Then came the gathering of the Federal armies at convenient places and their disbanding. This was important work. It must be done with judgment and despatch, for every day of unnecessary service meant a great loss to the government. The Army of the Potomac marched to Washington and, joined with most of the Atlantic forces, submitted to a final parade and review, It was probably the most imposing scene ever witnessed in the Capital. On June 30th, 1865, it was disbanded. The mighty hosts of citizen soldiery, which had learned and practiced the arts of war, again merged with their fellow beings in the happier pursuits of beaming peace.

Among the first questions of peace was the penalty to be

paid by those who had engaged in armed rebellion against the government. Trials for treason were instituted against conspicuous leaders, civil and military, Lee being among the latter. Grant considered that army officers who had surrendered, and privates as well, were protected by their paroles. On Lee's appeal to him, he went to the President and not being able to reach him by argument or protest, threatened to resign his commission in the army if the paroles he had solemnly granted in accordance with the powers vested in him as commander were violated by the civil authorities. The proceedings against Lee were abandoned. To the very last Grant upheld the generous and humanitarian terms he had proposed to his conquered foemen, and upon whose acceptance they had laid down their arms.

On the 25th of July, 1866, Grant was promoted to the full grade of General in the army, a recognition of his ability and services, and a mark of honor, more substantial and better suited to his quiet tastes, than princely gift, college degree, or popular ovation. Perhaps there had not been in all the country a closer student of the work of reconstruction, now going on in a very unsatisfactory way, owing to the growing discord between the executive and legislative branches of the government. As the head of the army he stood ready to co-operate with any plan that could be agreed upon. When the reconstruction Act of March, 1867, was passed, he reorganized the military districts, chose commanders suited to each, and drafted full instructions, in which he counseled adherence to law blended with moderation and forbearance toward the Southern people. Now that the sword was no longer in his hand he would not deal blows, not even inflict pressure, but would administer law in the spirit of a thoughtful, kindly disposed magistrate.

On August 12th, 1867, President Johnson made General Grant his Secretary of War ad interim. He accepted with re