675 
 C56 
 1872 
 MAIN 
 
 IRLF 
 
 B 3 53fl 
 
GREELEY VS. GRANT, 
 
 of True Democrats. 
 
 ANfcOPEN BETTER BY HON. PHILLIP CLAYTON, OP 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 DEMOCRAT THINKS LETTER 
 GEN? JOHN A. DIX, OP NEW YORK. 
 
 OP 
 
 , GA., July 22, 1873. 
 To tlib wl&r&vf Qsorgiat 
 
 When the Baltimore Convention dissolved 
 tile-Democratic party,, by substituting a now 
 platform of principles for the time-honored 
 one it was their pride to proclaim and their 
 boast to maintain; and when upon this new 
 platform they placed a candidate with whom 
 they had antagonized more than a quarter of a 
 century, it left each individual Democrat to 
 choose between the only two candidates in 
 tlio Held, General Grant and Mr. Greeley. 
 In the exercise of the right which belonged 
 to each individual member, and in obedience 
 to the stern neessity their action had im 
 posed, I gave publicity to the course, which 
 L had of 6 repeated In private circles, I in 
 tended to pursue. In doing ,so I have aroused 
 tne indignation of that portion of the press of 
 $hi3 State who- have determined, some from 
 Choice and some from the irresistible despotism 
 of party, to support Mr. Greeley. Their modes 
 oflexpressing their disapprobation are various 
 ana amusing one thinks and so says, I have 
 .runt/the thing in the ground;" another says 
 0n*>P2*Glayton has written a letter in favor 
 of -Grant -/.^another is merciful on account 
 oJ&jjiy former position and the standing of 
 my* family, while another has a statement 
 thaflvwaa influenced to the course I have 
 thought v proper to pursue from motives of 
 fnterestCfrl mention these, not that I am go- 
 cigto make waxrupon the press, but to re 
 mind them that courtesy, in any discueaion, 
 whether moral, legal or political, is the dis 
 tinguishing characteristic of a gentleman; 
 and *yhile, from the manner in which I have 
 ibeen^reated^ X aui under no obligation to 
 them .to impart the information, if, in the 
 f uture^they will profit by the instruction, 
 they. : W- 
 
 The people of Georgia are now interested 
 in but ono issue in the pending controversy 
 for President, and that involves exclusively 
 their honor. In my opinion t .iey can- voto 
 for General Grant and maintain it. Tlioy 
 can not vote for Mr. Greeley without trailing 
 it in the duat. 
 
 In my former letter I gave only some gen 
 eral reasons for the course I intended to pur 
 sue, knowing that it was impossible, hav 
 ing regard for the truth of history, to contro 
 vert the reasons for my opposition to Mr. 
 Greeley. 
 
 The Baltimore Convention acted more like 
 a mob, it they have been correctly reported, 
 than like statesmen seeking tho public good 
 and guarding the public interest. The Wash 
 ington CHRONICLE, tho Washington Patriot, 
 and tho Baltimore Sun (see their issues of 
 the llth and 12th instants) represented in 
 their report of the proceedings of said con 
 vention that the old song of "John Brown" 
 was sung on the occasion, and that when Mr. 
 Bayard, of Delaware, attempted to speak in 
 favor of Democratic principles he was hissed. 
 
 Such was the birth of this new party and 
 new candidate. Other comment is unneces 
 sary, than the inquiry, which addresses itself 
 to every voter in Georgia, "Can you main 
 tain your honor by voting for such a can 
 didate or sustaining such a coalition?" 
 The cry of, "anybody to 4. beat Grant" 
 may sustain you under excitement, but when 
 the calm hour of reflection comes, as it will, 
 you will be mortified in tho remembrance 
 that you suffered your judgment and your 1 
 justice to be influenced by your passions and 
 prejudices. Preliminary to investigating the 
 life and history of this new-found favorite- 
 to- Southern sympathy, I propose to remind 
 
 220 
 
they have been betrayed by the Baltimore 
 convention and the acknowledged mode of 
 how they are to beguiled. 
 
 The first exposition of tha ac,fciq.o, of theJ 
 Baltimore Convention tookpiapftat\^ilming-i|[ 
 ton, N. O. f on the 126Mtt3feEt f$ee> Wash-S}^ 
 higton Patriot of the 13th, the -Democratic 
 organ.) The two- principal speakers* were 
 Senator Tipton, of Nebraska, and Senator. 
 Stockton, of New Jersey, representatives of 
 the twu wings of the coalition. Senator 
 Stockton paid, on that occasion, "There was 
 ;v wide difference between the antecedents 
 of the preceding speaker (Senator Tipton) 
 and himself. He was proud to say of him 
 self that he had alwaya been, was now, and 
 always would be a Democrat. He was as 
 tonished at himself, finding he had come here 
 to ask these people to vote for such a man as 
 Horace Greeley. lie was not surprised at 
 his colleague (Mr. Tipton) for doing so; but 
 for himself he could hardly comprehend how 
 it came about. He had been sent by the 
 people of New Jersey to the Baltimore Con 
 vention withoutinstructious. He believed his 
 constituents did not want him to vote for Mr. 
 Greeley, and on the first ballot he was oue 
 of that small number who had voted 
 against him. His people did not want Mr. 
 Greeley; so far as they were concerned thay 
 would have elected a Democrat. It was your 
 Southern men who did this. You forced 
 them upon us and now wa shall look to you 
 in November to vindicate your wisdom. * I 
 have given this extract from Senator Stock 
 ton s speech to show the infatuation of the 
 Southern delegations at Baltimore, as well as 
 to fix the responsibility of Greeley s nomina 
 tion where it belongs. Senator Stockton de 
 clared in a public speech on Southern soil: 
 "It was your Southern men who did this." 
 And yet there is not within the broad limits 
 of Georgia a supporter of Greeley among 
 the Democrats who pretends that he has any 
 other recommendation than "anybody to beat 
 < rrant." It in the excuse of every Southern 
 delegation, we could not elect a Democrat 
 and we were compelled to take Greeley and 
 his platform, and yet in the very opening of 
 the campaign, on Southern territory, a 
 Northern Democratic Senator proclaims: "It 
 was your Southern men who did this you 
 forced them upon us." What a spectacle! 
 And worse than all, wiiat a humiliation! But 
 the action of the Baltimore Convention is a 
 past issue. The living issue is, must the people 
 oi the South obey their dictation? It is a re 
 markable faet that in this State, so far as I 
 h;ivo been able t:> examine, there has not ap 
 peared a single editorial in any Democratic 
 iKipcr recommending Mr. Greeley upon his 
 merits to the h:, ( 7 ffice to which they have 
 nominated him. 
 
 If they turn lo ; 3 past record of his life, 
 it, is made up cf vindictive abuse of the, 
 Siatlurn peoplo and their institutions, and 
 i. they look "to Ins proniisqs for the future 
 tK : y find nothing but his assurance, in uc- 
 
 were Hwe- reraem 
 
 cei-ting the nomination, that "he was as 
 much a Republican as he ever was." If 
 t!:ey turn to the platform of principles 
 upon which they have placed him, besides 
 some general declarations, in which every 
 
 political organization freely- indulges* /they 
 discover nothing but a pledge to "maintain 
 .union o^.thesevStatej&emaucipation anJ 
 any reopen- 
 
 ts oft -the 
 
 iConstitut .. ......._ 
 
 t ., _. rTT __ K heroism 
 
 and. sacrificeof1th^ soldiers and&ailors of the 
 Republican*; novact, of <oUrs shall everde- 
 tract from .their^ustly-eiumecKame or the 
 full re ward of their patriotism. * The thou 
 sands of Southern soldierawho sleep in their 
 graves made sacred by their efforts to defend 
 our rights, are not even honored with a re- 
 spectful remembrance* 
 
 I am not drawing upon* your sympathy, 
 but am recording what ha* oecome history; 
 if it does not arouse your indignation it will, 
 at least, excite your astonishment. Contrast 
 ing the life of General Grant with that of 
 Mr. Greeley, no one can fail to perceive the 
 difference. The one indicates no want of hu 
 manity, the other exhibits no evidence of 
 kindness or affection. If you take the ad- 
 ministration of General Grant in its details 
 or its totality you will not find a measure re 
 pulsive to Southern sentiment that did not 
 meet the warm approval of Mr. Oreeley. 
 Even the Kuklux law, which every Southern 
 man condemned, challenged the admiration 
 of Mr. Greeley to such an extent that he de 
 clared that " on every proper occasion he had 
 advocated and justified the Kuklux act." * r l 
 hold it," he said, "especially desirable for the 
 South; and if it does not prove strong enough 
 to effect its purpose I hope it will be made 
 stronger and stronger." 
 
 I have sought in vain to find one sentiment 
 ever uttered or published by Mr. Greeley in 
 which he manifested even a common human 
 ity toward the people of the South. His 
 friends say that he went on Mr. Davis bond, 
 and magnify this single virtue to such an ex 
 tent as to claim for him a merit that entitles 
 him to be made the Chief Magistrate of this 
 great nation. But give him the benefit of all 
 they claim, how poorly does it contrast with 
 the noble conduct of General Grant in stand 
 ing by and defending that greatest of patriots, 
 General Robert E. Lee. In the appaadix, 
 page 553, of the life of General Lee, by J. E. 
 Cooke, the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, in a tribute 
 to General Lee, upon the occasion^ of his 
 death, remarks, "When I heard he was about 
 to be prosecuted in a Virginia court for the 
 alleged crime of treason, I wrote to him at 
 once, and with all my heart, that if he be 
 lieved 1 could be of any service to him pro 
 fessionally, I was at his command." I re 
 ceived a characteristic reply in. terms of 
 friendship and grateful thanks. He wrote 
 that he did not think the prosecution would 
 take place. Hearing, however, some time 
 after that the prosecution would conamenc / 
 at Richmond, I went at once to that city an - 
 saw his legal adviser, Hon. William. H. Me 
 Farlaud, one of the ablest men of theba. 
 of Virginia. Mr. McFarland showed me a 
 copy of a letter from General Loe to Gene 
 ral Grant, inclosing an application for. a 
 pardon which, he desired General GrauJ to 
 present to tli < i "^re^ident, but 
 
3 
 
 to present it i&any steps had been taken fo 
 his prosecution? aa ha was willing to stanc 
 the test* General Grant at once replied , anc 
 he showed hla reply to mev He* wrote that 
 he* had see the* .President and protested* 
 against any etepa being taken against Gen 
 era! Lee, and Informed him that ha con 
 sidered his honor and the honor of the na 
 tion pledged to him. The President became 
 satisfied, and no- proceedings were- ever 
 taken.. General Grant transmitted tor the 
 President the. application of General Lee for 
 pardon^Jndorsea with his most earnest ap 
 proval* No pardon was granted." lam 
 now contrasting the hearts of the two candi 
 datesIn their political opinions there is no 
 difference in that period of tune which em 
 braces General Grant s administration. 
 
 One other scsap from the records and I am 
 donewfor the present When General Lee 
 reached the point where a continuance of the 
 Btruggle was madness, ho received the follow 
 ing letter from General Grant: 
 
 APRIL 7, 18G5. 
 General R.JS. Lee, Commanding Q. 8. A.: 
 
 , QENERAL* The result of the last week 
 must -convince you of the hopelessness- ot 
 further resistance on the part of the Army of 
 Northern Virginia in this struggle. 1 feel 
 that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift 
 from myself the responsibility of any fur 
 ther effusion of blood by asking* of you the 
 surrender of that portion of the Confederate 
 Southern army known as the Army of North 
 ern Virginia* 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. GRANT, 
 Lieutenanf General Commanding Armies of 
 
 United States. 
 
 APRIL 7, 1865. 
 
 GENERAL: I. have received your note of 
 this day. Though not entirely of the opin 
 ion you express of the hopelessness of further 
 resistance on the part of the army of North 
 ern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to 
 avoid useless effusion of blood, and there 
 fore, before considering your proposition, ask 
 the terms you will offer on condition of its 
 surrender. R. E. LEE; General. 
 
 To Lieutenant General U. S. GRANT, com 
 manding army of the United States. 
 The result of this correspondence was a 
 surrender,, which is as follows: 
 
 APPO:MATTOX COURT HOUSE, 
 
 April 9, 1865. 
 General R.iE. Lee, Commanding C. S. A. : 
 
 In accordance with the substance of my 
 letter to you of the 8th instant, 1 propose to 
 receive the surrender of the Army of North 
 ern, Virginia on the following terms, to wit: 
 Rolls of all the officers and men to bo made 
 in duplicate, one copy to be given to an offi 
 cer designated byomo^the .other to be De 
 tained by such officers as you may designate. 
 
 The officers to give their individual parole 
 not to take arms against the Government of 
 the United States until properly exchanged, 
 and^each company or regimental commander 
 to .sign* a. like parole for. the men. of their 
 commands. 
 
 Thotarms, artillery, aud--,publi(jvproperty^o 
 be parked an* stacked- and turnedoveiyta 
 the officers appointed by me to reeeiv-thent 
 i Thiwilf not embrace the side-arms*oi$the 
 officers, nor their private horses or baggage. 
 
 This done, each officer andr man^will^be 
 allowed to return to their homes, not- to*ba 
 disturbed by United States authority so*long 
 as they observe their parole and thevawstin 
 force where they may reside. Ven*cespect- 
 fully, U. S. GRANTS 
 
 Lieut., General. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF- NORTHERN 
 
 VIRGINIA, April 9;- 1865. 
 Lieutenant General U. IS. Qrant^ Command 
 ing U. S. A.: 
 
 GENERAL: I have received your -letter* of 
 this date, containing the terras ol^surrender 
 of the army of Northern Virginia,, as*pro- 
 posed by you. As they are substantially the 
 same as those expressed in your letter OF the 
 8th instant, they are accepted.. IwiDpro- 
 ceed to designate the proper officers- to carry 
 the stipulations into effect. Very respect* 
 fully, your obedient servant, 
 
 R. R LEE, General. 
 
 Now, when the passions have subsided, and 
 "hands are shaking over ihe bloody chasm, " 
 the calm and reflecting survivors must admit 
 the humanity in every line of this surrender, 
 and General Grant will at. least have accorded 
 to him some kind feeling over this general 
 calamity. 
 
 How was it with his present opponent, but 
 then his political friend? In the Tribune of 
 the 1st of May, on the fourth page, in tho 
 fourth column, these were Mr. Greeley s 
 :erms : 
 
 But, nevertheless, we mean to conquer 
 them; not merely to defeat, but to conquer; to 
 subjugate them; and we shall do this the 
 most mercifully, the more speedily we do it. 
 3ut when the rebellious traitors are over 
 whelmed in the field and scattered like leaves 
 before an angry wind, it must not be to re- 
 urn to peaceful and contented homes. They 
 must find poverty at their firesides and see 
 privation in the anxious eyes of mothers and 
 ihe rags of children." 
 
 What a contrast. The one full of human- 
 ty and the milk of human kindness, tho 
 other an execrable wretch, belching forth 
 oelings and sentiments that would havo 
 disgraced Robespierre, in the zenith of hi a 
 cruelty. Others under the lash of party des- 
 Dotism may feel no dishonor to their victim 
 n supporting Mr. Greeley. I can not so see 
 t. Every feeling of my heart revolts at tho 
 lacrifice, and no considerations-can influence 
 me to make it. P. CLAYTON. 
 
IEHEB-OF GENERAL JOHN A, DDL 
 
 lT} JlUy 27, 1872. 
 
 rplTour letter of the *13ch Instant, 
 sking?ny aid to* procur a speaker for a 
 Greoley meeting atf Hancock was sent to mo 
 while 1 was- in New England, and I have 
 t>een*unable until now to acknowledge its re- 
 
 do not understand on what ground you 
 Considered yourself authorized to address 
 request to mo. If you had been fa- 
 the course of iny political life, 
 Ljoqually so with Mr. Greefey a, you could 
 have supposed me capable of advocating 
 election t4ihe ofiico of President of tlie 
 United States withomfc imputing to mo an 
 ikbkudonmcnt of all political principle. 
 ni Opposed to Mr. Greoley: 
 iBeeause I believe him to bo as "unstable 
 fijEtfwatcr/ perpetually floundering (to carry 
 out the Scriptural figure) amid the surges of 
 <jpinioivJijd deficient in all the requisites 
 
 al to a firm, steady, and consistent ad 
 rationx>f tab Government 
 
 &*-J3ecaus& no has usually beoii found 
 fjjaong the most extreme ulcraiste on the 
 great questions of political and social duty 
 ^hieb have been brought under public dis- 
 $usslon for the last quarter of a century. 
 
 B.. Because lis has bean the advocate (and 
 Snwthifl instance persistently) of that most 
 ajniustand unequal commercial system which 
 53 destroying our mercantile and shipping in 
 terests, and lieaping up enormous accumuia- 
 tlonaof wealth m tue hands of the protected 
 tilasses to the oppression and impoverishment 
 ot<all others. 
 
 ^ .Because lip is associated, in relations 
 moreor less intimate. with some of the chief 
 plunderers of the city of New York, justly 
 warranting the apprehension that through 
 Hiis -complicity or Ms facile disposition, the 
 same system of fraud and corruption which 
 toas disgraced tho municipal government of 
 this city may be carried to more infamous ex- 
 Sromos in the administration of tho Federal 
 Government; md, ; 
 
 U. Because in the darkest hour of the 
 country s peril, when a traitorous combiua- 
 tion-haabeen formed to overthrow tho Gov 
 ernment, lie openly counseled the cowardly 
 policy d non-resfst&ncft, and an acquies 
 cence in- the dissolution of tho Union, when 
 ever the cotton States should make up their 
 minds to go. 
 
 Tho coalition which Las been formed to 
 
 \promote bio election is one of the most extra 
 
 ordinary in the history of parties, in respect 
 
 botli^to the discordant elements it embraces 
 
 and the surrender of principles it involves. 
 
 Tho Cincinnati Convention, called to bring. 
 
 i, nominated him, 
 
 of tho whole country, kno#i#g --him, in 
 gard to one of those measures, to bo an im 
 placable opponent nominate^ him, too, 
 against the wishes and Judgment Of |ho cliler 
 promoters of the movement, whowaccopted 
 him, either with an avowed or an> ill-con 
 cealed disgust, which would be far more 
 creditable to their feelings if the act of ac 
 ceptance wero not uttearly irreconcUabie-with 
 their principles. 
 
 The Democratic Convention, at Baltimore 
 indorsed and commended him to the support 
 of their party not as the exponent of any 
 principles they have professed or any meas 
 ures they have advocated, but as a known 
 and bitter opponent of both the man -who, 
 perhaps, of all others, has been tho-moOT 
 malignant assailant of the DemocracyTlm- 
 peaching its integrity, traducing Its matures, 
 arid vilifving its character. 
 
 The adoption of such a man as tltel* Can 
 didate for the Ohief Magistracy of the- Union 
 is the most conspicuous abandonment of po 
 litical principles known to party contests; 
 
 It remains to bo seen whether the groat 
 body of the Democratic voters, and the true 
 friends of Reform, can be made parties to 
 this unscrupulous coalition between political 
 leaders. 
 
 That General Grant baa committed mis 
 takes his most sincere friends admit. But if 
 his errors had been four- fold more numerous, 
 he would, in my opinion, bo a much safer 
 Chief Magistrate than Mr. Greeley. lie has, 
 in that capacity, done much for which ho 
 deserves the thanks of the country. Above 
 all, he has kept it at peace, notwithstanding 
 the efforts of sensation journals and popu 
 larity-seeking politicians to provoke hostili 
 ties with Spain on the question of Cuba, and 
 with Great Britain on the Alabama, ckiuLs 
 and the fisheries. , 
 
 If, regardless of these titles to the approval 
 of his fellow-citizens, and of his invaluable 
 services during the late civil war. they should 
 set him aside for Mr. Greeley: if the latter, a 
 mere erratic politician, untried in any im 
 portant public trust, should be elevated to 
 ttie Chief Magistracy of tho; Union a Union 
 which would not now exist if his counsels 
 had been followed and if the man who, ol 
 all others, has done the most to preserve it 
 should be discarded for a successor so ill 
 qualified and so unscrupulously nominated 
 and sustained, the example would bo most 
 deplorable in its influence on all high motives 
 to political action, and justify thiijnogjbpain- 
 ful forebodings as io the lu.tu.ra 
 
 I am respectfully youro, 4Q5S A . T)ix. 
 
U.C. BERKE EY I IBRARIES