You have done your
best to sacrifice this army----"
He paused and his square jaws came together firmly.
"And if that be treason, they can make the most of it!"
"I am curious to know how he meets you to-day," John said with a smile.
An orderly announced the arrival of the President and the Commanding
General promptly boarded his steamer. In ten minutes the two men were
facing each other in the stateroom assigned the Chief Magistrate.
Lincoln's tall, rugged figure met the compact General with the easy
generous attitude of a father ready to have it out with a wayward boy.
His smile was friendly and the grip of his big hand cordial.
"I am satisfied, sir, that you, your officers and men have done the best
you could. All accounts say that better fighting was never done. Ten
thousand thanks, in the name of the people for it."
The words were generous, but the commander put in a suggestion for more.
"Never, Mr. President," he said emphatically, "did such a change of
base, involving a retrogressive movement under incessant attacks from a
vastly more numerous foe partake of so little disaster. When all is
known you will see that the movement just completed by this army is
unparalleled in the annals of war. We have preserved our trains, our
guns, our material, and, above all, our honor.
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