return to their homes; all public property was to be turned over, but the officers were allowed to keep their side-arms, and both officers and men to retain their private horses and baggage. These terms were so magnanimous, and the treatment of Lee and his officers so considerate, that the effect was to induce other Confederates to seek the same terms and bring the rebellion to a speedy close. In riding to his camp after the surrender, Grant heard the firing of salutes. He sent at once to suppress them, and said: “The war is over; the rebels are again our countrymen, and the best sign of rejoicing after the victory will be to abstain from all demonstrations in the field.” The number paroled was 28,356. In addition to these, 19,132 had been captured during the campaign since March 29. The killed were estimated at 5,000. After 9 April, over 20,000 stragglers and deserters besides came in and surrendered. The National losses during this period were 2,000 killed, 6,500 wounded, and 2,500 missing. Grant's losses, including those of Butler's army, during the year beginning with the battle of the Wilderness, were 12,663 killed, 49,559 wounded, and 20,498 missing; total, 82,700. No accurate reports of the Confederate losses can be obtained; but Grant's captures in battle during this year were 66,512.
On 10 April, Grant went to Washington to hasten
the disbanding of the armies, stop purchases of
supplies, and save expense to the government. He
did not stop to visit Richmond. President Lincoln
was assassinated on the 14th, and Grant would
probably have shared the same fate but for his having
left Washington that day. On 18 April, Sherman
received the surrender of Johnston's army,
but on terms that the government did not approve,
and Grant was sent to North Carolina to conduct
further negotiations. On the 26th Johnston
surrendered to Sherman on terms similar to those
given to Lee, and 31,243 men were paroled. Grant
remained at Raleigh and avoided being present at
the interview, leaving to Sherman the full credit
of the capture. Canby's force appeared before
Mobile on 27 March, the principal defensive works
were captured on 9 April, and Mobile was evacuated
on the llth, when 200 guns and 4,000 prisoners
were captured, but about 9,000 of the garrison
escaped. Wilson's cavalry command captured
Selma, Ala., on 2 April, and Tuscaloosa on the 4th,
occupied Montgomery on the 14th, and took West
Point and Columbus, Ga., on the 16th. Macon
surrendered on the 21st. Kirby Smith surrendered
his command, west of the Mississippi, on the 26th.
There was then not an armed enemy left in the
country, and the rebellion was ended. Grant
established his headquarters in Washington. He was
greeted with ovations wherever he went, honors
were heaped upon him in every part of the land,
and he was universally hailed as the country's
deliverer. In June, July, and August, 1865, he made a
tour through the northern States and Canada. In
November he was welcomed in New York by a
demonstration that exceeded all previous efforts. It
consisted of a banquet and reception, and the
manifestations of the people in their greetings
knew no bounds. Immediately after the war, Grant
sent Gen. Sheridan with an army corps to the Rio
Grande river to observe the movements of the
French, who were then in Mexico supporting the
Imperial government there in violation of the
Monroe doctrine. This demonstration was the chief
cause of the withdrawal of the French. Maximilian,
being left without assistance from a European
power, was soon driven from his throne, and the
republic of Mexico was re-established.
The U. S. court in Virginia had found indictments against Gen. Lee and other officers prominent in the rebellion, and much anxiety was manifested by them on this account. Two months after the war, Lee applied by letter to be permitted to enjoy privileges extended to those included in a proclamation of amnesty, which had been issued by the president. Grant put an indorsement on the letter, which began as follows: “Respectfully forwarded through the secretary of war to the president, with the earnest recommendation that the application of Gen. Robert E. Lee for amnesty and pardon be granted him.” But President Johnson was at that time embittered against all participants in the rebellion, and seemed determined to have Lee and others punished for the crime of treason. Lee afterward made a strong plea by letter to Grant for protection. Grant put a long and emphatic endorsement upon this letter, in which he used the following language: “In my opinion, the officers and men paroled at Appomattox Court-House and since, upon the same terms given to Lee, cannot be tried for treason so long as they preserve the terms of their parole. . . . The action of Judge Underwood in Norfolk has already had an injurious effect, and I would ask that he be ordered to quash all indictments found against paroled prisoners of war, and to desist from further prosecution of them.” Grant insisted that he had the power to accord the terms he granted at Appomattox, and that the president was bound to respect the agreements there entered into unless they should be abrogated by the prisoners violating their paroles. He went so far as to declare that he would resign his commission if so gross a breach of good faith should be perpetrated by the executive. The result was the abandonment of the prosecutions. This was the first of a series of contests between Grant and President Johnson, which finally resulted in their entire estrangement. In December, Grant made a tour of inspection through the south. His report upon affairs in that section of the country was submitted to congress by the president, and became the basis of important reconstruction laws. In May, 1866, he wrote a letter to the secretary of war, which was submitted to congress, and became the basis for the reorganization of the army, and also for the distribution of troops through the south during the process of reconstruction. The Fenians were now giving the government much trouble, and in consequence of their acts the relations between the United States and Great Britain were becoming strained. They had organized a raid into Canada to take place during the summer; but Grant visited Buffalo in June, took effective measures to stop them, and prevented all further unlawful acts on their part. Congress had passed an act creating the grade of general, a higher rank than had before existed in the army, to be conferred on Grant as a reward for his illustrious services in the field, and on 25 July, 1866, he received his commission.
In the autumn of 1866, President Johnson having changed his policy toward the south, finding that Grant refused to support him in his intentions to assume powers that Grant believed were vested only in congress, ordered him out of the country, with directions to proceed on a special mission to Mexico. Grant refused, saying that this was not a military service but a diplomatic mission, and that he claimed the right possessed by every citizen to decline a civil appointment. An effort was afterward made to send him west, to prevent his presence in Washington, but it was soon abandoned. The 39th congress, fearing the result of this action
