render of this garrison and post. In the main your terms are accepted; but in justice both to the honor and spirit of my troops, manifested in the defence of Vicksburg, I have the honor to submit the following amendments, which, if acceded to by you, will perfect the agreement between us at ten o'clock tomorrow. I propose to evacuate the works in and around Vicksburg, and to surrender the city and garrison under my command by marching out with my colors and arms, and stacking them in front of my present lines after which you will take possession; officers to retain their side-arms and personal property, and the rights and property of citizens to be respected.

I am, General, yours, very respectfully,

J. C. PEMBERTON, Lieut.-General."

To this General Grant immediately replied as follows: "HEAD-QUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE, "BEFORE VICKSBURG, July 4th, 1863. "Lieutenant-General Pemberton, Commanding Forces in Vicksburg:

"GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of the third of July. The amendments proposed by you cannot be acceded to in full. It will be necessary to furnish every officer and man with a parole signed by himself, which, with the completion of the rolls of prisoners, will necessarily take some time. Again, I can make no stipulation with regard to the treatment of citizens and their private property. While I do not propose to cause any of them any undue annoyance or loss, I cannot consent to leave myself under restraint by stipulations. The property which officers can be allowed to take with them will be as stated in the proposition of last evening—that is, that officers will be allowed their private baggage and sidearms, and mounted officers one horse each. If you mean by your proposition for each brigade to march to the front of the lines now occupied by it, and stack their arms at ten o'clock A.M., and then return to inside and remain as prisoners until properly paroled, I will make no objections to it. Should no modification be made of your acceptance of my terms by nine o'clock, A.M., shall regard them as having been rejected, and act accordingly. Should these terms be accepted, white flags shall be displayed along your lines to prevent such of my troops as may not have been notified from firing upon your men.

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"I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"U. S. GRANT, Major-General U.S.A."

To this the subjoined answer was received:

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HEAD-QUARTERS, VICKSBURG, July 4th, 1863.

I

"Major-General U. S. Grant, Commanding U. S. Forces: "GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of

your communication of this date, and in reply to say that the terms proposed by you are accepted.

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Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"J. C. PEMBERTON, Lieut.-General."

THE INTERVIEW BETWEEN GENERAL GRANT AND THE REBEL PEMBERTON.

The following account of the interview between the generals commanding the opposing armies, is given by an eye-witness:

"At three o'clock precisely, one gun, the pre-arranged signal, was fired, and immediately replied to by the enemy. General Pemberton then made his appearance on the works in McPherson's front, under a white flag, considerably on the left of what is known as Fort Hill. General Grant rode through our trenches until he came to an outlet, leading to a small green space, which had not been trod by either army. Here he dismounted, and advanced to meet General Pemberton, with whom he shook hands, and greeted familiarly.

"It was beneath the outspreading branches of a gigantic oak that the conference of the generals took place. Here presented the only space which had not been used for some purpose or other by the contending armies. The ground was covered with a fresh, luxuriant verdure; here and there a shrub or a clump of bushes could be seen standing out from the green growth on the surface, while several oaks filled up the scene, and gave it character. Some of the trees in their tops exhibited the effects of flying projectiles, by the loss of limbs or torn foliage, and in their trunks the indentations of smaller missiles plainly marked the occurrences to which they had been silent witnesses.

"The party made up to take part in the conference was composed as follows:

"Lieutenant-General John C. Pemberton. Major-General Bowen.

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"Colonel Montgomery, A. A.-G. to General Pemberton. "When Generals Grant and Pemberton met they shook hands, Colonel Montgomery introducing the party. A short silence ensued, at the expiration of which General Pemberton remarked:

"General Grant, I meet you in order to arrange terms for the capitulation of the city of Vicksburg and its garrison. What terms do you demand?'

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Unconditional surrender,' replied General Grant.

"Unconditional surrender!' said Pemberton. 'Never, so long as I have a man left me! I will fight rather.'

"Then, sir, you can continue the defence,' coolly said General Grant. My army has never been in a better condition for the prosecution of the siege.'

"During the passing of these few preliminaries, General Pemberton was greatly agitated, quaking from head to foot, while General Grant experienced all his natural self-possession, and evinced not the least sign of embarrassment.

"After a short conversation standing, by a kind of mutual tendency the two generals wandered off from the rest of the party and seated themselves on the grass, in a cluster of bushes, where alone they talked over the important events then pending. General Grant could be seen, even at that distance, talking coolly, occasionally giving a few puffs at his favorite companion -his black cigar. General McPherson, General A. J. Smith, General Bowen, and Colonel Montgomery, imitating the example of the commanding generals, seated themselves at some distance off, while the respective staffs of the generals formed another and larger group in the rear.

"After a lengthy conversation the generals separated. General Pemberton did not come to any conclusion on the matter, but stated his intention to submit the matter to a council of general officers of his command; and, in the event of their assent, the surrender of the city should be made in the morning. Until morning was given him to consider, to determine upon the matter, and send in his final reply. The generals now rode to their respective quarters."

The same correspondent, under date of July 4th, 1863, writes as follows:

"Having a few hours leisure this morning, prior to the arrival of the despatch from General Pemberton, stating he was ready to surrender, I took occasion to visit General Grant, and found everybody about his head-quarters in a state of the liveliest statisfaction. It was evident the glorious events of the day were duly appreciated.

"The General I found in conversation more animated than I have ever known him. He is evidently contented with the manner in which he has acquitted himself of the responsible task which has for more than five months engrossed his mind and his army. The consummation is one of which he may well be proud. From Bruinsburg to Vicksburg, nineteen days, presents one of the most active records of marches, actions, and victories of the war. All the combined operations of our armies, for a

similar length of time, cannot equal it. It is unparalleled, the only campaign of the war which has involved celerity of movement, attack, victory, pursuit, and the annihilation of the enemy."

THE COMMANDER AND HIS MEN.

During this campaign General Grant shared all the hardships of his men, frequently sleeping in the open air and having for his daily food the ration of the private soldier. It is also stated that he had neither horse nor servant, overcoat nor blanket, and that his only baggage was a tooth brush. Throughout the progress of the siege this great commander was ever present, and even the most unimportant movements received his close attention, while during an engagement, his appearance upon the field of battle encouraged his brave men to deeds of valor which have been rarely equalled in their brilliancy. On the seventh of May he issued the following address :

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"HEAD-QUARTERS, ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, IN THE FIELD, HAWKINSON'S FERRY, May 7th, 1863. "Soldiers of the Army of Tennessee :

"Once more I thank you for adding another victory to the long list of those previously won by your valor and endurance. The triumph gained over the enemy near Port Gibson, on the 1st, was one of the most important of the war. The capture of five cannon, and more than one thousand prisoners, the possession of Grand Gulf, and a firm foothold on the highlands between the Big Black and Bayou Pierre, from whence we threaten the whole line of the enemy, are among the fruits of this brilliant achievement.

"The march from Milliken's Bend to the point opposite Grand Gulf was made in stormy weather, over the worst of roads. Bridges and ferries had to be constructed. Moving by night as well as by day, with labor incessant, and extraordinary privations endured by men and officers, such as have been rarelyparalleled in any campaign, not a murmur of complaint has been uttered. A few days continuance of the same zeal and constancy will secure to this army crowning victories over the rebellion.

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Let us en

More difficulties and privations are before us. dure them manfully. Other battles are to be fought. Let us fight them bravely. A grateful country will rejoice at our success, and history will record it with immortal honor.

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"U. S. GRANT,

"Major-General Commanding."

THE REBEL LOSS DURING THE SIEGE. The loss of the rebels in men and material during the campaign may be summed up as follows: one LieutenantGeneral, nineteen Major and Brigadier-Generals, four thousand six hundred field, staff and line officers, and thirty thousand non-commissioned officers and privates taken prisoners; killed in battles and skirmishes one thousand; wounded, four thousand; captured in the hospitals, six thousand; and stragglers eight hundred, making a grand total of forty-six thousand four hundred and twenty men. They also lost ninety siege-guns, two hundred and eleven pieces of field artillery and forty-five thousand small arms.

A TRIBUTE FROM GENERAL HALLECK-THE PRESIDENT THANKS THE VICTOR.

General Halleck, in his annual report of military operations in Mississippi, pays the following just compliment to the hero of Vicksburg:

"When we consider the character of the country in which this army operated, the formidable obstacles to be overcome, the number of forces and the strength of the enemy's works, we cannot fail to admire the courage and endurance of the troops, and the skill and daring of their commander. No more brilliant exploit can be found in military history. It has been alleged, and the allegation has been widely circulated by the press, that General Grant in the conduct of his campaign positively disobeyed the instructions of his superiors. It is hardly necessary to remark, that General Grant never disobeyed an order or instruction, but always carried out to the best of his ability every wish or suggestion made to him by the government. Moreover, he has never complained that the government did not furnish him all the means and assistance in its power to facilitate the execution of any plan he saw fit to adopt.

"Whilst the main army of Tennessee was operating against Vicksburg, the enemy's force on the west side of the river made unsuccessful attacks on Milliken's Bend and Lake Providence, on the 6th and 10th of June. Our loss in the former was 101 killed, 285 wounded, and 266 missing. The loss in the latter was not reported. It is represented that the colored troops in these desperate engagements fought with great bravery; and